Funny, strange & downright confusing place names.

Another one of those random thoughts that pop into my head!! I was thinking of some Scottish towns annd villages that have really bizarre spellings for their names and the confusion that it causes. Case in point - Milngavie. Anyone who doesn't know would pronounce it "mill-n-ga-vee" but it's actually "mull-guy". Could be confusing if one were to tell a visitor to Scotland to take the train to "mull-guy" and all they saw on the station signs was Milngavie!!

I know of one or two other confusing places nearby to where I live and I thought I'd look around for some more to compile a list. So here it is:

1. Kilncadzow, pronounced "kill-caig-ee". One of my particular favourites, lol.
2. I have to add this as my fiance always gets it wrong - Edinburgh. He pronounces it as he would Pittsburgh but it's actually "ed-in-burr-uh" or "ed-in-burr-oh" depending on whether or not you're posh, lol.
3. Culross and Culter are both pronounced with a "coo" but in the case of Culross, the 'l' is silent.

Moving away from Scotland now:

4. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch in Wales. I won't even attempt to guess how to pronounce it!!
5. My fiance's home sate: Arkansas. Most of my family pronounce it exactly how it's spelled (I do too in my head when I'm writing/typing it, lol) but as most people know it's actually pronounced "are-can-saw".

Some fun names rather than mis-pronounced ones:

6. Okay, Oklahoma
7. Nameless, Tennessee
8. Girdletree, Maryland
9. Back to Scotland for another one: Assloss
10. This last one is so poular there is one in USA (Arkansas) AND one in Australia (Queensland). And it is .......................... Bald Knob.

The sign at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrnd by rahulbiswas	Bald Knob, AR City Limits Sign by city_limits
OKAY by statetostate	Cousins With Benefits by archwear

 

Are you serious???

The internet is a wonderful place: convenient, educational, informative, entertaining, and somewhere to make a total fool of yourself. Browsing through Yahoo Answers reveals plenty of peple willing to risk appearing foolish. Are they serious? Ok, a lot of them aren't, but here are some of the funniest/weirdest questions that I have come across recently:

1. How do you become a witch and also how do you control your powers? Hey im trying to find out what it takes to become a witch and also tell me how do you control the powers that will come with it. Please explain your answer. (really?)
2. What are some tips on Making a strong mermaid spell? I want to make up a very strong mermaid spell. It is kind-of hard. That's why I need positive answers and positive help. All answers are acceptable but, negative answers. (and again, really??)
3. Will the rich and poor experience the same amount of happiness in Heaven? Will the rich and the poor experience the same amount of peace, joy, love and happiness when they all enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Also will both the rich and the poor have an equal amount of privilidges while they're in Heaven?
4. How would you go about fakeing a broken arm at hosp? well my friend has done it twice i am now wanting to know haw i do it. (make sure when you go to the hospital that they use the FAKE x-ray machine, that's how I do it.)
5. How do you tell your own shoe size at home? I want to buy shoes over the internet but not sure my exact size. Is there any way to use household items to measure my shoe size? (erm, may I suggest looking at a pair of shoes you already own??). However, an answer WAS provided:  Most internet sites have a shoe size guide. All you have to do it put your foot up to the monitor and measure your foot. (Just be careful not to kick the monitor over when you do!)
6. Is it okay to make farting noises during an informal business meeting, to indicate your opinion of an idiot? You know, when the idiot makes an asinine proposal such as having the curbs in the parking lot painted a golden color to "spiff it up". Or, is this too disgusting and unprofessional? What about rolling your eyes and puffing spitwads at him through a straw? (I think that both options are totally fine if you want to take a VERY long vacation!)
7. SAINT PETER TOLD ME I WAS DESTINED TO RULE THE WORLD. WHAT SHOULD I DO FIRST?
8. Ozone.......? do you think if everyone in the world held their breath for 10 seconds it would help change the ozone????
9. Is it normal for chicken to smell odd after the best by date? Everytime I buy chicken and it has a best by date and I consume it a day or two later, it smells odd. I never got sick but why does it smell odd? (hmmm, dunno, maybe you can keep on sxperimenting with it; leave it longer and onger each time and see what happens.)
10. Walmart...? help.....? Where can I get a Wal-mart application? (erm, did you try AT Walmart???)

that's bull! by ArtformTheHeart See more Bull T-Shirts

Doh! T-Shirt by homeruntilly Design personalized t-shirts using zazzle

GENIUS BY BIRTH, SLACKER BY CHOICE by kishni1985 Browse Genius T-Shirts

Barr's Irn Bru - Latest Ad

Ever since I can remember Barr's Irn Bru has been my favourite soft drink. I remember as a kid the Barr's factory was in the town of Wishaw, not far from where I lived, and you could go along and buy directly from the factory. To those of you not in the UK (or more precisely Scotland), irn bru is a bright orange coloured soda described as 'mixed fruit' flavour.

Long time slogans of the drink were "Made in Scotland from girders" and "Scotland's other national drink". In recent years their ad campaigns have become funnier and perhaps more controversial. The parody of the children's animation "the Snowman" (a beautiful adaptation of the Raymond Briggs book set to the song "Walking in the Air) was hilarious. The animation tells the tale of a young boy building a snowman and the snowman later coming to life, very sweet and worth a look if by some chance you have never seen it. The Irn Bru admen cheekily adapted the animation to have the snowman try and get a drink of the young boy's irn bru, when the boy continually refuses, the snowman lets go of his and and sends him crashing back down to earth. It was definately on of the more memorable ad campaigns I've seen, very funny in a somewhat understated way. This clip isn't "The Snowman" though, it's Barr's latest offering; some find it hilarious, others find it offensive but at the end of the day, it's only a bit of fun. Enjoy.

Misquoted Mix-ups

Some commonly misquoted phrases, that if you think about them, are kind of amusing.

"I could care less."
It's actually supposed to be "I could not care less". If a person says the former then they are implying that they DO care, not the point of the phrase at all.

"A damp squid."
Squid are aquatic animals (cephalopds) and yes they would be damp or wet, kinda the point because if they were dry they would be dead. The saying is meant to be "a damp squib" meaning something unuseful or disappointing. A squib is an explosive that resembles a small stick of dynamite so it makes sense that a damp one wouldn't be much use.

"You've got another thing coming."
Great, what is it? I love presents! Actually I'm guilty saying of this one myself  more often than not. It really should be "you've got another THINK coming" along the same lines as "if you think that then you had better think again."

So here's a 'misquoted' design to finish:

HIPPO BIRDIE by SandraBoynton
Browse Cards

A random funny video

Funny video, of course a lot of them are 'acting' but it's worth it for the genuine ones. The real scary thing is how many times it appears to be parents setting up their young kids for this, lol.

A 'new' invention.

A friend and I were talking once about how great it would be to be able to invent something. Something really new and unique that everyone would want or need so that we could "make our million". He started telling me about an idea he had; saying how awkward he found it trying to use chopsticks in chinese or japanese restaurants. He said that he could just about manage to pick up a piece of food but that by the time he'd gotten the chopsticks anywhere close to his mouth, he's dropped the food, plop back onto his plate. He said that he had an idea how to make chopsticks that were easier to use. Never having been able to remotely use chopsticks myself I told him it sounded like something that could be really popular and told him to continue. He explained that if the chopsticks were sharp at the end, pointed, you could stab the food and that way it wouldn't fall off of the chopstick. I agreed wholeheartedly and encouraged him to tell me more. He went on to add that he'd then thought how having more than one point would make it even easier still. Again I agreed with him. Then he said, dead pan, "That's when I realised I had just re-invented the fork." Doh - I'm such a sucker!!

Sushi! Poster by Nashiil
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A Funny T-shirt I just had to share.

Just in case you ever wondered where rainbows come from, here's the answer:

Where rainbows come from t-shirts