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Post by Etaoin Shrdlu on Jun 25, 2024 17:41:43 GMT
I was so astounded by this that I immediately asked three Irishmen if they knew about it. Two said 'of course', the third hadn't heard of it.
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Post by terentiusfaber on Jun 25, 2024 18:41:17 GMT
I'd take a guess, that the cycles of Irish mythology are mostly passed on in primary schools to the population. Lady Gregory's retellings in English are probably the most common versions that people are acquainted with - or at least that age-appropriate versions are based upon. The Gaelic viva voce recitals are as much part of the inheritance of the Scottish Gaels as the Irish, but outside of Gaeldom, but I'd say you'd go far before you'd find a modern Scot who has a scooby about that stuff.
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Post by Etaoin Shrdlu on Jul 2, 2024 14:06:20 GMT
In further Irish ignorance, I didn't realise the country used kilometres for road distances. I thought the reason that I was only seeing it now was that the settings had changed on my new computer and the linked Google profile, and spent a while hunting down where distance units are specified on Google Maps. Apparently one has the choice between miles, km and 'automatic', which is the default, so you get the units of the country you're in. (If you're going from an imperial to a metric country, or vice-versa, it gives you the unit of your starting point, to save you the tedium of checking.)
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Post by terentiusfaber on Jul 2, 2024 18:04:14 GMT
The transition started about forty years ago. The speedometers in Irish cars are kilometres only
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kizolk
Indecisive 
Posts: 5,454
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Post by kizolk on Jul 2, 2024 20:14:58 GMT
In further Irish ignorance, I didn't realise the country used kilometres for road distances. I thought the reason that I was only seeing it now was that the settings had changed on my new computer and the linked Google profile, and spent a while hunting down where distance units are specified on Google Maps. Apparently one has the choice between miles, km and 'automatic', which is the default, so you get the units of the country you're in. (If you're going from an imperial to a metric country, or vice-versa, it gives you the unit of your starting point, to save you the tedium of checking.) Does that mean you're currently in Ireland, or am I misunderstanding? Confusing post, or maybe I'm just being thick. |
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Post by Etaoin Shrdlu on Jul 2, 2024 21:34:59 GMT
No, I am sitting in London, and seeing that it's a long way to Tipperary.
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Post by Etaoin Shrdlu on Jul 3, 2024 7:48:58 GMT
At least Irish races still use furlongs. (Furlongs, of course, are an eighth of a mile, and as far as I know are only still used in horse racing.) I'm generally bilingual in metric/Imperial, but I can't really cope with metric linear measurement. Centimetres are too fiddly, and I don't have much of a feel for what a kilometre is. For me a mile is the distance I can walk in 20 minutes, more or less, if I don't get distracted. A kilometre is an irritating distance less than a mile. Converting British racing distances to continental metres intensely irritating.
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Post by Etaoin Shrdlu on Jul 3, 2024 8:02:56 GMT
Although, to be fair, it can be fairly irritating converting Imperial to Imperial. There are 5,280 feet, or 1,760 yards, in a mile, so it requires a bit more work than moving a decimal point around. But base 10 really is intrinsically dull.
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kizolk
Indecisive
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Post by kizolk on Jul 3, 2024 16:06:36 GMT
For some reason, the measurement of time escaped metrification/base 10-ification. I wonder if it's because they didn't want to go through the hassle of having to come up with new clock designs.
The measurement of angles too escaped it; scientists tend to use radians instead of degrees, but it's its own sort of weird.
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Post by terentiusfaber on Jul 3, 2024 21:14:56 GMT
I suppose the Babylonian system based on 60s works as well as anything we could invent now.
Regarding miles & kilometres, I'm slowly becoming used to thinking in kilometres since the road signs I have to look at as a driver are constantly before my eyes.
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,454
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Post by kizolk on Jul 5, 2024 7:26:36 GMT
I'm slowly becoming used to thinking in kilometres The dawn of civilization is a beautiful thing to behold. |
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,454
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Post by kizolk on Jul 6, 2024 7:16:49 GMT
I've just found out that the union "unionism" refers to in the context of Irish politics is the United Kingdom, not a possible union/reunification of Ireland.
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Post by Pacifica on Jul 10, 2024 13:46:13 GMT
I just learned that the set of little bumps that you find around the edge of some coins is aptly called a "grènetis" in French. And, apparently, it's a "beading" in English, which is pretty apt as well, but I think I prefer the French term.  |
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,454
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Post by kizolk on Jul 10, 2024 16:00:29 GMT
Never heard the term. Nice.
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Post by Etaoin Shrdlu on Jul 10, 2024 18:47:15 GMT
I've heard 'beading', but not in that sense. Obviously I didn't know the French word, but with my luck it will now stick in my mind instead of all the common words that I might actually need in a French-speaking country.
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