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

If trees mostly grow in forests they must be gregarious. Is it cruel, therefore, to plant a tree on its own; in your garden for instance? Will that be a very lonely and sad tree?

No, don't worry. It will sprout little root-saplings and shed it's fruit and soon you will have your own little forest.

That's a nice thought, but people mow their lawn and weed their beds and borders so all the little saplings can't grow

Aww... But you wouldn't, would you?

I'll take a picture of my front 'garden' for you, Gosho, 'Railways trees' are us,

I try and get rid if the little saplings every year, and the next tine they are bigger and stronger.

My bluebells and ferns are suffering (oh, I wish).

Expect something in soon

When I was at school we went to the Yorkshire Dales on a geography A level field trip, and our teacher showed us what he called the loneliest tree in Britain, possibly the world, growing out of limestone pavement above Malham Cove, and it's still there http://www.flickr.com/photos/nigelblake/8986051725/

I will name him George and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him and give him security*

*Gratuitous Bugs Bunny reference.

You never see anyone impersonating Peter Sellers. But then how could you impersonate anyone who was famous for almost never being himself and who shifted from character to character like a chameleon changes its colour?

"There was some question as to whezzer ze beggar or his minky was breaking zee lauw."

"NOT NOW CATO!!!"

"You fool! You raving Oriental idiot! There is a time and a place for everything, Cato! And this is it!"



(I still had IMDb open.)

Oh, now I really, really, *really* want to watch a Clouseau film

One of the downsides of having a DVD rather than streaming subscription with Netflix.

Now I don't know what earworm to plump for. "The trail of the lonesome pine" or "Boom boodi boom".

Ooh, speaking of earworms, I was listening to Science Friday on NPR when they came back from local news and they went right into "Who Let the Dogs Out?!"

My brain winced knowing that it was going to get stuck in my head. The topic of discussion? Earworms.


Later that day I learned my mother had never hear the term "earworm" as she got a rather disgusted look on her face when I told her about this. She looked quite relieved when I explained that it wasn't actual worms in one's ear.

How adorable

I wonder why certain roads in London get the definite article when spoken, although that's not their official name as seen on a map. It's a very select and small club, when you bear in mind how many streets and roads there are in the city.

Including (but not limited to):
The Holloway Road
The Old Kent Road
The Goldhawk Road
The Balls Pond Road
The Mile End Road
The Kings Road

What's more, you're far more likely to say 'in the Mile End/Goldhawk/Holloway Road' than 'on the...'.

Inquiring minds want to know.

It isn't just in London, but People always say something is in "The High". Does London have a High Street? And it's the same with some countries and not others. The United States, The United Kingdom, The Argentine.

That's a very good point. A lot of towns (including the one I grew up in) have a High Street. It probably started off as the main road through the town (often the reason for the town's existence in the first place), it's usually the main shopping street, and it's usually called *The* High Street (occasionally Road) when spoken, although it'll be just High Street on a map.

If we go with shopping, then I reckon Oxford Street's a good contender for London's High Street (and it's also a main road - the start of the A4 which goes all the way to South Wales). And, incidentally, it has never been referred to as The Oxford Street to my knowledge, but it has put me in mind of another one, which joins it at its eastern end - The Tottenham Court Road.

With The United Kingdom and The United States I'd say it's because those names are descriptive (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The United States of America), but you've got me on The Argentine. And there was also The Sudetenland.

There's a thread somewhere about countries with "the".

The Ukraine
The Gambia
spring to mind.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18233844

It varies in different languages. In German there are more countries that take the definite article. And in Canada, they sing "au Canada". (I'm a bit vague on that one, though - will ask my French colleague when I get to the office.)

(au is à + le. "Le" of course being a definite article)

Obviously you say "The Republic of... " or "The united ... of ...", or, come to that, "The Netherlands" but others are quite inexplicable and counter-intuitive.

As for Streets - I thought "High Street" was a generic word. Although many towns may actually call it The High Street, a High Street is the one where Boots and Marks and Spencers are, i.e. the main shopping street and could quite easily be called something else. A High Road is a connecting road between two towns, however, isn't it?

It can be generic, TC. I've known instances where the main shopping street is called High Street rather than its actual name, and High Street is an adjective often used to describe something commercial, as in 'High Street banks', for instance, or 'Britain's High Streets are becoming more homogenised as chains take over'.

You're right though - the High Road is more usually a road between towns, but there's always the exception. I lived in Wood Green for a while, in north London. The main road (some say street) through the area is Wood Green High Road (which is actually part of Green Lanes*), which is a genuine High Street - main street through the town and lined with banks and shops, but but it's referred to by locals as the High Road rather than the High Street.

*It's one of only two parts of Green Lanes, which runs for 7½ miles from Newington Green to Winchmore Hill, that isn't called Green Lanes (the other is directly to its south - Grand Parade). And there lies another question - Green Lanes? What's with the plural?

Here in Leeds we have Town Streets instead of High Streets, and the main road past the university is known as "The Otley Road", though it is in fact Woodhouse Lane at that point. Further out it becomes Headingley Lane and finally Otley Road.

Americans may be confused - it's pretty common over here for a road to change its name along its length. The names probably date back centuries to a time when there were separate towns and villages that named the roads differently.