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Things you've always wondered about but couldn't be bothered to find out


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4 hours ago, Boof said:

 

I suppose fractal theory would suggest every coastline is infinitely long ?

 

There must be a standardised method - I mean length would depend if the tide was in or oot. 

 

Numberphiles discussion on the topic is quite good.

 

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14 minutes ago, Samuel Camazzola said:

In Gremlins, one of the rules is not to feed the mogwai after midnight. At what time is it safe for them to eat again? 

 

Before midnight obviously  ;) 

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A Boy Named Crow

In a car that has three seatbelts across the back, why is the buckle for the middle one different to the buckle for the ones on the outside? It just leaves you with a 50/50 choice on the side with the middle and the side option...a choice I get wrong a lot more than 50% of the time. The right/wrong ratio is much the same as that of trying to plug in a USB!

why don’t they just make the buckles all the same?

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On 03/12/2018 at 22:27, I P Knightley said:

How come my dog can do a shite and then, minutes later, do a piss? Not just a dribble of a piss, a proper stream of it.

 

If I'm doing a shite, there's no way on earth that I could hold in a piss of that nature.

 

I realise that my dog is a different species but, by and large, we've got the same component parts in roughly the same proximity to each other.

 

Given that dogs piss to mark their territory, I imagine that they have a great deal more control over their peeing than we humans do. Have you ever tried to stop a piss after a short while like a dog does? So, when dogs shit, they hold in their piss (probably without thinking about it) because they might have a great number of opportunities left during that walk to mark their territory and they don't want to waste good marking ink.

 

I guess if we humans marked our territory by pissing then we'd have the same control.

 

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On 23/12/2018 at 22:24, Morgan said:

It’s a bit of a b@stard when you actually see a woman older than you and yid still ‘bob It’.

 

There’s this wee ...

 

Och, forget it..  :lol: 

 

I've got to the stage that often when I see women who look older than me, it turns out that they're actually younger then me. I'm older than I think! :D

 

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Take the statement "Some of the things Aisling Bea does is/are outrageously adorable.".

 

It is "is" or "are"?

 

"Some of the things Aisling Bea does is outrageously adorable.".

"Some of the things Aisling Bea does are outrageously adorable.".

 

Neither sounds right.

 

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5 minutes ago, peter_hmfc said:

Take the statement "Some of the things Aisling Bea does is/are outrageously adorable.".

 

It is "is" or "are"?

 

"Some of the things Aisling Bea does is outrageously adorable.".

"Some of the things Aisling Bea does are outrageously adorable.".

 

Neither sounds right.

 

 

 

I was told that you should use the "countable" rule.  If the some refers to something you can count, then use plural.  If you can't, use singular.

 

Example: Some beer has spilt on the floor.  Some fellas are trying to drink it anyway.

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Just now, Ulysses said:

 

 

I was told that you should use the "countable" rule.  If the some refers to something you can count, then use plural.  If you can't, use singular.

 

Example: Some beer has spilt on the floor.  Some fellas are trying to drink it anyway.

 

Just doesn't sound right, "some of the things she does are".

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41 minutes ago, peter_hmfc said:

 

Just doesn't sound right, "some of the things she does are".

That sounds right to me.

 

What doesn't sound right to me, is using a singular verb when talking about a football team; eg 'Hearts is the biggest team in Edinburgh'.  No matter how much I tell myself it's right, 'are' just seems the more natural thing to say.

 

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1 hour ago, peter_hmfc said:

 

Just doesn't sound right, "some of the things she does are".

 

Some of the things are...

 

Some of the things I've seen are...

 

Some of the things she does are...

 

Fair enough, IMO.

 

 

On the other hand, here's one from the Irish Bar Council's grammar advice to students, pointing out that it is grammatically incorrect to say:

 

1. A number of people were arrested.

2. There are a number of reasons for this.

 

The grammatically correct versions are:

 

1. A number of people was arrested.

2. There is a number of reasons for this.

 

The reason: You are referring to plural people and plural reasons, but the subject of the sentence in each case is "a number", which is singular.

 

Technically I get the logic, but I just don't like it. 

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4 minutes ago, Ulysses said:

 

 

On the other hand, here's one from the Irish Bar Council's grammar advice to students, pointing out that it is grammatically incorrect to say:

 

 

In fairness to the Bar Council, the above grammar advice is actually from King's Inns, which trains and admits people to the Bar.  :whistling:

Edited by Ulysses
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2 hours ago, Ulysses said:

 

Some of the things are...

 

Some of the things I've seen are...

 

Some of the things she does are...

 

Fair enough, IMO.

 

 

On the other hand, here's one from the Irish Bar Council's grammar advice to students, pointing out that it is grammatically incorrect to say:

 

1. A number of people were arrested.

2. There are a number of reasons for this.

 

The grammatically correct versions are:

 

1. A number of people was arrested.

2. There is a number of reasons for this.

 

The reason: You are referring to plural people and plural reasons, but the subject of the sentence in each case is "a number", which is singular.

 

Technically I get the logic, but I just don't like it. 

 

I don't get the logic. ;)

 

With "a number of people", for example, I treat "number of people" as a plural expression. "Ten people", "A few people", "A number of people". All plural.All representing a plural countable concept. The fact that "a number" is singular is by the by - it is "a number of people" that counts, and that is not singular.

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8 minutes ago, redjambo said:

 

I don't get the logic. ;)

 

With "a number of people", for example, I treat "number of people" as a plural expression. "Ten people", "A few people", "A number of people". All plural.All representing a plural countable concept. The fact that "a number" is singular is by the by - it is "a number of people" that counts, and that is not singular.

Not really my sort of discussion but, I agree with you.

 

Just don’t see how it can possibly be ‘a number of people was arrested’. I know that, strictly speaking and, in ‘proper English’ this is correct but, to be frank, it’s not right.

 

 

 

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1 minute ago, Morgan said:

Not really my sort of discussion but, I agree with you.

 

Just don’t see how it can possibly be ‘a number of people was arrested’. I know that, strictly speaking and, in ‘proper English’ this is correct but, to be frank, it’s not right.

 

Great. Will you help me draft a letter to the Irish Bar Council? ;)

 

Merry Christmas by the way, Morgan! I hope that you're having an enjoyable and relaxing festive season.

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4 minutes ago, Morgan said:

Not really my sort of discussion but, I agree with you.

 

Just don’t see how it can possibly be ‘a number of people was arrested’. I know that, strictly speaking and, in ‘proper English’ this is correct but, to be frank, it’s not right.

 

 

 

Who's Frank? 

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Just now, redjambo said:

 

Great. Will you help me draft a letter to the Irish Bar Council? ;)

 

Merry Christmas by the way, Morgan! I hope that you're having an enjoyable and relaxing festive season.

I am indeed, Red. :thumbsup:

 

Hope your Christmas has gone swimmingly also?

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1 minute ago, Morgan said:

I am indeed, Red. :thumbsup:

 

Hope your Christmas has gone swimmingly also?

 

I've actually taken a break from the swimming for a few weeks, but it has still gone pretty well, thanks!

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1 minute ago, redjambo said:

 

I've actually taken a break from the swimming for a few weeks, but it has still gone pretty well, thanks!

Deep.

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On 11/12/2018 at 18:13, Salad Fingers said:

This is quite a recent one I've wondered about. When travelling to work and back on the train in the middle carriage there is a loud bang followed a couple of seconds later by another similar bang. Does anyone know what this is? I know they use detonators on lines at times but this happens quite often. 

 

It’s cause the train has hit a neutral section of the electric overheads 

 

Roughly speaking the first bang is the train leaving one part of the electrical supply and the 2nd bang is it entering a new electrical supply 

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4 hours ago, peter_hmfc said:

Take the statement "Some of the things Aisling Bea does is/are outrageously adorable.".

 

It is "is" or "are"?

 

"Some of the things Aisling Bea does is outrageously adorable.".

"Some of the things Aisling Bea does are outrageously adorable.".

 

Neither sounds right.

 

“Some of the things...” suggests there’s more than one - so are adorable seems correct.  If it was “One of the things...” then is adorable would be correct?

 

Americans are particular about using the singular when talking about staff.  “The staff at the hotel is polite and efficient” - which is correct, I suppose, but sounds weird. (But “the team is playing well” sounds fine)

 

 

Edited by FWJ
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42 minutes ago, theshed said:

 

It’s cause the train has hit a neutral section of the electric overheads 

 

Roughly speaking the first bang is the train leaving one part of the electrical supply and the 2nd bang is it entering a new electrical supply 

 

Brilliant. I even asked the ticket guy the other day. His answer was it was the toilet flushing :laugh:

 

Might strike up a conversation with a stranger tomorrow just to tell them that. 

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3 hours ago, Morgan said:

Not really my sort of discussion but, I agree with you.

 

Just don’t see how it can possibly be ‘a number of people was arrested’. I know that, strictly speaking and, in ‘proper English’ this is correct but, to be frank, it’s not right.

 

 

 

 

I agree as well, and I doubt we'd find a reputable English grammar source anywhere that would disagree. 

 

It just means that you should check your own sources for answers to the "some of" question rather than relying on me. ;)

 

I know people who got around the King's Inns advice by using "several" instead of "a number of" in their essays and exams.  

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6 hours ago, I P Knightley said:

The team was playing well. 

 

The players were playing well. 

The waiters were efficient (correct and sounds fine)

The staff was efficient (correct but sounds wrong)

 

The other thing Americans seem to do better is the use of can and may - “can I open the window?” / “may I open the window?”.  This was beaten into us at school!

Edited by FWJ
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46 minutes ago, jonesy said:

 

I've never seen the 'number of' advice as shown here though.

 

I don't get the logic. The noun phrase constituting the subject is 'a number of people'.

 

 

The only place I've ever seen it is in the King's Inns advice to students.  The reason students duck the issue by avoiding the phrase "a number of" is because the same guide helpfully advises this as a way out of the choice between getting the grammar wrong (in its opinion) and sounding odd.

 

Which of these is correct?

 

None of us were able to understand the rules.

 

None of us was able to understand the rules. 

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I P Knightley
58 minutes ago, Ulysses said:

 

The only place I've ever seen it is in the King's Inns advice to students.  The reason students duck the issue by avoiding the phrase "a number of" is because the same guide helpfully advises this as a way out of the choice between getting the grammar wrong (in its opinion) and sounding odd.

 

Which of these is correct?

 

None of us were able to understand the rules.

 

None of us was able to understand the rules. 

Without a doubt.

 

"None" being an abbreviation of "not one". The logic extends to say that you'd say, "one of us was..." and, therefore, the opposite is, "not one of us was..."

 

These are all things that make me mutter under my breath when commentators and reporters get them wrong on the BBC. WTF do I pay my license fee for? It's certainly not to encourage illiteracy. Harrumph!!

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25 minutes ago, I P Knightley said:

Without a doubt.

 

"None" being an abbreviation of "not one". The logic extends to say that you'd say, "one of us was..." and, therefore, the opposite is, "not one of us was..."

 

These are all things that make me mutter under my breath when commentators and reporters get them wrong on the BBC. WTF do I pay my license fee for? It's certainly not to encourage illiteracy. Harrumph!!

 

:what:

 

Edit: Didn't know that.

 

Digging further it can also be an abbreviation of "not any" making it also plural.

 

Examples I saw -

 

Singular- None of the apple was eaten.

Plural - None of the players were on the bus.

Edited by graygo
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19 hours ago, peter_hmfc said:

Take the statement "Some of the things Aisling Bea does is/are outrageously adorable.".

 

It is "is" or "are"?

 

"Some of the things Aisling Bea does is outrageously adorable.".

"Some of the things Aisling Bea does are outrageously adorable.".

 

Neither sounds right.

 

 

All I know is that Aisling Bea is outrageously adorable

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13 hours ago, Ulysses said:

 

I agree as well, and I doubt we'd find a reputable English grammar source anywhere that would disagree. 

 

It just means that you should check your own sources for answers to the "some of" question rather than relying on me. ;)

 

I know people who got around the King's Inns advice by using "several" instead of "a number of" in their essays and exams.  

Another funny one I heard on the radio this morning. They were discussing a Japanese person on death row being ‘hanged’ yesterday.

Why is it not ‘hung’?

 

They went onto saying that 15 Japanese people have been ‘hanged’ this year.  Why again, is it not ‘hung’?

 

:interehjrling:

 

 

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The way I see it, language is there to enable us to communicate effectively. If the other person understands what you are meaning easily and without confusion, job done. Grammar being incorrect is insignificant. 

 

Although it still boils my piss when I see "should of" etc.... 

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I P Knightley
8 minutes ago, Morgan said:

Another funny one I heard on the radio this morning. They were discussing a Japanese person on death row being ‘hanged’ yesterday.

Why is it not ‘hung’?

 

They went onto saying that 15 Japanese people have been ‘hanged’ this year.  Why again, is it not ‘hung’?

 

:interehjrling:

 

 

Well, in the .... erm... 'information films' I sometimes see, it's very rare to see a Japanese man who's "hung".

 

Probably something to do with that.

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Just now, I P Knightley said:

Well, in the .... erm... 'information films' I sometimes see, it's very rare to see a Japanese man who's "hung".

 

Probably something to do with that.

That’ll be it, IP.

 

Cheers :) 

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1 hour ago, Morgan said:

Another funny one I heard on the radio this morning. They were discussing a Japanese person on death row being ‘hanged’ yesterday.

Why is it not ‘hung’?

 

They went onto saying that 15 Japanese people have been ‘hanged’ this year.  Why again, is it not ‘hung’?

 

:interehjrling:

 

 

It's the legal profession who's to blame for that. In a nutshell, they kept using an old version for the past tense of 'hang', when everyone else started using 'hung'. 

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1 hour ago, Lemongrab said:

It's the legal profession who's to blame for that. In a nutshell, they kept using an old version for the past tense of 'hang', when everyone else started using 'hung'. 

 

As a kid, I learned that paintings (or other objects, naturally) are hung while people are hanged, and still differentiate the two.

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/hung-or-hanged

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Near where I live there is an old pioneer cemetery.  The graves are all from the early 1800s.  Several years ago I wandered in for a look around, as I have a morbid interest in old graveyards.  There was a well-weathered headstone for a young man that had a poem on it:

 

"Behold stranger, as you walk by,

As you are now, so once was I,

As I am now, soon you will be,

....... "

last line unreadable due to weather and erosion.

 

For years I wondered what the last line was, but never bothered to really check it out.  Thanks to the wonders of Google, I found the answer a couple of days ago.

 

"Prepare to die and follow me."

 

Happy New Year, everybody!!!  :winkiss:

 

 

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I P Knightley
3 hours ago, Morgan said:

That’ll be it, IP.

 

Cheers :) 

No problem, Morgan.

 

The answer to many of life's mysteries can be found in those information websites. I like to share my education wherever I can.

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36 minutes ago, I P Knightley said:

No problem, Morgan.

 

The answer to many of life's mysteries can be found in those information websites. I like to share my education wherever I can.

Purely out of interest, do you wear any clothes when you are perusing said websites?

 

Asking for my wife.

Edited by Morgan
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2 hours ago, Lemongrab said:

It's the legal profession who's to blame for that. In a nutshell, they kept using an old version for the past tense of 'hang', when everyone else started using 'hung'. 

Thanks for that, very interesting actually. :thumbsup:

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On 26/12/2018 at 19:44, Ulysses said:

 

Some of the things are...

 

Some of the things I've seen are...

 

Some of the things she does are...

 

Fair enough, IMO.

 

 

On the other hand, here's one from the Irish Bar Council's grammar advice to students, pointing out that it is grammatically incorrect to say:

 

1. A number of people were arrested.

2. There are a number of reasons for this.

 

The grammatically correct versions are:

 

1. A number of people was arrested.

2. There is a number of reasons for this.

 

The reason: You are referring to plural people and plural reasons, but the subject of the sentence in each case is "a number", which is singular.

 

Technically I get the logic, but I just don't like it. 

I don't understand the reason for switching the 'were' to 'was'. Aren't those referring to the past tense and not the plural or not argument?

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A Boy Named Crow
On 27/12/2018 at 05:32, theshed said:

 

It’s cause the train has hit a neutral section of the electric overheads 

 

Roughly speaking the first bang is the train leaving one part of the electrical supply and the 2nd bang is it entering a new electrical supply 

Similar, train related, question. I’ve noticed on some electric trains (particularly the older ones, like those that used to do the Hamilton loop out of Glasgow Central) there’s often a loud, rumbling buzzing noise, accompanied by a lot of vibration when they are at the station. Why is that?

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21 minutes ago, indianajones said:

Not always but wondered about it recently. 

 

Why are some usernames yellow now? 

 

Gold.

 

It's temporary.

 

They were winners in the JKB Christmas Cracker event. :thumb:

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2 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

Gold.

 

It's temporary.

 

They were winners in the JKB Christmas Cracker event. :thumb:

 

Makes sense! Cheers Maple. 

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I P Knightley
20 hours ago, Morgan said:

Purely out of interest, do you wear any clothes when you are perusing said websites?

 

Asking for my wife.

Nobody wants his wife imagining me in the buff.

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27 minutes ago, Bozi said:

I recently discovered that we are still in an ice age 

 

10,000 years ago the area that is now Southern Ontario, including Toronto, was under one mile of ice.

 

Although the ice has long since gone, the land is still slowly rising now that the weight has been removed.

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2 minutes ago, I P Knightley said:

Nobody wants his wife imagining me in the buff.

:lol: 

 

You modest devil.  

 

She’ll take that as a ‘no’ then.

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