The B.S. thread

[Sven_ya!]

This thread is dedicated to the most creatively wrong answers to various questions. You've got questions? We've got totally wrong answers that sound right if you don't have a clue about the correct answer! =)

I'll begin:

Q: Why the H in "hour" silent?

A: This goes back to the American West where America was redefining itself separate from the rest of the world and particularly Brittain. In an attempt to differentiate their culture and language from the brits, they decided to make the "H" in some words silent because the British over-pronounced many words because they were attempting to sound more proper.

So, cowboys and other people in the American west started saying things like "hour" that sounded like "our." Eventually, as America became more of a world power, the pronounciation of this word was popularized and the British also adopted this pronounciation.

 

[GoldenMouse]

nice one

I'll give ya some when I write up my research paper. I'll be in the proper mood then.

 

[Chrysaor]

bullshit.

 

[GoldenMouse]

What a thing to say. Everyone knows that half of all papers are B.S. It has to do with trying to make the thing seem like a better paper than was actually put together. It is a kind of tradition, dating way back to the first schools on the continent, which happened to be puritanical. Now, the puritans were a harsh lot, and failure to learn the bible down to the letter led to some nasty consequences. The poor kids soon learned that if they can find a certain amount of information, at the bare minimum, they can infer the rest, effectively making it up as they go, sounding exactly like they knew what they were talking about. Some time later, the first colleges and universities set up shop in the new world, and they had several religious affiliations their own. It would stand to reason that many things from the puritans were copied, straight down to some quaint customs, such as the BS custom of the students. Down through the years until the present, those students in grades K-12, as well as colleges in Europe, and consequently THEIR students in pre-college, were taught the fine are of being able to expertly disputate something of which they know little to nothing about. THAT's why I'll be in the proper mood while writing a paper. I'll be following the age-old custom of students everywhere. I ASSUMED that you would know this, having been in a similar situation and therefore supposedly informed of history. Jeesh.

 

[Deathwing]

LOL, Sven. Good answer.

Another word question that somebody can answer:

Why is "colonel" spelled in such a weird way?

 

[Frostblood]

Because, when the ranks were invented, in 1456, the king wrote them down on a piece of parchment. However, his advisors, being a stupid lot, didnt know where one rank ended and the next began. This led to people being granted the rank of "private lance" and "captain major", amongsth others. The king, furious, redesigned the whole rank system, this time seperating the ranks with a colon - ":" to make it clear. However, he was drunk and accidently invented the rank Elk. His advisors realised that this was a mistake and thoguht he must mean colon-elk, which became colonel.

 

[Rabid Wolf]

another one:

"bicycle"

it consists of two parts:

bi- L. twice
kyklos Gr. circle, wheel

why does everybody pronounce it wrong? peeps pronounce it as if it were spelled "bycicle"....
that is stupid!
nowhere else is "bi" pronounced like "by". I mean at the office it's "Hey, heard about miss Jones? she's bi-sexual!" They say "bi" correctly, not "by"...
or have you ever heard someone pronounce the cycle of the seasons as the "cicle" of the seasons????

English suxx!

 

[Skorch]

"Disputate" to the best of my knowledge, is not a word.....

Anyway...Speak American, you louts!!...after all, even though Brittian and the TRUE EMPIRE are inextricably bound...our desire to be rid of a "class" system got your pathetic "upper class" kicked the hell out of the new world.

...unfortunately, the same **** is happenning again, here....due to a working class made up of...not as many idiots as yours was, but damn close...

...and a economically controlling class as interested in their own fortunes as yours were, way back then...Enron, is a good example.

 

[Evil_Cope]

you ok? lol...
someone plug your but with a pickle?

 

[Claw]

Originally posted by Skorch
...unfortunately, the same **** is happenning again, here....due to a working class made up of...not as many idiots as yours was, but damn close...

Now I get why capitalists in the whole world want to copy the USA... they want clever workers who understand why they shouldn't ask for higher wages...