Tuesday, 22 April 2008

Points of Interest 22. April, 2008

I got some serious issues with Firefox but now I'm back and here's the news. I kicked many blogs out of my blogroll because they were inactive (at least 1 month) or they posted nothing relevant to my interest (at least 5 posts). I'll keep this nice and clean.


Two Dots Too Many

Funny story about a Turkish guy who wrote a text message which was actually saying "Anyhow, whenever you can’t answer an argument, you change the subject." but was interpreted by his wife as "Anyhow, whenever they are fucking you, you change the subject."
The problematic word is "sıkışınca" (here: to be unable to answer an argument) versus "sikişınce" (here: to fuck). Language Log explains how this misunderstanding could occur. The funny side of the coin is that the guy was stabbed by his wife, father and her two sisters. Fortunately, he could stab his wife too; she died afterwards. It's so stereotypical for Turkish people. I'm not surprised at all about the outcome.


How to build a Babelfish

The title says it all. Which linguistic circumstances would it be necessary in order to construct and to use the Babelfish as described in The Hitchiker's Guide to Galaxy? Btw, nice drawing included.


Prefecture Brand Power

Which Japanese Prefecture has the highest recognizability and uniqueness?


How can chromosome numbers change over time?


Vitamin D deficiency makes you dumb?


Why scientists should do drugs (if they choose)

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