The other day I received an email from an acquaintance containing a 20 question test of my memory about certain famous brands that have been advertised through the years. I figured I’d do very well and as it turned out I did get a good score, but not 100%. Nope. Some facts we’re sure we know can turn out to be wrong. For example, I could ask what colour is the black box in a commercial airliner? The correct answer is......orange.
- What is a camel hair brush made from? Answer: squirrel fur.
- What was King George the Sixth’s first name? It was Albert.
- What colour is a purple finch? It is crimson.
- Which country makes Panama hats? They come from Ecuador.
- In what month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? In November. And, how long did the 100 years war last? If I remember my history it lasted 116 years.
Before the advent of the Internet, we’d have to pop down to the library to check these things out but with today’s technology it’s easy to verify that the Canary Islands are actually named after dogs and Chinese gooseberries come from New Zealand. After all, inquiring minds want to know!
There are some little things too that can't found in the internet. History for one. I was given a topic just this sem, google can't give me the answer I am looking for, I have to read and re-read a book, pages by pages to get the real story and the correct dates and numbers I am looking for... [by the way those who are reading this might think i am an 18 year-old lass, am not. Am just trying to enjoy what is left to me. smiles*]
ReplyDeleteBut of course, those were a remote cases.
It would help if we called a spade a spade instead of a shovel.
ReplyDeleteRemember card catologues within a library......they don't exist anymore Maritess. I used to love looking up things but in most modernized libraries the old fashioned card catalogue that we would muse through for a book is not there anymore. There are some things that are rather hard to find and there is nothing like finding out the old way :) I mean within a certain way :)
ReplyDeleteNever thought of this one DJ and I ponder where that came from whom named this device a shovel? We more or shub snow or dirty but we don't spade it. I spaded the snow this morning, hmm :)
ReplyDelete,yes everything at our fingertips . now ..not the same as "face to face"where we can see the expression and body language...:)
ReplyDeleteoh is that where chinese Gooseberries ...come from!!!lol
Now why did they call them Goose Berries? I have yet to see a Goose that laid berries Caroline. :)
ReplyDeleteCard catalogues, oh yes i do remember those with fondness ... oh it showed how old i am, older than you by a few years eh! laughs* But in a serious note, i happened to looked for it the old way, Jack :)
ReplyDeleteEver get lost and enjoyed it within a library?
ReplyDeleteOh i get lost often times ... not within the library but the quietness ... it so disturbing :) I can't study without music
ReplyDeleteI love to go to the library yet, I love the feeling of a book in my hands and reading the old fashioned turn the pages way. E mail is nice but I'm still very partial to handwritten notes those are wonderful things to recieve
ReplyDeleteI literally love the library, I can remember loving this one within Bear Road Elementary and oh I would get lost it in and I still do, but hence time. Mind you I could take a cab since I am ------- nope not in the books for today! Hiya
ReplyDeleteI am reading one right now, but usually I will read it for an hour before I head off to bed. It's called, The Sea of Kingdom's, by Alistair Moffat - it's a book on the history of celtic Britain and Ireland.
ReplyDeleteTheres so much information, that sometimes I wonder how much of it is TRUE. Gooseberry by the way is considered to be an etymological corruption either of the Dutch word Kruisbezie or the allied German Krausbeere, which I presume translates to curled or crisp berries.
ReplyDeleteI like the feel, smell of books(which is a contradiction to the fact that I love trees), which is probably why I havent yet got myself a Kindle.
From Earth, where was the destination of the longest long-distance telephone call?
ReplyDeleteA: Moon.
I miss my daily leisurely lunch visits (when I was employed) at the Barnes & Noble store right across from my office on 5th avenue. Sadly, the "brick and mortar" bookstores are becoming a dying breed.....their days are numbered due to the ipad, Amazon, e-books, etc.
I had a conversation with a person that represented one main book company and I asked him if he thought that the digital age would change avid book readers. His thoughts were much like yours Rashmi, as for those that do love to read there is nothing like that touch, smell and feel as well you can bring it closer and that was back five years ago but right now we seemingly these book or etablets as they call them are on the horizon, but for myself, I am not much into them. We do live within an information age but I too feel that there might be too much information however I have always been very inquisitive and ok Jack you can do it........I love the National Geographic,my father did, my grandfather did and as well the roots of my family have been published within one issue - not kidding.
ReplyDeleteNow that all said what does etymological mean? I really do mean that Rashmi?
From one human being to another yeah if you leave out robots, which where does does that name come from I ponder as it came from somewhere, and not rowing one's butt :).
ReplyDeleteI loved the Barnes and Nobles dowtown within NYC. It really took me by amazement. And yeah there is a good friend of mine that started what is known here in Canada as McNally Robinson, he started off with one bookstore that was two levels as catered to each city and groomed them up and actually had his larges right there within Manhattan, now he has closed all of them with the exception to his original bookstore in Winnepeg and in Saskatoon. Some of this I think was due to the economy at the time and then within retail some will over extend themselves. Yet I do love this one bookstore here called McNally Robinson.
Etymological - words derived from ..so in this instance, gooseberry is a corrupted form of word derived from its German or Dutch origin. Of course I got that from the Internet Dictionary ;).
ReplyDeleteOk I understand :)
ReplyDeleteThat's like Red Onions, only they are purple!
ReplyDelete~ Ha ~ :)
ReplyDeleteAnd "redheads".. I've never seen truly red hair that wasn't dyed.
ReplyDelete