posted
Each week the Magazine picks out snippets from the news, and compiles them into 10 Things We Didn't Know This Time Last Week. Here's an end of year almanac.
posted
I must know why the British persist in spelling NASA "Nasa." It is an acronym, for heaven's sake.
-------------------- "When a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always declares that it is his duty."--George Bernard Shaw Posts: 19266 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: Jun 2002
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-------------------- "You learn something new every day if you're not careful" - Wilf Lunn Posts: 893 | From: Durham City, England | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I don't want to see any of you kiddies playing with a laser, either. It's a LASER!
Posts: 4922 | From: Kyoto, Japan | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
I wonder if SNAFU has picked this up on his RADAR?
-------------------- "You learn something new every day if you're not careful" - Wilf Lunn Posts: 893 | From: Durham City, England | Registered: Aug 2005
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Dara bhur gCara
As Shepherds Watched Their Flocks Buy Now Pay Later
posted
quote:Originally posted by AnglRdr: I must know why the British persist in spelling NASA "Nasa." It is an acronym, for heaven's sake.
It is because they are acronyms that they are spelt and pronounced as regular words. In UK English, "Nasa" should only be spelt "NASA" if you're going to pronounce it "EnnAyEssAy," although of course if it was pronounced "EnnAyEssAy" it would stop being an acronym, and become an abbreviation.
British English. Don't you just love it?
-------------------- This wrinkle in time, I can't give it no credit, I thought about my space and it really got me down. Got me so down, I got me a headache, My heart is crammed in my cranium and it still knows how to pound Posts: 2794 | From: London, UK | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote: Musical instrument shops must pay an annual royalty to cover shoppers who perform a recognisable riff before they buy, thereby making a "public performance".
Because of this, I now have the Stairway to Heaven riff stuck in my head.
-------------------- I shall baffle you with cabbages and rhinoceroses in the kitchen and incessant quotations from "Now We Are Six" through the mouthpiece of Lord Snooty's giant poisoned electric head. So there! Posts: 802 | From: London, UK | Registered: Nov 2005
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Joe Bentley
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by nols1974: But it's ok for Americans to remove the letter u from words
Yeah when there is no "U" sound.
I will never understand what the British consider so noble about putting letters where there is no corresponding sound.
-------------------- "Existence has no pattern save what we imagine after staring at it for too long." - Rorschach, The Watchmen Posts: 8929 | From: Norfolk, Virginia | Registered: Jun 2002
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Joe Bentley
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:23. In America it's possible to subpoena a dog.
Why is that so weird? Certain trained dogs, such as bomb sniffing, drug sniffing, and search and rescue dogs, can provide evidence in court.
Surely in other countries that use dogs in a law enforcement capacity have procedures to enter the animal's findings into testimony.
Or is everybody just hung up because we call it a "subpeona?"
-------------------- "Existence has no pattern save what we imagine after staring at it for too long." - Rorschach, The Watchmen Posts: 8929 | From: Norfolk, Virginia | Registered: Jun 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Joe Bentley: I will never understand what the British consider so noble about putting letters where there is no corresponding sound.
It is a strange phenomenon, isn't it? Perhaps they all suffered from pneumonia as children, and now they can't properly recall their mnemonic devices for remembering proper spelling. Of course, I'm just being rhetorical...but I blame it all on the phlegm in my throat.
-------------------- "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." - G.K. Chesterton Posts: 1514 | From: Wisconsin | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by nols1974: But it's ok for Americans to remove the letter u from words
Yeah when there is no "U" sound.
I will never understand what the British consider so noble about putting letters where there is no corresponding sound.
Yes, sorry about that Jo
-------------------- "You learn something new every day if you're not careful" - Wilf Lunn Posts: 893 | From: Durham City, England | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Weren't No. 18 (smarties) and No. 23 (dog subpoena) kind of debunked here?
-------------------- My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling, but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places. - Pooh Bear Posts: 2209 | From: Hamburg, Germany | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Don Enrico: Weren't No. 18 (smarties) and No. 23 (dog subpoena) kind of debunked here?
That was Canadians eat enough smarties to go round the world 350 times (the maths class worked out they would only circle the globe once), the BBC only claims
quote:If all the Smarties eaten in one year were laid end to end it would equal almost 63,380 miles, more than two-and-a-half times around the Earth's equator.
-------------------- "You learn something new every day if you're not careful" - Wilf Lunn Posts: 893 | From: Durham City, England | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote: 39. Australians host barbecues at polling stations on general election days.
Why doesn't everyone? It's a great idea; it raises funds for the schools which are used as polling stations, it provides something of a celebratory atmoshpere, and it provides convenient refreshment for party workers and electoral officers.
-------------------- Yours, &c
Linden Posts: 190 | From: Australia | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:11. One in 10 Europeans is allegedly conceived in an Ikea bed.
So the thing they know is that this statistic is alleged? That seems a little weak.
quote:21. One person in four has had their identity stolen or knows someone who has.
Again, the "knows someone who has" part is a really weak statistic.
quote:28. The British buy the most compact discs in the world - an average of 3.2 per year, compared to 2.8 in the US and 2.1 in France.
I hope they mean per capita... Though I don't think I own quite 2.8 times my age in CDs, and it's quite possible that they move around to other people's collections when I'm not looking...
quote:29. When faced with danger, the octopus can wrap six of its legs around its head to disguise itself as a fallen coconut shell and escape by walking backwards on the other two legs, scientists discovered.
I didn't realize that coconut shells were that prevelant that all ocean-going predators recognized them on sight, even if they are walking away on two legs.
quote:45. C3PO and R2D2 do not speak to each other off-camera because the actors don't get on.
And not because the beeping language is actually too hard for humans to learn?
quote:50. Only 36% of the world's newspapers are tabloid.
That's actually quite depressing.
quote:68. The Very Hungry Caterpillar has sold one copy every minute since its 1969 publication.
I went to buy this book once, and the shopkeeper told me I would have to wait, because someone else was buying it that minute. Apparently, they have a huge database to keep track, so this statistic will never be messed up. Fortunately, I was able to get the buying window only 5 minutes away.
quote:80. Fifty-seven Bic Biros are sold every second - amounting to 100bn since 1950.
Fortunately, it didn't take me as long to buy my pen...
quote:93. Koalas have fingerprints exactly like humans (although obviously smaller).
So not "exactly" then?
-------------------- If the sum of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the square on the other two sides, why is a mouse when it spins? Posts: 90 | From: Cleveland, OH | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Joe Bentley: I will never understand what the British consider so noble about putting letters where there is no corresponding sound.
Envy of the French?
well... maybe that comment was a little fishy
-------------------- Movie characters never make typing mistakes. Posts: 586 | From: Hamburg, Germany | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by nols1974: But it's ok for Americans to remove the letter u from words
word. I think 'colour' and 'favourite' (amoung others) look better than their american counterparts, but I feel too pretentious using british spellings in my writing.
-------------------- I'm so broke; I can't even pay attention Posts: 140 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Joostik: 87. Pulling your foot out of quicksand takes a force equivalent to that needed to lift a medium-sized car.
I read this as meaning that the amount of force needed to pull your foot out of quicksand is the same amount of force needed to lift a medium- sized car.
but yeah, it is awfuly vauge.
-------------------- I'm so broke; I can't even pay attention Posts: 140 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
<<92. You are 176 times more likely to be murdered than to win the National Lottery.>>
Wow does that count for America too? I've heard here that you have a better chance of being struck by lightening then winning the lottery. I know someone who was struck by lightening when she was a kid, should she play the lottery?
~Monica
-------------------- "Run for five minutes? Why don't you just shoot me now?"--Comic Book Guy (Simpsons) Posts: 219 | From: Cleveland, Ohio | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Joe Bentley: Yeah when there is no "U" sound.
I will never understand what the British consider so noble about putting letters where there is no corresponding sound.
Nitpick: As if the American spellings are any more logical than the British? The whole language is full of strange and interesting spellings (including a ton of silent letters), what's a couple more or less in one convention or the other?
Posts: 4922 | From: Kyoto, Japan | Registered: Sep 2005
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Joe Bentley
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by Ganzfeld:
quote:Originally posted by Joe Bentley: Yeah when there is no "U" sound.
I will never understand what the British consider so noble about putting letters where there is no corresponding sound.
Nitpick: As if the American spellings are any more logical than the British? The whole language is full of strange and interesting spellings (including a ton of silent letters), what's a couple more or less in one convention or the other?
Well yeah but the point I was trying to make is that Americans don't act like their illogical spellings are superior.
I've heard many people, even people here on snopes, claim that the English spelling of words are superior.
Doing something that doesn't make any sense is one thing, doing something that doesn't make any sense and then acting superior to someone who does it in a way that makes sense is another.
-------------------- "Existence has no pattern save what we imagine after staring at it for too long." - Rorschach, The Watchmen Posts: 8929 | From: Norfolk, Virginia | Registered: Jun 2002
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quote: I wonder if SNAFU has picked this up on his RADAR?
My ears are burning... Are we talking about Sh*t being Normal?
quote: Doing something that doesn't make any sense is one thing, doing something that doesn't make any sense and then acting superior to someone who does it in a way that makes sense is another.
May I point you to my 'Caring Less' thread?
Posts: 241 | From: England | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
So, which word in this sentence is spelt wrongly: colour, meter or center?
Posts: 39 | From: London, England | Registered: Sep 2005
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Richard W
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by Ron Miel: So, which word in this sentence is spelt wrongly: colour, meter or center?
"wrongly" - haha!
Posts: 8725 | From: Ipswich - the UK's 9th Best Place to Sleep! | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote: [QUOTE] 99. The Japanese word "chokuegambo" describes the wish that there were more designer-brand shops on a given street.
Doesn't even sound Japanese to me.
It can be Japanese. Of course the m is technically an n in Japanese, but it can get changed like in tempura.
"Ganbou" does mean a desire. Beats me what "chokue" is. Also, if it is true, it's a phrase, not a single word.
-------------------- Bender: Though you may have to make a metaphorical "deal with the devil". And by "devil", I mean the robot devil, and by "metaphorically" I mean get your coat. ------------ My sad site: A new way to be bored. Posts: 722 | From: Colorado | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
chokue. Nobody I asked can figure out what that is supposed to mean. Maybe it means "chokuei" which just means a factory outlet (store) or direct sales pub, not necesarily a designer-brand shop. ganbo (or gambo)* does mean a hope or desire.
I think someone got fooled into thinking some local slang or something was a real word and then believed a bogus definition to boot. The thing is Japanese has a million "words" that are just ad hoc combinations of different words. It makes the language rich but some words have no meaning outside a specific context.
*should say "ganbou or gambou"
Posts: 4922 | From: Kyoto, Japan | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Ron Miel: So, which word in this sentence is spelt wrongly: colour, meter or center?
"wrongly" - haha!
Am I missing a joke?
BTW
The 'U' in colour isn't silent, it changes the sound of the vowel in front of it ie it sounds more like col-er than col-or.
Metre and a meter show the difference between a measurement and a measuring instrument resepctively.
What really annoys me is Laser spelt with a z. What exactly does ztimulated mean?
-------------------- Dactingyl is meant to sound a bit like Christingle.
It's not very good but I couldn't think of anything else.
Sorry. Posts: 257 | From: Hants, UK | Registered: Dec 2005
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Richard W
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
quote:Originally posted by BBChris: Am I missing a joke?
Well, not a very good one. "Wrongly - W R O N G L Y"...
Posts: 8725 | From: Ipswich - the UK's 9th Best Place to Sleep! | Registered: Feb 2000
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quote: Musical instrument shops must pay an annual royalty to cover shoppers who perform a recognisable riff before they buy, thereby making a "public performance".
Because of this, I now have the Stairway to Heaven riff stuck in my head.
I'm thinking of the scene from Wayne's World where the two go into a guitar shop, and there's this huge sign that prohibits playing Stairway to Heaven.
Dawn--or was it Freebird?--Storm
-------------------- Leashes?! We don't need no stinking leashes!! Posts: 4771 | From: The Berkeley of the East Coast: Montgomery County MD | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote: 99. The Japanese word "chokuegambo" describes the wish that there were more designer-brand shops on a given street.
Doesn't even sound Japanese to me.
It can be Japanese. Of course the m is technically an n in Japanese, but it can get changed like in tempura.
Yeah, that’s the one that particularly bothered me.
quote: "Ganbou" does mean a desire. Beats me what "chokue" is. Also, if it is true, it's a phrase, not a single word.
So maybe it’s just a garbled expression someone just picked up by hearing and wrote down the way he heard it.
quote:Originally posted by Special Cam, Specialist:
quote:Originally posted by Joostik: 87. Pulling your foot out of quicksand takes a force equivalent to that needed to lift a medium-sized car.
I read this as meaning that the amount of force needed to pull your foot out of quicksand is the same amount of force needed to lift a medium- sized car.
but yeah, it is awfuly vauge.
Yes, but pulling your foot out of quicksand doesn’t take any particularly great force, does it? It’s just that you need something to hold on to (with your arms, or a steady foothold for the other foot).
Posts: 794 | From: Utrecht, Utrecht | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote: 6. WD-40 dissolves cocaine - it has been used by a pub landlord to prevent drug-taking in his pub's toilets.
(Has an image of people sniffing cocaine off toilet seats...)
In my (secondhand, I swear) experience people do cocaine more often off of toilet tank lids than seats.
Also, most liquids dissolve cocaine. The WD-40 deal was supposed to be that the pub owner would pre-emptively spray WD-40 on the tank lids and then when someone when to chop out a line their precious white gold would dissolve into an unsnortable mush. WD-40 doesn't really evaporate so one spraying would last the whole evening.
-------------------- Officially Heartless Posts: 3065 | From: The Montgomery County of the West Coast- Berkeley, CA | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by BBChris: The 'U' in colour isn't silent, it changes the sound of the vowel in front of it ie it sounds more like col-er than col-or.
Good point. Although, here, it's more col-uh. But then, we have fav-uh-ritt, nay-buh, etc. But then, we also have in-struk-tuh, kom-pyut-uh, which are -or, not -our.
I give up.
quote:Metre and a meter show the difference between a measurement and a measuring instrument resepctively.
What really annoys me is Laser spelt with a z. What exactly does ztimulated mean? [/QB]
I thought the word sought was center, which should be centre, as meter and metre are both words.
As for lazer, does it really matter when the light oscillates rather than amplifies, anyway? If we were to be strict, it'd be LOSER.
-------------------- "We don't keep a certified whale-vomit expert on staff." - Larry Penny, Director, Natural Resources Department, Town of East Hampton Posts: 377 | From: New Zealand | Registered: Nov 2005
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