c4countdown

Posted: **Sat May 11, 2019 7:46 pm**

Mark James wrote: ↑Wed Apr 24, 2019 12:51 pm
Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Tue May 08, 2018 10:30 am I've just found out that certain Irish names are pronounced nothing like their spelling like Niamh (neeve )
Padraic (porik) Eidlah (ailey )
They are pronounced how they are spelled. When you're taught how certain letter combos are pronounced in the Irish language they make sense. Certainly more sense than things like Worcestershire or Leicester or Featherstonehaugh. How is that last one fanshaw? Even when you learn the rules of pronunciation in English they don't make sense.

Bicester, Gloucester, Worcester, Leicester and many others - I don't think these are as illogical as you suggest. If you take away the -ster, you'd struggle to pronounce what you're left with as anything other than a single syllable, and suddenly they start to look more sensible.

The only example I can think of which appears to buck the trend is Cirencester. Maybe it's the only one with an extra syllable. Consistency could be achieved with Sirenster, but I don't think anyone says that.

Posted: **Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:51 pm**

The Nissan Sunny's name is derived from reversing the syllables of Nissan.

Posted: **Fri Jul 19, 2019 12:44 pm**

Ben Wilson wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:51 pm The Nissan Sunny's name is derived from reversing the syllables of Nissan.

That's not at all obvious.

Posted: **Fri Jul 19, 2019 2:10 pm**

Ian Volante wrote: ↑Fri Jul 19, 2019 12:44 pm
Ben Wilson wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:51 pm The Nissan Sunny's name is derived from reversing the syllables of Nissan.
That's not at all obvious.

Is that like when you repeat a two syllable word over and over.
So my surname would sound like kinme

Posted: **Mon Oct 14, 2019 10:07 pm**

I used to think that the crown jewels were just the jewels in the queen's crown. In fact, I don't think it's that obvious that they aren't, but apparently they aren't. Most of you are probably finding out for the first time that they aren't.

Posted: **Mon Oct 14, 2019 11:18 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon Oct 14, 2019 10:07 pm I used to think that the crown jewels were just the jewels in the queen's crown. In fact, I don't think it's that obvious that they aren't, but apparently they aren't. Most of you are probably finding out for the first time that they aren't.

What did you think the Elgin marbles were?

Posted: **Sun Nov 03, 2019 5:30 pm**

Not obvious until someone tells you, but, listen carefully - Lady Gaga doesn't say "pah-pah-pah-poker-face-pah-pah poker face", but "pah-pah-pah-pah-poker-face-pah-pah fuck her face".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESGLojNYSo#t=1m13s

Posted: **Sun Nov 03, 2019 5:46 pm**

Mark Deeks wrote: ↑Sun Nov 03, 2019 5:30 pm Not obvious until someone tells you, but, listen carefully - Lady Gaga doesn't say "pah-pah-pah-poker-face-pah-pah poker face", but "pah-pah-pah-pah-poker-face-pah-pah fuck her face".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESGLojNYSo#t=1m13s

If anything I think it still sounds more like "puck" rather than "fuck".

Posted: **Sun Nov 03, 2019 11:10 pm**

Not obvious until someone tells you, but in the song Feel Like Making' Love by Bad Company, they actually sing "Feel like bacon, love?"

Posted: **Fri Nov 08, 2019 1:25 pm**

Every, or nearly every, car dashboard has a little triangle beside an icon symbolising a petrol pump. This tells you what side of the car your petrol tank is.

Posted: **Mon Nov 11, 2019 8:33 am**

Probably obvious to the stalwarts here but I've only just discovered that Stewart Holden started this very forum

Posted: **Mon Nov 11, 2019 9:32 am**

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2019 8:33 am Probably obvious to the stalwarts here but I've only just discovered that Stewart Holden started this very forum

Well he started c4countdown the Yahoo group, but it had been taken over by Charlie by the time it migrated here. So it depends on whether you consider this to be the "same forum".

Posted: **Mon Nov 11, 2019 5:25 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2019 9:32 am
Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2019 8:33 am Probably obvious to the stalwarts here but I've only just discovered that Stewart Holden started this very forum
Well he started c4countdown the Yahoo group, but it had been taken over by Charlie by the time it migrated here. So it depends on whether you consider this to be the "same forum".

I'm only quoting from the Wiki which suggested the forum c4countdown was started by him

Posted: **Wed Nov 20, 2019 8:32 am**

When I first started getting stuff from the Huffington Post in my Facebook feed, I would sometimes confuse it for a joke site like Daily Mash or Newsthump because it's got a joke-sounding name. Did no-one consider this drawback?

Posted: **Wed Nov 20, 2019 6:30 pm**

Here's one that I think fits the theme of this thread perfectly.

Basic potato peelers work in both directions.
Also you don't even have to remove the peeler from the surface of the potato to continue peeling.
This has more than doubled my potato peeling efficiency, and feels a lot safer too.

Posted: **Wed Nov 20, 2019 6:44 pm**

Jon O'Neill wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 6:30 pm Also you don't even have to remove the peeler from the surface of the potato to continue peeling.

I'd go so far as to say that if you do remove the peeler from the surface of the potato, you won't be able to continue peeling at all.

Posted: **Thu Nov 21, 2019 10:53 am**

Matt Morrison wrote: ↑Wed Nov 20, 2019 6:44 pm
Jon O'Neill wrote: ↑ Also you don't even have to remove the peeler from the surface of the potato to continue peeling.
I'd go so far as to say that if you do remove the peeler from the surface of the potato, you won't be able to continue peeling at all.

I've never used a potato peeler.
Maybe I should post that on the correct thread
Although I do own one for carrots.
I like to just cut the peel off although more often than not I have Jackets or ready roast/ new potatoes

Posted: **Tue Dec 03, 2019 9:48 pm**

Just found out today that the word is spelled prerogative and not perogative. I've never heard it pronounced prerogative in my 37 years. Also perogative comes up in my phone's predictive dictionary even though it's wrong.

Admittedly probably the only time I hear it pronounced is in the Bobby Brown song and he has to make it track lyrically but it just looks wrong to me and I'm going to make it my perogative to continue to spell and pronounce it wrong.

Posted: **Wed Dec 04, 2019 12:36 pm**

Having recently damaged my right knee o ordered a walking stick from Amazon.
I opened it and started using my right hand with the stick
Only to realise that you use the hand on your good leg instead.
Totally counter intuitive to my brain.
But it works.
Am I the only one to not get it

Posted: **Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:02 pm**

Those things you have at parties that you blow into and they unwind and make a noise don't have a standard method name.

Posted: **Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:43 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Thu Dec 19, 2019 6:02 pm Those things you have at parties that you blow into and they unwind and make a noise don't have a standard method name.

Along with those things you make out of a sheet of A4 with numbers and colours and choices where you put your fingers in and wiggle

Posted: **Sat Dec 21, 2019 6:06 pm**

I only learnt about a month ago that it was Fred Astaire and not Freddy/Freddie Stair.

Posted: **Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:16 pm**

Fred Astaire ate my hamster.

Posted: **Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:54 pm**

Fred Mumford wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:16 pm Fred Astaire ate my hamster.

I used to confuse him with Red Adair.
Didn't Fred Astaire dance with the woman with gum disease..... gingivitis

Posted: **Wed Jan 01, 2020 7:00 am**

ASMR is a thing

Posted: **Tue Mar 03, 2020 2:52 pm**

'Do you wanna build a snowman' has the same number of syllables as 'teenage mutant ninja turtles'.

Edit: and 'harder better faster stronger'.

Posted: **Tue Mar 10, 2020 10:33 pm**

There's no such thing as normal-sized pandas.

Posted: **Wed Mar 11, 2020 12:15 am**

Ben Wilson wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 2:52 pm 'Do you wanna build a snowman' has the same number of syllables as 'teenage mutant ninja turtles'.

Edit: and 'harder better faster stronger'.

Enjoy your evening.

Posted: **Wed Mar 11, 2020 4:49 pm**

Johnny Canuck wrote: ↑Wed Mar 11, 2020 12:15 am
Ben Wilson wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 2:52 pm 'Do you wanna build a snowman' has the same number of syllables as 'teenage mutant ninja turtles'.

Edit: and 'harder better faster stronger'.
Enjoy your evening.

Whoops, was gonna mention this and forgot. Someone did a Twitter bit which finds Wikipedia pages that do it.

https://mobile.twitter.com/wiki_tmnt

Posted: **Wed Mar 11, 2020 9:16 pm**

Why is this a thing, and in particular why Do You Want to Build a Snowman? I'd never even heard of this shit.

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2020 9:43 am**

Tom Hanks' wife is called Wilson

(Perhaps not REALLY obvious, but amusing nonetheless)

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:19 am**

What?

Edit - I mean, why is it funny and why is a picture of a football with that weird blood hand/face on it relevant? I'm not getting it at all.

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:42 am**

I used to wonder why an ass was sometimes a donkey and sometimes a snake depending on what the speaker felt like at the time, and how everyone just seemed to know which they were referring to. Turns out the snake was an asp. Still a stupid word to this day. I've never needed to use the word "asp".

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2020 11:02 am**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:19 am What?

Edit - I mean, why is it funny and why is a picture of a football with that weird blood hand/face on it relevant? I'm not getting it at all.

The volleyball's from Cast Away. Do you want to build a snowman? is from Frozen. These are both somewhat successful films.

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2020 11:21 am**

Thomas Cappleman wrote: ↑Thu Mar 12, 2020 11:02 am
Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Thu Mar 12, 2020 10:19 am What?

Edit - I mean, why is it funny and why is a picture of a football with that weird blood hand/face on it relevant? I'm not getting it at all.
The volleyball's from Cast Away. Do you want to build a snowman? is from Frozen. These are both somewhat successful films.

Actually, I just looked up the Wilson thing and was about to edit my post.

As for the other one, I'm still left thinking "So what?"

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2020 12:50 pm**

I like the TMNT one. I now can't hear 'stronger' by Kanye West without hearing the lyrics 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' instead.

Posted: **Thu Mar 12, 2020 3:07 pm**

That reminds me that "Mersey Docks and Harbour Board" goes exactly to this : https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/3629230/Th ... irzy+Doats

Posted: **Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:11 pm**

1) The song played at the start of Only Fools and Horses is a completely different song than the song played during the end credits

2) Americans don't say "and" when saying numbers (e.g they say "five hundred four thousand" instead of "five hundred and four thousand")

Posted: **Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:32 am**

That the headline Kim Jong un dead , isn't suggesting the North Korean leader is a zombie

Posted: **Sun Apr 26, 2020 1:28 pm**

When the electric toothbrush stops spinning temporarily every 30 seconds or so, it isn't constantly suffering from a duff battery - it's telling you to change area.

Posted: **Sun Apr 26, 2020 5:37 pm**

Martin Hurst wrote: ↑Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:11 pm 1) The song played at the start of Only Fools and Horses is a completely different song than the song played during the end credits.

https://youtu.be/yaCg93od-qY just wait until you hear the original theme.

Posted: **Sun Apr 26, 2020 5:48 pm**

Ben Wilson wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2020 5:37 pm
Martin Hurst wrote: ↑Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:11 pm 1) The song played at the start of Only Fools and Horses is a completely different song than the song played during the end credits.
https://youtu.be/yaCg93od-qY just wait until you hear the original theme.

This brings me back to the rare occasion you had the same theme tune for two shows.
Briefly Grange Hill and Give Us a Clue had the same theme tune.

Posted: **Sun Apr 26, 2020 6:23 pm**

Ben Wilson wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2020 5:37 pm
Martin Hurst wrote: ↑Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:11 pm 1) The song played at the start of Only Fools and Horses is a completely different song than the song played during the end credits.
https://youtu.be/yaCg93od-qY just wait until you hear the original theme.

Wow - that's awful.

Posted: **Tue Apr 28, 2020 6:45 pm**

Sandra Bullock is niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

Posted: **Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:14 am**

Not so much a really obvious thing, but something I've always done (and still do) that is now officially 'wrong'.

I dunno why I do it, or when it started, or who told me it was the thing to do, but I've always stuck two spaces after a full stop.

I didn't even know I did it until a friend I used to email regularly (before the days of whatsapp, messenger etc) made a sarcy comment.

I will endeavour to save spaces.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-ne ... 180974754/

Posted: **Wed Apr 29, 2020 11:52 am**

It's only in recent years that Civil Service guidance has changed, but it's a relic of mechanical typesetting, or something like that if I remember right. Still a good number of colleagues use them, I delight in finding and replacing them

Posted: **Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:01 pm**

It's a discussion that I've seen come up a few times recently. It makes sense that it might have been a thing with mechanical typewriters.

Posted: **Wed Apr 29, 2020 2:14 pm**

Ian Volante wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 11:52 am It's only in recent years that Civil Service guidance has changed, but it's a relic of mechanical typesetting, or something like that if I remember right. Still a good number of colleagues use them, I delight in finding and replacing them

Ah my first job was Civil Service, and I hadn't really had cause to type anything prior to that, so guess that's where I picked it up. Wonder what "Mavis Beacon teaches typing" used to say...

Posted: **Wed Apr 29, 2020 2:15 pm**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x2jdQFGTj4

Two spaces - it's Mavis's fault!

Edit: just googled it - the entire internet is blaming Mavis

Posted: **Sun May 03, 2020 11:16 am**

Paul Merton is older than Ian Hislop (62 to 59). OK, it's not REALLY obvious and I actually found out ages ago, but I still think it's worth mentioning. When I first started watching Have I Got News For You as a teenager, I saw Paul as the young "cool" one and Ian as the middle-aged uncool one. I would have been very surprised to be told that Paul was older at that point. But since then, Paul has definitely aged, whereas Ian looks largely the same as he ever did. So it might not be so surprising to new viewers.

Posted: **Sun May 03, 2020 1:19 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Sun May 03, 2020 11:16 am Paul Merton is older than Ian Hislop (62 to 59). OK, it's not REALLY obvious and I actually found out ages ago, but I still think it's worth mentioning. When I first started watching Have I Got News For You as a teenager, I saw Paul as the young "cool" one and Ian as the middle-aged uncool one. I would have been very surprised to be told that Paul was older at that point. But since then, Paul has definitely aged, whereas Ian looks largely the same as he ever did. So it might not be so surprising to new viewers.

A bit like Clive Dunn from Dad's Army....he used to have to dress and act older than he was and eventually he looked like Corporal Jones for real

Posted: **Sun May 03, 2020 2:02 pm**

Fiona T wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 2:14 pm
Ian Volante wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 11:52 am It's only in recent years that Civil Service guidance has changed, but it's a relic of mechanical typesetting, or something like that if I remember right. Still a good number of colleagues use them, I delight in finding and replacing them
Ah my first job was Civil Service, and I hadn't really had cause to type anything prior to that, so guess that's where I picked it up. Wonder what "Mavis Beacon teaches typing" used to say...

“Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” has the same syllabic rhythm as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I need to get out more. I sincerely enjoy not being allowed to.

Posted: **Mon May 04, 2020 11:54 am**

Johnny Canuck wrote: ↑Sun May 03, 2020 2:02 pm “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” has the same syllabic rhythm as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I still don't understand why this is a thing.

Posted: **Mon May 04, 2020 11:59 am**

Ian Volante wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 11:54 am
Johnny Canuck wrote: ↑Sun May 03, 2020 2:02 pm “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” has the same syllabic rhythm as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
I still don't understand why this is a thing.

Me too. Basically it means they can chuckle to themselves whenever they encounter something with eight syllables.

Posted: **Mon May 04, 2020 12:01 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 11:59 am
Ian Volante wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 11:54 am
Johnny Canuck wrote: ↑Sun May 03, 2020 2:02 pm “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing” has the same syllabic rhythm as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
I still don't understand why this is a thing.
Me too. Basically it means they can chuckle to themselves whenever they encounter something with eight syllables.

It's not just the syllable count, the stress pattern has a lot to do with it as well.

Posted: **Mon May 04, 2020 12:49 pm**

Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:01 pm It's a discussion that I've seen come up a few times recently. It makes sense that it might have been a thing with mechanical typewriters.

I can't see it. With a mechanical typewriter, the full stop occupies a whole space. With two more empty spaces, that's three spaces between the last word of the previous sentence and the first word of the next one. Modern full stops are usually much smaller anyway, and occupy very little space, so there's not much more than a single space between the two words. It would make more sense if there had only been one space in the olden days and now there were two. I blame ADHD myself. If you don't keep the words close together modern youth loses concentration very quickly.

Posted: **Mon May 04, 2020 2:10 pm**

Graeme Cole wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 12:01 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 11:59 am
Ian Volante wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 11:54 am

I still don't understand why this is a thing.
Me too. Basically it means they can chuckle to themselves whenever they encounter something with eight syllables.
It's not just the syllable count, the stress pattern has a lot to do with it as well.

"Do you wanna build a snowman" called.

Posted: **Mon May 04, 2020 10:00 pm**

Similarly, "Mersey Docks and Harbour Board" - familiar to Liverpudlians is exactly like "mairzy dotes and dozy dotes" and so needs "and little lamzy tivy" to follow

Posted: **Tue May 05, 2020 7:54 am**

Also am I the only that says , who? after someone says The World Health Organisation on the TV

Posted: **Tue May 05, 2020 11:02 am**

Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Tue May 05, 2020 7:54 am Also am I the only that says , who? after someone says The World Health Organisation on the TV

Probably.

That reminds me though, there was a great gag in the Catherine Tate/Lauren sketch which was easily the funniest item on The Big Night In. Her teacher, played by David Tennant, was correcting her random assertions about coronavirus transmission. "What are you?" she retorted. "A Doctor? The W.H.O.?"

c4countdown

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