Category Archives: humanities

twisted

This strange map recently appeared in Powell BART station: Forward is to the left because that’s the way the train goes, as seen by a passenger facing the map. What’s strange about it is that the minor branchings are true … Continue reading

Posted in California, geography | Leave a comment

divided by two common languages

Me: “Hamachi sashimi.” Cashier: “It depends on what kind of fish, sir.”

Posted in food, language | Leave a comment

lines on paper

Jonny Crossbones is an adventure in the style of Tintin. Strange Maps is a new blog of obscure and hypothetical geography. Linked from a comment there is a Regional Map of North America’s Place-Based Food Traditions, showing Maple Syrup Nation, … Continue reading

Posted in cartoons, geography | Leave a comment

spam title of the week

nun isn’t weatherproof

Posted in language, spam | Leave a comment

one, um . . .

Number Systems of the World: lists of number-words from 0 to 100, ranked, somewhat arbitrarily, by “complexity”. (Cited by LanguageHat.) To me the most remarkable is Alamblak (#7) whose number-words are all compounded from the words for 1, 2, 5 … Continue reading

Posted in language | Leave a comment

from where I sit

On Wikipedia, a quarrel over this sentence: Most members of libertarian parties support low taxes and a balanced budget because they believe citizens should keep most of the money they earn, while logically consistent libertarians, including anarcho-capitalists, refuse all methods … Continue reading

Posted in constitution, ethics | 5 Comments

the global village

David Morgan-Mar points out that, thanks to modern technology, one needn’t be born in London to claim Cockney status.

Posted in humanities | Leave a comment