The really random question, (and answers) thread.

Wikipedia:

The Portuguese original word marmelada means made of ‘quince’.

Unlike jam, a large quantity of water is added to the fruit in a marmalade, the extra liquid being set by the high pectin content of the fruit. In this respect it is like a jelly, but whereas the fruit pulp and peel are strained out of jelly to give it its characteristic clarity, it is retained in a marmalade.

What even is a quince?

Looks like a fat yellow pear, tastes (I understand, never tried) very sour like a crabapple.

Yeah, I just looked it up (Wikipedia again).  I can’t say as it sounds appetising, even with mince and a runcible spoon.

I can’t say as it sounds appetising, even with mince and a runcible spoon.

That’s cos you’re not an owl or a pus…. wait a minute.

🐈

Can my dog understand a French dog, or do they bark in a different language?

Yes. Animals from different places do sound different (there is research showing the birds and cows have ‘accents’) but a lot of the dog’s communication is non-verbal, scents and body language. Similar to how humans can communicate with someone from elsewhere by facial expression and gesture I guess, and probably how we did it before language. A dog’s communication doesn’t respect national boundaries like a human’s does.

You can understand if a British dog is happy, sad, pleased, angry, whatever and you can tell the same for a a French one. Other dogs will be getting a lot of nuance we aren’t picking up of course.

That’s cos you’re not an owl or a pus…. wait a minute.

🤣🤣🤣

Well played.

Why might an Aussie magpie peck you on the head but an English one is better behaved?

Why is a ‘spurtle’ a stick and not a spoon shape?

It’s so much easier to stir one’s porridge with a small wooden spoon. Spurtle is a lovely word.

Why might an Aussie magpie peck you on the head but an English one is better behaved?

Everything in Australia is trying to kill you all the time.
English animals can still be bastards but at least they mostly respect the class system.

Why it is called spork? Why isn’t is Foon?

Also some sporks have a serrated knife element to them, why aren’t they spoonknifefork or spoknork or forknifoon?

A foon is a different utensil.  A spork is more spoony whilst a foon is more forky.  It’s a bit like yellow-green vs green-yellow in Crayola crayons.

I got some fish out of the freezer last night with a view to eating it tonight.

This has not happened, it’ll be alright tomorrow night won’t it?

What kind of medicine do they put in medicine balls?

Does your brain record noise whilst you are asleep. Then wake you up and Replay the noise so you can hear it and decide if it’s something important?

I got some fish out of the freezer last night with a view to eating it tonight.

This has not happened, it’ll be alright tomorrow night won’t it?

It’ll be fine IMHO, especially if defrosted and left in the fridge. Smell and visual check will confirm.

Those moles that dig out on the edge/verge of busy A roads.

Never seen a dead one,so I wonder if they sense danger and reverse at speed.

When Julius Caesar (he of the rather calorific salads) crossed the Rubicon river did he go, “shit lads, we’ve only gone and crossed the Rubicon now!” ??

Why are most motorway junctions signposted at 1 mile, then ½ mile, but near Bristol as you approach the M32 on M4 westbound, it’s signposted at 2/3 mile?

Why are most motorway junctions signposted at 1 mile, then ½ mile, but near Bristol as you approach the M32 on M4 westbound, it’s signposted at 2/3 mile?

Because it’s twinned with the Bannockburn M9 junction which is marked in 1, 1/2 and 1/3 of a mile…

Exactly how fast is ‘the speed of 1000 gazelles’?

Why it is called spork? Why isn’t is Foon?

A spork is the tines of a fork and the bowl of the spoon combined. A foon is just the handle and of a of a fork  combined with and the handle of a spoon. Not very useful really, unless you have two, then you can use them as chopsticks.

Why do we call all shapes of eating irons ‘cutlery’ when only knives cut. Should’t the the forks and spoons be called ‘stablery’ and ‘scooplery’?

Why do we call all shapes of eating irons ‘cutlery’ when only knives cut.

Because we originally only used knives, and they were made by a culter.  The stuff culters made was called cutlery.  When forks became popular, the same people started making them so it was still cutlery. In America they don’t call it that, just silverware – even if it’s plastic or wooden.

Why do we call all shapes of eating irons ‘cutlery’ when only knives cut.

This is why ‘diggers’ works so much better.

How long will it be before AI develops a translation device so we can understand and talk to animals?

I’ve given AI art generators quite simple instructions to which they’ve achieved nothing but catastrophic failure so I won’t be trusting them to reliably aid our communication with animals.

It would be a game of chinese whispers between us, AI, and animals. What could possibly go wrong?

I had a spork made from a particular metal. It was sold as a typhoon.

Does your brain record noise whilst you are asleep. Then wake you up and Replay the noise so you can hear it and decide if it’s something important?

No my brain is neither a sound recorder nor audio player.

I got some fish out of the freezer last night with a view to eating it tonight.

This has not happened, it’ll be alright tomorrow night won’t it?

No, it’ll still be dead.

relapsed_mandalorian

Exactly how fast is ‘the speed of 1000 gazelles’

as fast as the slowest gazelke

why is a phone keypad different layout to a calculator?

What’s another name for a Thesaurus?

What’s another name for a Thesaurus?

LMGTFY. Okay the answer is:
Wordfinder, synonym finder.

Peak usage of the term Wordfinder was between 1980 and 2000.

What’s another name for a Thesaurus??

It’s very disappointing, they got so lazy at naming dinosaurs that they just went with that.

The ‘is Dekard a replicant’ quandary I always chose to be unanswered, neither yes nor no. Blade Runner 2049 gives a fairly definitive answer though, no?

In the old Yellow Pages advert, why didn’t J.R. Hartley have a copy of his own book?

If you have an accident on a solo ride and need an ambulance, what happens to your bike?

If you have an accident on a solo ride and need an ambulance, what happens to your bike?

My brother has found this out. Twice. On two continents.

The answer is that really helpful council workers nearby look after your bike and return it to you a few days later.

Australian Magpies (Artamids) are totally different family of birds to European Magpies (Corvids), although they are both black and white and a simliar size.

If you have an accident on a solo ride and need an ambulance, what happens to your bike?

The crew from the ambulance station took it back to their base from where I collected its twisted form a few days later. Which was very nice of them.

I still think they were a bit quick to cut through the strap of my camelback rather than just undo the buckle though!

When councils replace playgrounds, how do they dispose of the old equipment? Does the installation contractor just bin it all?

Peak usage of the term Wordfinder was between 1980 and 2000.

The junior wordfinders are all pretty easygoing but the Wordfinder General isn’t to be messed with…

Why is there a d in fridge but not in refrigerator?