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DID YOU KNOW???


Guest Squirrel

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Guest Squirrel

Is this topic working out the way you had hoped Van?

I'm finding it very informative. Not necessarily 'High Brow',.. But informative all the same.

Think of it as chicken soup for the soul...
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Guest Squirrel

Did you know that once every 4,568,033.5 years Yahoo! News actually posts something that is important and interesting to us?

I think the Vodka consumption rate in the US is overstated. I think most of it --at least the decent stuff -- is going to my Florida friend!

(Myself, I prefer fine Scotch, though I cannot afford it--the economy here in Frostbite Falls still sucks--and my squirrel friends who drank Vodka and smoked cigars had a nasty tendency to detonate and pop, messing up the nest, and pissing off my now ex-wife. Vodka is an art form designed for people who have afterburners attached.)

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Speaking of the Military, I wonder what became of our buddy Nick? Long time no hear from.

And Squirrel....Keep hauling that vodka this way. I'm stocking up for Kitten when she comes for a visit. Though I'm sure if that happens, I too, will have an ex-wife.

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Could be Woody. I have The Everglades 30 miles west of me. It has multiple areas that are called sloughs. Call them a slew and the rednecks will have your ass roasting on an open fire.

And why the words for kitten? I fail to see the point. Or, after a long week, I'm just a little on the braindead side.

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Guest Squirrel

This subject is perfect for "Did You Know?"

English became widespread throughout the world thanks to the Royal Navy's cannons & English commercial sailing ships; English is very amiable when it comes to adopting pronunciation patterns of its occupied territories; and pronunciation was not standardized until the advent of voice radio.

Nearly all English speakers can understand Oxford English, since this has become the standard, promulgated by the advent of radio communications and the BBC. However, most dialects of English can't be understood even by English speakers who speak a different dialect.

For example: Americans think they can understand a Scot or someone with a Cockney accent. We can't. We only understand the dialects when they are faked in movies. The real thing is incomprehensible to us. Likewise, a bloke from Yorkshire will have trouble communicating with swamp creatures from the Everglades, and he'll be helpless if cornered by Cajuns in Louisiana. Hell, I can't even understand half the kids coming out of American public schools, because I'm bad at Ebonics and my Mexican Spanish is rusty.

This phenomenon, when not caused by the invasion of a foreign language, is called "vowel shift," and it happens to all languages. It is exaggerated in English because of the expansive nature of the British Empire, but you will also notice it in RLC and CC when our Spanish speakers pick out the fact that Alma is from Honduras; Stephen speaks Castillian; and others might be native to Barcelona and therefore speak Catalan.

So, did you know, that in Elizabethan times, the ruling classes pronounced their words in a way that more closely resembles the speech of New Englanders, like JFK? That Cuba would end with an "er" sound. Betcha didn't know that.

Did you know, that Americans say "yeah" while Brits say "yes," because the most productive colony in North America was called New Netherland, and it was owned by the Dutch, who retained massive influence even after the Brits took it by force? I love Dutch women. Especially when they look like Leora.

And, did ya know, that the word "quim" as used in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales means "pussy". Shure ya did.

OK, Squirrel's done. I think I'll try another shot of TBG's favorite vodka...

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