The Questions not worth their own thread thread VII

[Mirc]

It's called [wiki]L-vocalization[/wiki]. Basically, in some English dialects, most famously Cockney (although it has been spreading) - [l] in coda position (as this become /w/. So milk becomes /miwk/.

So I won't sound weird if I'm pronouncing it in "vulnerable", right? That's all I need to know!

(actually I'm quite fascinated by the differences in various English accents. It's just that I've never heard of this one before, so I suddenly worried about the way I am pronouncing those words. It's good for me to know it's not very widespread, so I won't have to change it in order to sound more like a native)

Actually the same change happened in Romanian, with most of the Latin intervocalic Ls becoming weaker and weaker over time. But because of the fact that we don't really like approximated, weak sounds, it completely disappeared as time went by, so there's no "weak L" sound like in Polish. In my language, those Ls either went weaker and weaker and finally disappeared, or they were made stronger through Rhotacism, and became Rs.

Sometimes BOTH changes happened to a word, rendering two different variants of the same original Latin word, like it happened to the Latin verb "volere" (=to want), which became "vrere" and "voire" (out of use in modern Romanian, though still present in words like "vointa" = will).

 

[Globex]

In the old days of alchemy, did people know that graphite and diamond were made of the same element? When you hear alchemy you usually associate it with turning lead into gold but did the alchemists ever ponder turning graphite into diamonds?

 

[Lord Baal]

In the old days of alchemy, did people know that graphite and diamond were made of the same element? When you hear alchemy you usually associate it with turning lead into gold but did the alchemists ever ponder turning graphite into diamonds?

I don't know about that, but alchemists pondered turning a lot more things into gold - or silver - than just lead. Quartz, iron, even human semen were all considered as starting points for a conversion into gold. On these grounds, I am demanding sperm banks pay me by the volume of my deposit, rather than the frequency.

 

[Elrohir]

In my law textbook, the criminal cases are "R vs Aimee" or whatever. What does the R stand for? (I tried googling it but got stuff on RVs, which was sort of strange, because the words were seperated)

IIIRC, it stands for Rex (Latin for King) or Regina (Queen). So basically, "R v. Aimee" means the Queen/Crown/State versus Aimee.

 

[Tabster]

In the old days of alchemy, did people know that graphite and diamond were made of the same element? When you hear alchemy you usually associate it with turning lead into gold but did the alchemists ever ponder turning graphite into diamonds?

The alchemist only thought of 'elements' in the old Greek way - fire,earth,air and water

In the days of the alchemist, carbon diamonds didn't have the same relative value as today as they couldn't be cut effectively to show them at their best.

In this era coloured cabochon style gems and pearls were generally more sort after than diamonds , which would be any transparent hard gemstone rather than the strict chemical definition we have now. So if an alchemist was purely motivated by profit and they thought they could make any gem they probably wouldn't go for a diamond, more likely a 'spinel' or a pearl.

 

[Flying Pig]

Another work argument; if Prince Harry holds the rank of cornet (equivalent to second-lieutenant) and I hold the rank of captain, who should salute the other?

 

[Ulyaoth]

I'm assuming by that you're even asking, cornet is lower than captain, but since he's royalty shouldn't you always have to salute him?

You've been in the army how long and you don't know these things? Did you just meet prince Harry or something?

 

[Flying Pig]

No; it was an argument we had, because someone saw a picture of him in uniform in the paper and somebody else asked the question, and we couldn't agree. None of us had ever been near him in uniform, so I said that you should wait for him to salute, then put yours up at the same time - but don't salute if he doesn't - that way lies madness. In the army, we were taught 'you salute a superior officer, royalty or a VC winner'.

 

[Lord Baal]

The alchemist only thought of 'elements' in the old Greek way - fire,earth,air and water

Not really correct. Maybe in the early days of alchemy, but alchemists very quickly became chemists in all but name and goal. They often thought of elements in very different ways to the 'earth, air, fire and water' method. Some thought that Magnesium, Sulfur, and Mercury were the three true elements (hence my capitalisation), while others had a more modern conception of elements.

 

[Tabster]

Not really correct. Maybe in the early days of alchemy, but alchemists very quickly became chemists in all but name and goal. They often thought of elements in very different ways to the 'earth, air, fire and water' method. Some thought that Magnesium, Sulfur, and Mercury were the three true elements (hence my capitalisation), while others had a more modern conception of elements.

Yes, and to be fair, diamond cutting was improving all the time, so the later alchemist would have a bit more incentive to try to create one. The second type of cut used, the rose cut appeared in europe in the 16th century, and this along with an understanding of the importance of symmetry meant that diamonds started to become what we think of them today.

However, I don't know if any alchemist would have thought graphite and diamonds were allotropes, bet it was guess if they did!

 

[Karalysia]

Is Jennifer's Body a worthwhile movie? I have a thing for gory horror movies. And zombies.

 

[RedRalph]

Do people on CFc ever write articles on contemporary politics? I see theres a archive of history articles (its great by the wat, check it out if you havent already), but I'd like to see some about the present day

 

[snakeseare]

No; it was an argument we had, because someone saw a picture of [Harry] in uniform .... In the army, we were taught 'you salute a superior officer, royalty or a VC winner'.

I'm not going to claim to be an expert on UK military regs, but the general theory should apply: when Harry dons a uniform, he ceases to be mere royalty and becomes something better: a soldier. Thus you treat him exactly as he merits due to his military rank. If he's in mufti with mum reviewing a parade, he reverts to mere royalty and you treat him as such.

So if he's in uniform and you outrank him, he damn well better salute you, and I reckon he knows that perfectly well.

 

[Flying Pig]

That's what most of us decided on (eventually) on the grounds that he would have to salute his CO, and his CO would most definitly not be expected to salute him. That would be more than a bit silly.

 

[Huayna Capac357]

Is Jennifer's Body a worthwhile movie? I have a thing for gory horror movies. And zombies.

If you want a gory zombie movie, see Zombieland. It's amazing!

 

[kulade]

one of my friends is an extra in zombieland. it was filmed in valdosta last year when i went to university there. i still haven't seen it...

 

[Karalysia]

If you want a gory zombie movie, see Zombieland. It's amazing!

I already saw it, it was pretty amusing.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

What on earth happened to this picture? It was nighttime and I was using the flash. It's actually sort of scary.

Spoiler :

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Cats have reflective areas in the back of their eyes to help them capture more light at night so they can see better. Your flash just caught that reflective area at the right angle, so you can see it brightly.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Oh, that makes sense. But it's still pretty scary.