The Off Topic Topic

[Zanza]

My rank was "Zivildienstleistender".

[Valmy]

My rank was "Zivildienstleistender".

Didn't want to march in any torchlit parades eh?

[FunkMonk]

So, uhm, what's going on with the Twitter of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission?

https://twitter.com/USCPSC

Nothing, other than their social media guy is a god. I follow them on Instagram 

[Malthus]

What's the flying toasters one a reference to? Are flying toasters a significant issue? 

[grumbler]

What's the flying toasters one a reference to? Are flying toasters a significant issue? 

This is a weird one.  The only reference I know of to flying toasters is related to them as screen savers (back when those were a thing).  The expression "flying toaster" was used in the Pentagon as an expression for a visit to the bathroom (to take a dump) that takes so long that the screen saver on your computer screen activates.  Thus, you'd refer to someone as "taking a flying toaster" when they were gone from their workstation for a long time.

I don't think that's what USCPSC had in mind, though!

[celedhring]

I think the flying toaster one is meant to advertise the website where you can report unsafe products. 

[Richard Hakluyt]

Or you can just change a name to garner more customers.

Of course, but some of these names are very old and it is a shame to see them go. That does not appear to be the case of the pub in Newcastle though.

One of our Universities, Simon Fraser University (named after the Scottish explorer who "discovered" the Fraser River) named its sports teams the Clansmen or the Clan for short.  Not a problem at all when understood within the context of the university's namesake.  Very much a problem when competing in tournaments in the US.  A couple of years ago the University dropped the name clan.  This historical link was nice but not worth the concern, misunderstanding and distressed it caused to others not familiar with what the name was supposed to reference.

A pity. I saw it written, ie without the K spelling, so didn't think of those people at all. When there is a big gathering of the family up in Scotland we always call it a "gathering of the clans", lucky there have never been eavesdropping Americans getting the wrong idea 

[The Brain]

Catering to parochial bigotry often makes a lot of sense for an individual person or organization. I'm not convinced that it's a positive thing for society though.

[Syt]

The mining community of Cotgrave near Nottingham, 1982: https://twitter.com/BBCArchive/status/1395702158792839170?s=20

[Syt]

Fortunately, Socrates lived in Athens where he could work freely and lived out his days until he died peacefully of old age.

[Richard Hakluyt]

He died peacefully but only because of his philosophical fortitude.

[Syt]

He died peacefully but only because of his philosophical fortitude.

That he did, hence my addition "of old age."

[The Brain]

He's probably talking about the Brazilian footballer.

[Eddie Teach]

No way. Brazilians don't play football.

[Malthus]

Or you can just change a name to garner more customers.

Of course, but some of these names are very old and it is a shame to see them go. That does not appear to be the case of the pub in Newcastle though.

One of our Universities, Simon Fraser University (named after the Scottish explorer who "discovered" the Fraser River) named its sports teams the Clansmen or the Clan for short.  Not a problem at all when understood within the context of the university's namesake.  Very much a problem when competing in tournaments in the US.  A couple of years ago the University dropped the name clan.  This historical link was nice but not worth the concern, misunderstanding and distressed it caused to others not familiar with what the name was supposed to reference.

A pity. I saw it written, ie without the K spelling, so didn't think of those people at all. When there is a big gathering of the family up in Scotland we always call it a "gathering of the clans", lucky there have never been eavesdropping Americans getting the wrong idea 

Here in Ontario, we still have a town named "Swastika". 😄

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika,_Ontario