The Off Topic Topic

[HVC]

I wonder. Why is it people so often  say acorn when they mean pinecone?
I noticed in a well known kids book and animation (room on the broom) they do this too.
I wonder if this is some kind of thing like corn where it can mean a specific sort but is also a more general term.
Only I find with this it's the non acorn that seems to be most Commonly called acorn

Never heard such a thing, but Andy Rooney would be proud

[HVC]

Also, unless you a have a different version that picture says pinecone

[Josquius]

I was going off hearing it read  tbh. Could have been cone. That can sound close to acorn.
I've still seen pinecones called acorns a lot though.

[HVC]

Now I'm kind of intrigued. Could it be a part of the cacophony of English accents where people are saying "a cone" and you're hearing "acorn"? I don't think I've ever heard either word from any brit so I don't know how close they sound. If it's written how do you know they mean pine cone when they say acorn? Things like writing "pine acorn"?

[Oexmelin]

I wonder if this is some kind of thing like corn where it can mean a specific sort but is also a more general term.

Corn used to mean any small grain of things - not limited to cereal. Though it isn't etymologically related to acorn, the word came to be falsely understood as "oak corn", around the mid 16th century. Maybe, regionally, pine cone has undergone (or is still undergoing) the same transformation, by analogy with acorn.

[Josquius]

Now I'm kind of intrigued. Could it be a part of the cacophony of English accents where people are saying "a cone" and you're hearing "acorn"? I don't think I've ever heard either word from any brit so I don't know how close they sound. If it's written how do you know they mean pine cone when they say acorn? Things like writing "pine acorn"?

I don't think anyone would ever actually call a pine cone just a cone. It gets the full phrase yes. And it being rare could lead to be hearing acorn.
Wonder if that explains every single instance of this I've heard

But then these aren't exactly words one hears in normal conversation.


Oh. And. Andy Rooney? That is lost on me.

[HVC]

Andy was an old guy on 60 minutes that would make random musings.

From wiki:

"In the segment, Rooney typically offered satire on a trivial everyday issue, such as the cost of groceries, annoying relatives, or faulty Christmas presents. Rooney's appearances on "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" often included whimsical lists, such as types of milk,[18] bottled water brands,[19] car brands,[20] and sports mascots. "

[The Brain]

Oh. And. Andy Rooney? That is lost on me.

WTF is wrong with young people?

[Sheilbh]

Love a map like this and everywhere more or less looks like rural depopulation/urbanisation trend still (with maybe a little bit East to West):

[Jacob]

I note that the parts of Sweden that are most like Denmark are seeing population growth. Makes sense to move towards civilization.

[Josquius]

It is a pretty map. Would love to see it in more detail.
Just me or am I seeing increases along the lines of major roads /railways as well as the cities in eg Ukraine and Russia?
Or is that a strong decline on those lines? Definitely something standing out.

[celedhring]

Growth in the Med coast and Madrid, depopulation everywhere else. That's kinda expected.

Although it's superhard to tell at this scale, but the Ebro bank seems to be doing well. Interesting.

[Syt]

The depopulation post-1990 in Schleswig-Holstein is probably in large part due to the dissolution of military bases of which we had quite a few. They were a major contributor to local economies.

[Sheilbh]

It is a pretty map. Would love to see it in more detail.
Just me or am I seeing increases along the lines of major roads /railways as well as the cities in eg Ukraine and Russia?
Or is that a strong decline on those lines? Definitely something standing out.

Definitely there on some of Russia, especially in the North Caucasus and Belgorod or Kursk area north of Ukraine. With the Caucasus this may just reflect geography.

But also Russia seems like a place where ribbon development/building around roads would be relatively common and easy and cheap.

Really hits home the size of Moscow though (and a little bit Madrid).

The depopulation post-1990 in Schleswig-Holstein is probably in large part due to the dissolution of military bases of which we had quite a few. They were a major contributor to local economies.

Interesting. There's a few regions like that where I feel there must be some obvious but probably quite local explanation like that.

I also find the Polish cities interesting because if you expand/zoom in it's clear there's a big red centre but very green suburbs.

Edit: See also Budapest. Intrigued by east Hungary though.

[Syt]

Interesting. There's a few regions like that where I feel there must be some obvious but probably quite local explanation like that.

Based on what I found, the Bundeswehr had 75,000 people (soldiers plus civilian employees) in S-H before 1990 which according to one article accounted for 6% of the employment in the state. This number is now around 15,000 from what I can tell. That's in a state with overall fairly weak infrastructure and in the northern parts not much besides farming and maybe tourism.

You'll notice the green bits in the southern part of the state - it's Hamburg's "Speckgürtel" (fat ring), i.e. cities directly adjacent to Hamburg which makes them attractive for companies and commuters.