The Book Of General Ignorance Part 15

How many words do Eskimos have for snow?

No more than four.

It's often said that Eskimos have 50, 100 or even 400 words for snow, compared to English's one, but this is not so. In the first place, there is more than one English word for snow in various states (ice, slush, crust, sleet, hail, snowflakes, powder, etc.).

Second, most Eskimo groups will admit to only two words equivalent to 'snow'. It seems that out of all of the languages of Eskimo groups, there are no more than four root-words for snow all together.

Eskimo-Aleut tongues are agglutinative languages, in which the word 'word' itself is virtually meaningless. Adjectival and verbal bits are added in strings on to basic stems, so that many 'word-clumps' are more like our equivalent of sentences. In Inupiaq, tikit-qaag-mina-it-ni-ga-a tikit-qaag-mina-it-ni-ga-a means 'he (A) said that he (B) would not be able to arrive first' (literally 'to arrive first be able would not said him he'). means 'he (A) said that he (B) would not be able to arrive first' (literally 'to arrive first be able would not said him he').

The number of basic word stems is relatively small but the number of ways of qualifying them is virtually unlimited. Inuit has more than 400 affixes (bits added at the end or in the middle of stems) but only one prefix. Thus, it has many 'derived words' as in the English 'anti-dis-establish-ment-ari-an-ism'.

Sometimes these appear to be unnecessarily complicated renderings of what is a simple concept in English. Nalunaarasuar-ta-at Nalunaarasuar-ta-at ('that by which one communicates habitually in a hurry') is an 1880s Greenlandic coinage for 'telegraph'. ('that by which one communicates habitually in a hurry') is an 1880s Greenlandic coinage for 'telegraph'.

If you were looking beyond the 'words for snow' for something which really sets Eskimo-Aleut languages apart it is demonstrative p.r.o.nouns.

English has only four (this, that, these and those). Eskimo-Aleut languages notably Inupiaq, Yupik and Aleut have more than thirty such words. Each of the words for 'this' and 'that' can take eight different cases and there is a wealth of ways of expressing distance, direction, height, visibility and context in a single such demonstrative p.r.o.noun.

For example, in Aleut, hakan hakan means 'that one high up there' (as in a bird in the air), means 'that one high up there' (as in a bird in the air), qakun qakun is 'that one in there' (as in another room) and is 'that one in there' (as in another room) and uman uman means 'this one unseen' (i.e. smelled, heard, felt). means 'this one unseen' (i.e. smelled, heard, felt).

What did human beings evolve from?

Not apes. And certainly not monkeys.

h.o.m.o sapiens sapiens and apes both evolved from a common ancestor, though this elusive chappie has not been found yet. He lived in the Pliocene era more than five million years ago. and apes both evolved from a common ancestor, though this elusive chappie has not been found yet. He lived in the Pliocene era more than five million years ago.

This creature descended from squirrel-like tree-shrews, which in turn evolved from hedgehogs, and before that, starfish.

The latest comparison of genomes of humans and our closest relative, the chimpanzee, shows that we split much later than was previously a.s.sumed. This means we quite possibly interbred to produce unrecorded and now extinct hybrid species before the final separation 5.4 million years ago.

Stephen Jay Gould once remarked that h.o.m.o sapiens sapiens h.o.m.o sapiens sapiens is a recent African twig on the bushy tree of human evolution. While none of the evidence completely rules out the evolution of humans in other locations, the spread of humans from Africa remains the most plausible theory. is a recent African twig on the bushy tree of human evolution. While none of the evidence completely rules out the evolution of humans in other locations, the spread of humans from Africa remains the most plausible theory.

Genetic evidence suggests that one of the first populations outside Africa were the Andaman islanders, off the coast of India. They have been isolated for 60,000 years longer even than the Australian aborigines.

There are fewer than 400 Andamanese left. Half of these belong to two tribes: the Jarawa and the Sentinelese, who have almost no contact with the outside world. So isolated are the 100 or so Sentinelese that no one has ever studied their language. The other Andamanese languages have no known relatives. They have five numbers: 'one', 'two', 'one more', 'some more' and 'all'. On the other hand, they have twelve words to describe the different stages of ripeness of fruit, two of which are impossible to translate into English.

The Andamanese are one of only two tribal groups in the world who are not able to make fire (the other are the Ake pygmies of central Africa). Instead they have elaborate procedures for keeping and transporting embers and smouldering logs in clay containers. These have been kept alight for millennia, probably having originated in lightning strikes.

Though this seems strange to us, they have a rather familiar idea of G.o.d. Their supreme deity, Puluga, is invisible, eternal, immortal, all-knowing, the creator of everything except evil; he is angered by sin and offers comfort to those in distress. To punish men for their wrongdoing he sent a great flood.

The tsunami tsunami of 2004 hit the Andamans with its full force but, as far as we are able to tell, it left its ancient tribes unharmed. of 2004 hit the Andamans with its full force but, as far as we are able to tell, it left its ancient tribes unharmed.

BILL So what was the potato then, before it was a potato? What did it evolve from? The ... the ... the ... the chickpea? So what was the potato then, before it was a potato? What did it evolve from? The ... the ... the ... the chickpea?

Who coined the phrase 'the survival of the fittest'?

Herbert Spencer Spencer was an engineer, philosopher and psychologist, who in his day was as famous as Darwin.

He first coined the phrase 'survival of the fittest' in his Principles of Biology Principles of Biology (1864), having been inspired by Darwin's theory of 'natural selection'. (1864), having been inspired by Darwin's theory of 'natural selection'.

Darwin paid him the compliment of using it himself in the 5th edition of The Origin of Species The Origin of Species in 1869, commenting: 'I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term natural selection, in order to mark its relation to man's power of selection. But the expression often used by Mr Herbert Spencer, of the Survival of the Fittest, is more accurate, and is sometimes equally convenient.' in 1869, commenting: 'I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term natural selection, in order to mark its relation to man's power of selection. But the expression often used by Mr Herbert Spencer, of the Survival of the Fittest, is more accurate, and is sometimes equally convenient.'

Herbert Spencer (18201903) was the eldest of nine children, all the rest of whom died in infancy. Trained as a civil engineer, he became a philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, economist and inventor. He sold more than a million books in his lifetime and was the first to apply evolutionary theory to psychology, philosophy and the study of society.

He also invented the paperclip. The device was called Spencer's Binding Pin and was produced on a modified hook-and-eye machine by a manufacturer called Ackermann whose offices were on the Strand in London.

It did well in its first year, making Spencer 70, but demand dried up, Ackermann shot himself and the invention had entirely disappeared by 1899 when the Norwegian engineer Johann Vaaler filed his patent for the modern paperclip in Germany.

During the Second World War, paperclips were an emotive symbol of Norwegian resistance to the German occupation, worn on the lapel in place of the forbidden badges of the exiled King Haakon VII. A giant paperclip was later erected in Oslo in Johann Vaaler's memory.

Today, more than 11 billion paperclips are sold annually, but a recent survey claimed that of every 100,000 sold, only five are actually used to hold papers together. Most are adapted as poker-chips, pipe-cleaners, safety pins and toothpicks. The rest are dropped and lost, or bent out of shape during dull or awkward phone calls.

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Who invented the ball-point pen?

a) Mr Biro b) Mr Bich c) Mr Quiet d) Mr Loud Writing was a hazardous activity before the advent of the ballpoint pen. Fountain pens had to be regularly dipped into an ink pot and were p.r.o.ne to leakages, and Indian ink (invented in China) was slow to dry on the page.

These problems were first recognised in a patent registered on 30 October 1888 by a leather tanner called John J. Loud. He created a pen with a small rotating ball for a nib that was constantly fed by an ink reservoir. Although the pen still leaked, it was much more effective for writing on leather than a fountain pen. Loud failed to exploit his patent. If he had, we might be talking about disposable 'louds' instead of 'biros'.

The Hungarian Laszlo Biro (18991985) originally trained as a doctor but never graduated. He had brief stints as a hypnotist and a racing driver before taking up journalism.

Puzzled by the difference in drying times between newspaper ink and the slow-drying substance in his fountain pen, Biro and his chemist brother, Gyorgy, fitted a pen with a small ball-bearing which successfully drew down the printing ink as it rotated. The biro was born.

The pair patented the pen in Hungary in 1938, and emigrated to Argentina in 1940 to avoid the n.a.z.is, repatenting it there in 1943. An early customer was the RAF, encouraged by the pen's performance at high alt.i.tude. This ensured the name 'biro' became synonymous with the ballpoint in Britain.

The first biros sold to the public were manufactured in 1945. At the same time, Biro licensed his pen to Frenchman Marcel Bich.

Bich called his company BiC and, by modifying Biro's design, set up a ma.s.s-production process that meant the pens could be sold incredibly cheaply.

BiC remains the world's ballpoint market-leader with annual sales of 1.38 billion euros. In 2005, they sold their 100 billionth pen. The best-selling BiC Cristal sells 14 million units a day.

As a mark of respect to Biro, the Argentines who call the pens birome birome celebrate Argentinian Inventors Day on 29 September, his birthday. celebrate Argentinian Inventors Day on 29 September, his birthday.

What do we use to write on a blackboard?

Gypsum.

School 'chalk' is not chalk. Chalk is made of calcium carbonate as is coral, limestone, marble, the skeletons of humans and fish, the lenses of eyes, the limescale in kettles and the indigestion pills Rennies, Setlers and Tums.

Gypsum is made of calcium sulphate. You may think it's a picky distinction but though the two look look similar they are in fact quite different and are not even made of the same chemical elements. similar they are in fact quite different and are not even made of the same chemical elements.

Many substances that appear appear to be radically different are actually made of exactly the to be radically different are actually made of exactly the same same chemical elements. Take carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Combined in different proportions, they make stuff as wildly different as testosterone, vanilla, aspirin, cholesterol, glucose, vinegar and alcohol. chemical elements. Take carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Combined in different proportions, they make stuff as wildly different as testosterone, vanilla, aspirin, cholesterol, glucose, vinegar and alcohol.

Technically known as hydrated calcium sulphate, gypsum is one of the most widely available minerals in the world. It has been mined for at least 4,000 years the plasterwork inside the Pyramids is made of gypsum and it is used today in a huge range of industrial processes, the commonest of which is ordinary building plaster.

About 75 per cent of all gypsum is used for plaster and products such as plasterboard, tiles and plaster of Paris. Gypsum is a key ingredient of cement and is used in the manufacture of fertiliser, paper and textiles. A typical new American home contains more than seven tons of gypsum.

Plaster of Paris is so called because there are large deposits of gypsum in the clay soil in and around Paris, especially in Montmartre.

Gypsum also occurs naturally in the form of alabaster, a snow-white, translucent material used to make statues, busts and vases.

Alabaster can be artificially dyed any colour and, if heated, can be made to resemble marble. Powdered alabaster made into a salve was traditionally believed to be a cure for bad legs. It was common for people to chip pieces off church statues to make the ointment.

Ironically, the word gypsum comes from the Greek gypsos gypsos, meaning 'chalk'.

STEPHEN Why is it called 'plaster of Paris'? Any thoughts? Why is it called 'plaster of Paris'? Any thoughts?

ANDY Marketing. Poncier name ... Marketing. Poncier name ...

STEPHEN They tried plaster of Brentford and it didn't really take off ... They tried plaster of Brentford and it didn't really take off ...

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Where does the equals sign come from?

Wales.

This essential const.i.tuent of mathematics wasn't a product of the Greeks, the Babylonians or the Arabs, but the small coastal town of Tenby in south Wales. There, in 1510, the astronomer and mathematician Robert Recorde was born. Recorde was a child prodigy who rose to prominence as Royal physician to Edward VI and Queen Mary and later as controller of the Royal Mint.

He was also a prolific author, writing a sequence of popular maths textbooks, of which The Whetstone of Witte The Whetstone of Witte (1557) is the most famous. Not only did it introduce algebra to an English audience for the first time it also introduced the equals sign, =. (1557) is the most famous. Not only did it introduce algebra to an English audience for the first time it also introduced the equals sign, =.

Recorde's reason for adopting two parallel lines is refreshingly to the point: 'bicause noe 2 thynges, can be moare equalle'. It took a while to catch on: and ae (from the Latin 'aequalis') were used well into the seventeenth century.

One Recorde invention which didn't stick was his word describing numbers to the eighth power, e.g., 28 = 256. Zenzizenzizenzic Zenzizenzizenzic was based on the German was based on the German zenzic zenzic, a version of the Italian censo meaning 'squared' (so it means 'x squared, squared and squared again'). It does, however, comfortably hold the record for the number of 'z's in a single word.

Despite his facility with numbers Recorde was less good with his personal finances. Poor political judgment meant he got on the wrong side of the Earl of Pembroke who called in a debt for the then astronomical sum of 1,000. This broke Recorde and he died in the King's Bench debtors prison in Southwark, aged forty-eight.

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What did Robert Bunsen invent?

Many things, but not the Bunsen burner.

Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (181199) was an influential German chemist and teacher who devised or improved the design of a number of pieces of laboratory equipment still in use today. However, the item he is most famous for was actually invented by the English chemist Michael Faraday and then improved by Peter Desaga, Bunsen's technician at the University of Heidelberg.

Bunsen first became renowned in the scientific community for his work on a.r.s.enic. He eventually discovered the only known antidote to the poison, but not before losing his sight in one eye and almost dying of a.r.s.enic poisoning.

He went on to produce a galvanic battery that used a carbon element instead of the much more expensive platinum. Using this he was able to isolate pure chromium, magnesium, aluminium and other metals. At the same time, he also solved the riddle of how geysers worked by building a working model in his lab.

The need for a new style of burner grew out of his work with a young physicist called Gustav Kirchoff. Together they pioneered the technique that became known as spectroscopy. By filtering light through a prism they discovered that every element had its own signature spectrum. In order to produce this light by heating different materials, they needed a flame that was very hot but not very bright.

Bunsen developed this new heat source using Faraday's burner as his starting point. In the earlier model, the oxygen was added at the point of combustion, which led to a smoky, flickery flame. Bunsen conceived a burner where oxygen was mixed with gas before combustion in order to make a very hot, blue flame. He took his ideas to Desaga, who built the prototype in 1855.

Within five years, Bunsen and Kirchoff had used the combination of their new burner and spectroscope to identify the elements caesium and rubidium. Their lab became famous, and Bunsen's modesty and eccentricity (he never washed) brought him international renown. Mendeleev, the Russian inventor of the periodic table, was one of his many devoted pupils.

Although he didn't get to give his name to the burner he built, Desaga did get the rights to sell it, which his family did very successfully (and profitably) for several generations.

Despite its iconic status, the Bunsen burner has now largely been replaced in chemistry labs by the cleaner and safer electric hot plate.

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What's made of celluloid?

Ping-pong b.a.l.l.s and collar stiffeners.

Film isn't made of celluloid any more. The main ingredient of celluloid is cellulose nitrate; modern film is made from cellulose acetate.

Celluloid is generally regarded as the first plastic. In technical terms, it is a thermoplastic, which means it can be moulded each time it is re-heated.

It is made from cellulose nitrate and camphor. Cellulose occurs naturally in the cell walls of plants. Camphor comes from the camphor tree and smells distinctively of the mothb.a.l.l.s into which it is also made.

Celluloid was first manufactured in Birmingham, England by Alexander Parkes who patented it for use in waterproofing clothing in 1856. Another early use was as a cheap ivory subst.i.tute: for billiard b.a.l.l.s and false teeth.

Celluloid made the movies possible because of its flexibility. Rigid gla.s.s plates don't run through projectors. But it is both highly flammable and quick to decompose, so it is difficult to store and is now rarely used.

It has largely been replaced by more stable plastics such as cellulose acetate (made from wood pulp) and polyethylene (a by-product of petroleum).

Cellulose nitrate (or nitrocellulose) was invented by accident in 1846 by Christian Schonbein, the man who, six years earlier, had discovered ozone.

Experimenting in his kitchen with nitric and sulphuric acid, he broke a bottle, wiped up the mess with his wife's cotton ap.r.o.n, and put it on the stove to dry. It immediately burst into flames: Schonbein had discovered the first new explosive since gunpowder was invented by the ancient Chinese.

The new explosive was called 'guncotton'. It was smokeless and four times as powerful as gunpowder. Schonbein patented it at once and sold the exclusive manufacturing rights to John Hall and Sons. The next year, it blew up their factory in Faversham, Kent, killing twenty-one people.

Lethal explosions followed in France, Russia and Germany. It was forty years before a stable use was found for cellulose nitrate when James Dewar and Frederick Abel created cordite in 1889.

Seven years earlier, Dewar had invented the Thermos flask.

Who invented rubber boots?

a) Amazonian Indians b) The Duke of Wellington c) Charles Goodyear d) Charles Macintosh Amazonian Indians have been making instant gumboots since time immemorial by standing knee-deep in liquid latex until it dries.