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Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

General socialising and light-hearted discussions take place in here.
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jaywhat
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Joined: July 5th, 2007, 5:53 pm

Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#1 Post by jaywhat » January 30th, 2012, 10:44 am

My idea here is for people to share things they have looked up - fairly ordinary things they were not sure of or wanted to know a bit more about.

I just looked up ‘stable door’ on wikipedia and after fighting my way through adverts of where to buy them I discovered very little on the history front, although I had my own educated guesswork to rely on. My question is: ‘Why do people have stable doors?’
Yes, they are a gimmick, but they are useful for keeping animals out and children in and letting in fresh air and are obviously good in stables. They are (or were) used on the railways for various reasons.
‘Stable door’ is British English, ‘Dutch door’ is American English and ‘half door’ is Hiberno English. Apparently they were common in the Netherlands and, of course, appear in Dutch paintings of the 17th Century.

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Dave B
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#2 Post by Dave B » January 30th, 2012, 11:00 am

I am in favour of anything that keeps children and animals contained and under control!

Were there no uses quoted, like: close the stable door; any measure taken too late, as in "close the stable door after the horse has bolted."?
"Look forward; yesterday was a lesson, if you did not learn from it you wasted it."
Me, 2015

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Val
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#3 Post by Val » January 30th, 2012, 10:37 pm

We had a stable door on our back door in Leeds. It was lockable and therefore one could have the top half open yet feel protected from intruders childlike or animal. I like the idea of sharing bits of odd info. wonder what will be next. Could we re-name it 'not many people know that'.

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Alan H
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#4 Post by Alan H » January 30th, 2012, 11:19 pm

I discovered yesterday that the man who was the voice on the American Top 40 shows in the 70s and 80s, Casey Kasem, was also the voice of Shaggy in Scooby-doo!

I was listening to a repeat of a chart show from the late 70s that was broadcast on Smooth 70s Radio yesterday.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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animist
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#5 Post by animist » February 1st, 2012, 5:58 pm

I see that Wikipedia demoted Fred the Shred Goodwin by removing his "Sir" designation within half-an-hour of the official notification!

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Alan H
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#6 Post by Alan H » February 1st, 2012, 6:05 pm

animist wrote:I see that Wikipedia demoted Fred the Shred Goodwin by removing his "Sir" designation within half-an-hour of the official notification!
There were some edits on Wikipedia that were quickly removed: one saying he had been stripped of his title because he was useless at jousting and the other that it was because he couldn't pronounce the word 'scone' properly! Check the edit history page if you don't believe me!
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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Val
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#7 Post by Val » February 1st, 2012, 9:57 pm

It is only two weeks ago that we had a long discussion about the pronunciation of scone. I will probably never be made Dame Val as a result.

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Alan C.
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#8 Post by Alan C. » February 1st, 2012, 10:29 pm

Val
It is only two weeks ago that we had a long discussion about the pronunciation of scone. I will probably never be made Dame Val as a result.
Val as a Northern Englander, you probably know as well as I do that the "e" is silent and a scon is a scon. :)
Abstinence Makes the Church Grow Fondlers.

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jaywhat
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#9 Post by jaywhat » February 2nd, 2012, 6:39 am

I would say that the pronunciation of 'scone' is quite simply either of the choices and does not totally depend on where you are or where you come from. Like many thousands of other words it is variable and not life threatening unless you cannot get the clotted cream.

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Ninny
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#10 Post by Ninny » February 2nd, 2012, 8:32 am

Oh, Val! You were talking to the Queen about scones?
:notworthy:

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Dave B
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#11 Post by Dave B » February 2nd, 2012, 9:26 am

Alan C. wrote:
Val
It is only two weeks ago that we had a long discussion about the pronunciation of scone. I will probably never be made Dame Val as a result.
Val as a Northern Englander, you probably know as well as I do that the "e" is silent and a scon is a scon. :)
In that case I am surprised there is not a "scun" variation (after the "silent e" in "done")!

Doncha just luv ower (as in "shower") langwidge?
"Look forward; yesterday was a lesson, if you did not learn from it you wasted it."
Me, 2015

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Alan H
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#12 Post by Alan H » February 2nd, 2012, 10:33 am

jaywhat wrote:I would say that the pronunciation of 'scone' is quite simply either of the choices and does not totally depend on where you are or where you come from.
It does matter if you come from here. :D
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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Val
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Joined: October 6th, 2007, 10:56 pm

Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#13 Post by Val » February 2nd, 2012, 2:04 pm

The Scottish castle is Scoon is it not?

Nina I was not discussing scones with her mag but she offered me one during our conversation about the legitimacy of the monarchy

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Alan H
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#14 Post by Alan H » February 2nd, 2012, 2:28 pm

Val wrote:The Scottish castle is Scoon is it not?
No, but I believe there's a palace that goes by that name... [/pedant]
Nina I was not discussing scones with her mag but she offered me one during our conversation about the legitimacy of the monarchy
Aye, laced with cyanide... :wink:
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

Marian
Posts: 3985
Joined: August 23rd, 2009, 2:25 pm

Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#15 Post by Marian » February 3rd, 2012, 3:46 pm

Over here, if you say scon (the 'proper' way, imho), people look at you funny. If you say scoone (long o's), they seem to get it. Which way is right? Is it tomaato or tomayto?

Here's what wiki says:
The pronunciation of the word within the United Kingdom varies. According to one academic study, two-thirds of the British population pronounce it /ˈskɒn/, rhyming with "con" and "John", with the preference rising to 99% in the Scottish population. This is also the pronunciation of both Australians and Canadians. Other regions, particularly the United States, pronounce the word as /ˈskoʊn/, rhyming with "cone" and "Joan". British dictionaries usually show the "con" form as the preferred pronunciation, while recognizing that the "cone" form also exists.[1]

It's no more clear than when we started :)
Transformative fire...

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jaywhat
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#16 Post by jaywhat » February 3rd, 2012, 4:19 pm

I grew up in Hertfordshire saying scone as in Joan. What is more, my paternal grandma, from Leicester used to make the most brilliant scones although some of the family were put off them when someone reported seeing her constantly dripping nose constantly dripping as she mixed the mixture.

Marian
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Joined: August 23rd, 2009, 2:25 pm

Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#17 Post by Marian » February 4th, 2012, 12:09 am

jaywhat wrote:I grew up in Hertfordshire saying scone as in Joan. What is more, my paternal grandma, from Leicester used to make the most brilliant scones although some of the family were put off them when someone reported seeing her constantly dripping nose constantly dripping as she mixed the mixture.
Lol! Ewww...
Transformative fire...

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Val
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#18 Post by Val » February 4th, 2012, 9:19 pm

I like making pastry because it gets your fingernails lovely and clean.

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Alan C.
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Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#19 Post by Alan C. » February 4th, 2012, 9:51 pm

Val wrote:I like making pastry because it gets your fingernails lovely and clean.
My hands are too warm to make good pastry so I use the Kenwood chef.
Bread dough though; I always make by hand (but only after scrubbing my nails) :D

I fear we're straying off topic so I'll shut up now.
Abstinence Makes the Church Grow Fondlers.

Marian
Posts: 3985
Joined: August 23rd, 2009, 2:25 pm

Re: Encyclopedia, wikipedia and so on.

#20 Post by Marian » February 4th, 2012, 10:14 pm

Val wrote:I like making pastry because it gets your fingernails lovely and clean.
:laughter: :laughter: Especially after mucking about in the garden, eh?
Transformative fire...

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