what I have learned today.

[T42]

I thought I knew things, when it came to Weather.

Then I saw scenes from Iowa recently, and I learnt the word Derecho. Never heard of it before. Looks fucking terrifying.

Fucking hell! Looks like something done with implausible CGI in a disaster movie.

The Americans do proper weather, especially in the middle and south bits. Mostly they build trailer parks and wooden houses to tempt them.

The Ile d'Oléron had a stab at Real Weather™ yesterday:  https://youtu.be/XSWgz3rq6Go

A rather peely-wally effort, though.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The world 'allocution'.

[Mr Larrington]

That the French word for a BIIINNN – poubelle – comes from Eugène-René Poubelle, who as Préfet of the département of Seine decreed that all property owners must provide BIIINNNSSS for the residents thereof.

And also that Mike Batt and Neville Southall used to be binmen.

[Kim]

Not today, but on a recent ride I learned that if you go too far east of Carventry, the bins have sportsballs on them.

[citoyen]

The world 'allocution'.

My new word of the day is ‘emunctory’.

[T42]

The world 'allocution'.

My new word of the day is ‘emunctory’.

You're one-up on Chambers, then. Me too, come to that.  Did you look up the etymology?  Ultimately from mungere, meaning to milk.

All together now, one two three puke!

[citoyen]

Did you look up the etymology?  Ultimately from mungere, meaning to milk.

Yes, it's a properly interesting word. The version I saw suggested it's from the Latin meaning to blow your nose, but I suppose you can see how that might in turn be derived from the word meaning to milk.

It was used in a piece written by a non-native English speaker (French) so I wonder if it's been translated literally from something in French that sounds similar. Can't think what that would be though.

Sort of word I might imagine coming across in Fielding or Swift.

[T42]

Did you look up the etymology?  Ultimately from mungere, meaning to milk.

Yes, it's a properly interesting word. The version I saw suggested it's from the Latin meaning to blow your nose, but I suppose you can see how that might in turn be derived from the word meaning to milk.

It was used in a piece written by a non-native English speaker (French) so I wonder if it's been translated literally from something in French that sounds similar. Can't think what that would be though.

Sort of word I might imagine coming across in Fielding or Swift.

Yes, I went via ex mungere and looked up mungere on its own.  I just looked up emunctory in French, too: émonctoire, with the same meaning as in English.  I've never run across it and more to the point neither has MrsT, who was a medical translator for years.

I can imagine Rabelais using it with glee.

[citoyen]

I just looked up emunctory in French, too: émonctoire, with the same meaning as in English.

There you go, exactly as I thought! If you're interested, the context is a product description for a supplement to support the function of the 'emunctory organs' (kidneys, liver) - an area of healthcare for which I know the French have a special fondness (crise de foie being a favourite ailment).

I can imagine Rabelais using it with glee.

Oh yes, definitely!

[T42]

I just looked up emunctory in French, too: émonctoire, with the same meaning as in English.

There you go, exactly as I thought! If you're interested, the context is a product description for a supplement to support the function of the 'emunctory organs' (kidneys, liver) - an area of healthcare for which I know the French have a special fondness (crise de foie being a favourite ailment).

Oh, it is in England too, only it's known as "God, how many pints did I have last night?"  The French, rather more analytical, localized the seat of the problem long ago, although their approach to causes is less laudable. "Si on boit une bouteille de whiskey et on mange un carré de chocolat on aura une crise de foie. Je crois que c'est le chocolat."

It has amused me for years that ailment is a trivial anagram of aliment. 

[L CC]

That the French word for a BIIINNN – poubelle – comes from Eugène-René Poubelle, who as Préfet of the département of Seine decreed that all property owners must provide BIIINNNSSS for the residents thereof.

And also that Mike Batt and Neville Southall used to be binmen.

Mon père est une poubelle de table.
It is one of the (many) delights of the Semaine Federale that garnered us this info. Well, obviously we knew it as true before then, but that nos frères francaises had a perfect phrase for it was the highpoint of that week.

[citoyen]

Oh, it is in England too, only it's known as "God, how many pints did I have last night?"  The French, rather more analytical, localized the seat of the problem long ago, although their approach to causes is less laudable. "Si on boit une bouteille de whiskey et on mange un carré de chocolat on aura une crise de foie. Je crois que c'est le chocolat."

It has amused me for years that ailment is a trivial anagram of aliment.

I have long assumed that crise de foie was an existentialist pun on crise de foi, but I may be overthinking it.

[fimm]

Thing I learned a couple of weeks ago - a professional TT bike is heavier than a pro road bike. This make sense once explained. Our TT bike is the lightest bike I've ever ridden therefore I had assumed that TT bikes are always lighter then road bikes!

[Peter]

Oh, it is in England too, only it's known as "God, how many pints did I have last night?"  The French, rather more analytical, localized the seat of the problem long ago, although their approach to causes is less laudable. "Si on boit une bouteille de whiskey et on mange un carré de chocolat on aura une crise de foie. Je crois que c'est le chocolat."

It has amused me for years that ailment is a trivial anagram of aliment.

I have long assumed that crise de foie was an existentialist pun on crise de foi, but I may be overthinking it.

Some things work better on paper, n'est-ce pas?!

[T42]

I just looked up emunctory in French, too: émonctoire, with the same meaning as in English.

There you go, exactly as I thought! If you're interested, the context is a product description for a supplement to support the function of the 'emunctory organs' (kidneys, liver) - an area of healthcare for which I know the French have a special fondness (crise de foie being a favourite ailment).

I can imagine Rabelais using it with glee.

Oh yes, definitely!

Just now I had a thought (it happens), viz that the other derivatives of mungere should also exist in English; so I looked up emunction and found that it means blowing one's nose.  So a bad cold might be called extreme emunction.  Isn't that delightful?

[T42]

That the French word for a BIIINNN – poubelle – comes from Eugène-René Poubelle, who as Préfet of the département of Seine decreed that all property owners must provide BIIINNNSSS for the residents thereof.

And also that Mike Batt and Neville Southall used to be binmen.

Mon père est une poubelle de table.
It is one of the (many) delights of the Semaine Federale that garnered us this info. Well, obviously we knew it as true before then, but that nos frères francaises had a perfect phrase for it was the highpoint of that week.

The word is also slang for car - c'est ça, ta poubelle?

[Mr Larrington]

After the Iran-Contra business, Oliver North's secretary Fawn “Shredder” Hall married Danny Sugerman, the former manager of The Doors.

[Cudzoziemiec]

That when the very first Nobel for literature was awarded to Sully Prudhomme rather than Tolstoy, against public expectations, members of the committee wrote to the old man apologising for this. He replied that he was glad, because doubtless the prize money would have encouraged him to do something stupid.

And that in 1968 the Polish secret police were pressing through a contact in the committee for the prize to go to Polish poet Zbigniew Herbert. They seem to have been worried it would be won by another Polish writer, playwright Witold Gombrowicz, who was politically out of favour. In the end it was awarded to Yasunari Kawabate from Japan.

[geraldc]

In 1988 the UK lost the Eurovision song contest by 1 point. The song was called Go, and was written by Bruce Forsyth's daughter. The winners were Switzerland, who were represented by a Canadian. The Canadian was Celine Dion. Why do I have no recollection of this?

[Legs]

Rather sadly, I knew all that...

[Cudzoziemiec]

Remember the SheWee? Turns out to be not so recent. Gunter Grass mentions a very similar device in The Flounder. 1977. Back then it cost DM19.80 and fastened by a suction cup. (I expect it's centuries old.)

[Kim]

Remember the SheWee? Turns out to be not so recent. Gunter Grass mentions a very similar device in The Flounder. 1977. Back then it cost DM19.80 and fastened by a suction cup.

*raises eyebrow*

[Cudzoziemiec]

The novel is heavily historical but completely fictionalized, including the many identifiable historical figures, so I wouldn't place too much stress on the actuality, let alone practicality, of the details.

[geraldc]

St Moritz, the ski resort in Switzerland. Turns out St Moritz was a Roman soldier from the border of Sudan/Egypt who got martyred while refusing to persecute Christians in the area. Whitest part of Europe, named after a black guy.

[rogerzilla]

That one of the more famous examples of apophenia, Pink Floyd's "Echoes" as a soundtrack to the "Jupiter and Beyond The Infinite" act from "2001 - A Space Odyssey" is pleasant enough but there's no real synchronicity.  Same length* and the mood of the song vaguely matches some scenes, but no "wow" moments.

Try it: https://youtu.be/rn7MmS3vazU

*not on a R2 DVD, which is always 4% too fast