# Pondering the Imponderable



## Klee Shay (Feb 5, 2012)

Question, thoughts, turns of phrase. Things that make you say . . . Huh?


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## Klee Shay (Feb 5, 2012)

Here's one . . . 

What happens if you forget where you put your invisibiliy cloak?


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## Giant (Feb 5, 2012)

How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? It is almost impossible.


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## San Cidolfus (Feb 5, 2012)

SchrÃ¶dinger's Cat: is it still a valid thought experiment if the cat dies because no one opened the box to feed it?


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## Klee Shay (Feb 5, 2012)

What happens if Iron Man flies through acid rain?


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## Kelise (Feb 5, 2012)

Giant said:


> How are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet? It is almost impossible.



Actually, there's heaps of tutorials for this online. Fold A Fitted Sheet - Martha Stewart Homekeeping Solutions

And a few on YouTube too


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## Kelise (Feb 5, 2012)

Mine is: 'How can you half expect something?'


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## Telcontar (Feb 6, 2012)

Is there another word for 'synonym'?


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## Chilari (Feb 6, 2012)

Telcontar said:


> Is there another word for 'synonym'?



If there isn't (and I can't think of one), I propose "Thesaurium" for the noun, "Thesauric" for the adjective. It's only logical; you look them up in a thesaurus.

Having now written that, I can't think of anything witty to ask. Oh well.


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## Aidan of the tavern (Feb 6, 2012)

How on earth can George Lucas change ROTJ so that Darth Vader moans "Nooo!"


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## myrddin173 (Feb 6, 2012)

Chilari said:


> If there isn't (and I can't think of one), I propose "Thesaurium" for the noun, "Thesauric" for the adjective. It's only logical; you look them up in a thesaurus.



I propose that we, as Mythic Scribes, abandon and shun the word "synonym" and use Thesaurium.  I totally am.  

Why do people say I could care less when they mean they _couldn't_ care less?


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## Chilari (Feb 6, 2012)

myrddin173 said:


> Why do people say I could care less when they mean they _couldn't_ care less?



Um. The British do say "I couldn't care less" to mean the amount of caring could not deteriorate any further. I've never understood the American determination to have a non-zero amount of caring. All I can think of it that it must be a contraction of "couldn't".

I may be saying lots of linguistic things this evening, but I'm not one.

Okay, here's my question. We all know what underwhelming is. But what does "whelm" mean?


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## Telcontar (Feb 6, 2012)

Now I'm thinking of the line from 10 Things I Hate About You: 

"I know you can be underwhelmed, and you can be overwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" "I think you can in Europe."

In a semi-serious look, I'd probably put the definition of 'whelm' as 'to affect'...

Why is it called tourist season if we aren't allowed to shoot them?


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## Reaver (Feb 6, 2012)

Chilari said:


> Okay, here's my question. We all know what underwhelming is. But what does "whelm" mean?




I'm spitballin' here, but I'm going to say that it means to be affected by something in a deeply emotional way.  Ninja'd by Telcontar!


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## San Cidolfus (Feb 6, 2012)

Aidan of the tavern said:


> How on earth can George Lucas change ROTJ so that Darth Vader moans "Nooo!"



Because George Lucas traded his soul for the ability to extort poor fans out of their money, and he intends on maximizing his profits for so long as the earth is blighted with his presence.

*cough*


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Feb 6, 2012)

Chilari said:


> Um. The British do say "I couldn't care less" to mean the amount of caring could not deteriorate any further. I've never understood the American determination to have a non-zero amount of caring. All I can think of it that it must be a contraction of "couldn't".



I think it's probably because "I could care less" flows off the tongue better. Especially when said in sort of a singsongy, high-low-high-low rhythm.

And actually, someone saying that they couldn't care less _could_ care less -- even saying that you don't care means you care enough to say something about it, whereas _true_ not-caring means not even talking about it at all!


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## Klee Shay (Feb 6, 2012)

If we all lived in the same area of the same neighborhood, would that be a writer's block?


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## Devor (Feb 6, 2012)

myrddin173 said:


> Why do people say I could care less when they mean they _couldn't_ care less?



N'ehh, yeah, I think I _could_ care less, y'know, if I was in the hospital or something.

I always mean it that way.  Bit of extra snark to it.




			
				Chilari said:
			
		

> We all know what underwhelming is. But what does "whelm" mean?



"Whelm" is actually a word.  It means pretty much the same thing as overwhelm.  When water rushes through a spot and covers something, that thing has been whelmed.

How can you be beneath the Earth?  It's a ball.  In a vacuum.  Where's the up and down?


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