this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2024
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[–] No_Change_Just_Money@feddit.de 85 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Til : Pterodacrylus and helicopter share a linguistic ancestry

[–] oce@jlai.lu 34 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Wait before you hear about the helicopterodactylus.

Ah yes, bane of the T-🦕

[–] pocopene@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

And so do mastodon and mastectomy (not a joke).

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

Son of a bitch...

[–] Yurgenst@sh.itjust.works 76 points 5 months ago
[–] LANIK2000@lemmy.world 28 points 5 months ago (1 children)

In Czech we call it "vrtulník" (propeller thing), which I find kinda hilarious now that I think about it.

[–] e8d79@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 5 months ago (3 children)

The german word for aeroplane is similar, "Flugzeug" directly translates to "flying thing". Helicopter is also fun, "Hubschrauber" translates to "lifting screwer".

[–] onion@feddit.de 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I don't think it means "thing", but rather "Gerät" as in 2 c):

https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Zeug

It evolved from a word for "pulling"

[–] e8d79@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 5 months ago

I guess for "Flugzeug", 'device' works better but I don't think I have ever thought about it in that way. From my experience usage usually goes more like this: "Pack dein Zeug zusammen wir gehen weiter." which I think best translates to 'Stuff' or 'things'. Zeug is an interesting word though. It is also used for the harness of a draft animal ("sich ins Zeug legen"), it's bridle ("Zaumzeug"), bed linen ("Bettzeug"), work tools ("Werkzeug") , or as a word for nonsense ("red kein dummes Zeug"). I would say it started, as you said, as a word for device but became a slightly negative word for 'Stuff'.

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[–] Shardikprime@lemmy.world 27 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Pter Prker, the amazing Spderman

[–] Bgugi@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

It's actually a play on Latin: "arker" as a bastardization of "Arachne" meaning spider + "peterp" which roughly translates to "exceptional person"

[–] rsuri@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago (1 children)

So it should be quadpter then

[–] GreenAppleTree@lemmy.world 58 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Considering pteron is greek and quad is latin, it should probably have been tetrapter. Which actually rolls off the tongue better.

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 24 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Plus sounds like a dinosaur

[–] ulterno@lemmy.kde.social 8 points 5 months ago

Sounds like 4 dinosaurs

[–] Muscar@discuss.online 6 points 5 months ago

Tetraptor would sound like a dinosaur, but tetrapter doesn't.

[–] Pat_Riot 21 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Then the Pis silent and we've all been saying it wrong this whole time.

[–] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 20 points 5 months ago (2 children)
[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

Hello cooter

[–] pigup@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago
[–] wieson@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Nah, englishers just lack the skill.

In greek, the p is loud in pterodactyl and psychology.

Saiki for psyche, psh, that's 1/6 letters read correctly. Or with greek letters, that's 0/4 (ψυχή).

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[–] NaoPb@eviltoast.org 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The piss is never silent. There is always the clattering sound.

[–] misterdoctor@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago (2 children)

If you are a penis owner and piss from the standing position, you can arc the stream just so down the smooth porcelain interior of the toilet bowl, letting the piss flow neatly into the water making nary a sound

[–] Shardikprime@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago

Bro hitting them with the secret radar evasion technology

[–] Live_your_lives@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

True, but I'll typically get more splashback that way than if going straight down the middle.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

I don't believe in silent letters!

[–] Shardikprime@lemmy.world 14 points 5 months ago (2 children)
[–] PetteriSkaffari@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Joyful types go helicopterodactyl.

[–] Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Spiraling wind finger?

Is that from Naruto?

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

Nah, Sailor Moon had something like that

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[–] Justas@sh.itjust.works 11 points 5 months ago

In Lithuanian, we escaped the madness by making up our own name for it:

Sraigtasparnis = sraigtas (cog) + sparnas (wing)

Not to be confused with the word for autogyro:

Malūnsparnis = malūnas (mill) + sparnas (wing)

Which is not interesting unless you are writing some alternate history with aircraft in it and want to call them something with no Greek or Latin.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] Jimbo@yiffit.net 2 points 5 months ago

Bottom text

[–] qevlarr@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

This is my favorite fun fact to tell. Please don't spread the word too far or it stops being amazing

[–] dysprosium@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

I dont get it. Is this read from left to right or from right to left? Manga typically reads from right to left, but judging from her reaction neither makes sense... She is not making a "wha-" expression, which indicates that it came before, but she is already turning her head, which indicates that it it came after. WHAT.

[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] dysprosium@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yes almost perfect, but she is already turning her head in 2nd panel, but in 3rd panel she is looking in front of her. Perhaps copy pasting the 4th panel onto the 3rd but removing the text bubble. But then again, how does the original even work? It's flawed...incurable...better we stop now.

[–] Nelots@lemm.ee 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Left to right. The two big panels are the first and last panels respectively.

[–] dysprosium@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

But her reaction on the last big panel is more in line with her initial surprise to what she said, not the shocked reaction after having said wha-

[–] Nelots@lemm.ee 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I think the intended idea was that she freezes mid-sentence in shock after fully comprehending what was said. Shrunken iris, mouth half open... I personally think the reaction makes sense.

[–] PapaStevesy@midwest.social 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, the comic adds absolutely nothing to this very tired "fun fact", it's not a successful meme format at all imo.

[–] aoidenpa@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

But look at her face. That's adorable.

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[–] Heavybell@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

See also "ornitho" (relating to birds) and "pter" (wing) creating the term ornithopter for a heavier than air vehicle that flies by flapping its wings. Famously seen in Dune, but I think also back in the day people actually tried to make them, long before aircraft existed.

[–] Lionheadbud@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

Yeah that's mad

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