The Serious Question Thread

I thought that it was because it's population represented that of a city more than a town :s

I can't be that difficult to put a new sign up :rolleyes:

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=...&scene=7692512
(move right a bit ;) )

Can't get the link to work (my computer's fault, link's probably fine) but from what I remember Preston's the Uks newest city. Perhaps the sign is on order .... it took our new town signs a year to turn up :(

Then they went rusty :p :

Is this rollcoaster still the biggest in Europe ?

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=...&scene=7590968
(say if you can't get the link to work)

neither if those links work for me, come up with some kind of search engine instead...

Balls!!!! :mad:

It works for me :s

If you were wondering what the links are, it was a 3D map of Preston around the town hall, and the other was a 3D map of Blackpool pleasure beach showing the Big One :)

Worked for me!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LotusElise

I don't mind the alternative vowel sounds really, but there are a couple of Americanisms that do do my head in. The one I'm thinking of now is aloominum for aluminium. There's almost a whole syllable missed out.

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Aluminum is the original spelling.


http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/aluminum

Yup, English (American, Canadian, Aussie, etc) is strange. Why just this arvo I was trying to explain all this to a friend of German descent - words like rough and through and dough for example. After a while he just looked at me and said...

"I'm thruff, I've had enoo" and went to the icebox for another lager.

And of course, his Vauxhall has tyres, whereas my Chevy has tires; his motor is under his bonnet and my engine is under the hood. Mind, he has a hood too, because his car is a drophead coupé; but on my convertible, I just put the top down - it folds into a compartment in front of the trunk. His goes in the boot. But a friend of ours drives a 'coop'! :) ... except at work where he drives a truck - a trailer truck, no less (a 'semi' - {sem-eye} - for short). Or is that an articulated lorry? At least it's not a garbage truck ... sorry refuse lorry ... ah.... rubbish...... ;)

And whether it's 'zebbra' or 'zeebra', why the hell is a marimba with wood blocks a xylophone - although I have heard people call it an eggs - eye - low - phone. As someone above said... I have no idee-er!!

Cheerio, tata and all that rot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LotusElise

The one I'm thinking of now is aloominum for aluminium. There's almost a whole syllable missed out.

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I hate that one too :s and "nooculer" for nuclear. It can't really be that hard!!!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by harvick#1

so here a couple,
why do they call it a TV set when you only get one?

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Because like a cutlery set or tea set, it's made of several components. Although you can buy them seperately if you really want to, you'd probably look a right dill for doing so.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by harvick#1

why do we call them apartments when they are all stuck together?

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Look at the word silly billy! Apartment: to separate, set apart; all from Latin ad + pars, partis, part etc. Each apartment is a room in a building or a division in a house, separated from others by distinct partitions. They are apart from each other. Otherwise they'd be merely rooms.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by harvick#1

why do we call tehm buildings when we have already done building them?

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The word Building has two uses; one is a verb the other is a noun. Think about this another way by means of this exercise:
Please explain what the verb catting means?