h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Wow - isn't it a small world ? !! I've just discovered that there is a Canadian girl in the choir I've been singing in and guess what, she comes from Winnipeg!

Yes -I can get Radio 4 on the web - but I don't have a computer in the kitchen! What's the washing up without the Archers or Woman's Hour. (Actually I remember Mrs Dale's Diary more, but that's not around now). Or Radio 3. Or Radio 1. Anything, as long as they speak British English! I'd sell my dishwasher if there was a way I could listen to Radio 4 in the kitchen.

BBC world is available in Germany, but not on our cable system.

I was told that Marco Pole brought the noodles back from China to Italy. That's why these are the two centres of this delicacy. While the Chinese flung their dough about, making ever thinner strands, the Italians had to make do with heavier doughs, so they roll them out and cut them into shapes. It said so on TV so it must be true!

And I remember the one about Marco Polo on Dr Who. It was the first time I'd heard of him. Wasn't he played by the same guy who played Adam Adamant?

TC, It should be easy enough to rig up a remote set of speakers so that you can leave your web-connected computer in the study and listen to the speakers in the kitchen. I suspect a more satisfactory answer would be to get some sort of a radio to pick up the world service.

And if you don't want the bother of running cables, you could use some of these radio-type speakers - plug the transmitter into the green socket (if it's a PC) on the back of the computer, and pick up the signal on the speakers in the kitchen. Note you want radio and not infra red speakers, 'cause IR will only work line of sight.

Or, turn the speakers in your computer up loud and use a baby alarm!

*wonders if the Winnipegger will corroborate (sp) his history lesson about Winnie the Pooh and the Winnipeg Rifles...*

Hey you guys have been busy! Pleasure to read the backlog.

Back to W's Blitish Engrish:
She said typhoon which put me in mind of 'tycoon' which is actually Japanese. China (crockery) is actually from the Japanese pronuciation of 'Chien', the place (China) where china comes from. The Japanese used to row over and steal clay. That's how some of them became tycoons; selling teacups and pots to mad Engli... oops.
But kowtow (cow-tow) is Chinese.
~jwf~

Is china Chinese?

So let's get this straight: the word China, meaning both the country and the plates, comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the name of the country. Is that right?

What is or was the Chinese name for the country?

"Zhonguo" is Chinese for China so I think not.

I would suspect that the isolationist nature of the Chinese empire contributed to the fact that relatively few English words are derived from the chinese.
What about chop sticks (well, the chop bit anyway)

Chop is English! (pidgin English anyway)17th century."Chop chop" meant quick. Chopsticks were thus quicksticks (sounds like Fox in Socks) Then came to mean eats as in "small chop" pidgin for afternoon tea and "big chop" for dinner, which went back to England in "chop house"
China, meaning crockery, was another of those words from Persian (silk route stuff) China,the place definitely Japanese.
Zhonghuo means middle as in middle earth or middle kingdom. One of the very few characters I can draw - a rectangle with a line bisecting it from outside top to outside bottom
And were charladies so called because they drank a lot of tea? probably not, but it's a nice pun

I always thought charladies were the ones that made the tea, but it turns out char is an old word for chore, so they are chore-ladies.

Since we're talking about names for the Orient, why do we call it Japan when the residents say Nippon?

Chop Suey is American - I think.

Char is also a fish, but I guess it isn't connected - except through the medium of water.

Having read my last post, I've decided medium is a fairly nondescript work (as opposed to a descript word).

It seems to mean vaguely in the middle, some form of in between stuff (as in 'the medium of water'), or someone who sits between the (rather dubious) spirit world and some (rather suggestible) people.

When asked "How do you take your coffee, strong or weak ?" , I always say "Medium" - one never knows just how strong or weak the coffee might be, so medium is a safer bet.

In Goldilocks and the three bears, there was a big bear, a small bear and one in the middle. What was the middle bear? I always said "medium-sized bear", but I doubt these words were in the original story. What words would the rest of you use? Middling? In-between?

You never know how strong the coffee is going to be, but it is almost never strong enough for me, so I say "Strong" in answer to the question. In answer to the same question about tea, I would say "weaker than you can imagine". Phrases about tea:

So strong you could trot a mouse on it.
Show it the pictures.
So weak you have to help it out of the pot.

I have often heard the answer to "How do you like your tea?" "NATO standard." which apparently means milk and two. Did it used to be NAAFI standard?

I feel very hesitant about contradicting Gnomon, but the three bears were: Mummy, Daddy and Baby. Baby was small, true; Daddy was big, true. But Mummy was doing the best she could, given the circumstances, so I don't think we should make any potentially unflattering remarks about her figure!

LOL

Political Correctness hits Goldilocks and the 3 Bears!

You've not come across the book of politically correct fairy tales (or is it called bedtime stories). According to my mum, it's very funny

True - you couldn't call them fairy tales or you might upset...well...fairies.

Political Correctness implies anything but 'medium' - it should be re-named 'Exponential Correctness'.

Would it be fair to say that Mummy Bear's porridge was also doing the best it could given the circumstances ?

Does anyone know if the Three Bears had sugar or salt in their porridge ?

One tomato, two tomatoes
One potato, two potatoes
One mango...what?

Why is there a spare 'e' in the former, and does it also apply to mango, avocado, lilo, wierdo, condo...?