4 ms·

This is fag packet math, so I'll spare any exact figures. But if the second wave data for the UK is anything to go by, confirmed cases vs actual cases was at _

This is fag packet math, so I'll spare any exact figures. But if the second wave data for the UK is anything to go by, confirmed cases vs actual cases was at _least_ 5x for the first wave. There obivously are other factors, but with increased testing that multiplier only climbs, bringing herd immunity numbers actually within reasonable grasp. I strongly suspect there have been similar effects in the US.

bigbubba 6y ago
(People scribble on cigarette packages? Aren't those waxed cardboard or something? I wouldn't expect a pen to work well on those.)
- pbhjpbhj 6y ago
  FWIW they almost certainly didn't write on a cigarette package in this instance ;o) It's just the name of that type of maths because people used to use whatever small, available, piece of paper was around - so cigarette packs some time ago (you definitely could write on them with a ballpoint pen (ie un bic). Getting tangential, napkins to me in the UK have always been cloth, and we have serviettes (a French word, meaning sheet IIRC) made of paper to wipe our mouths with. Our language gets more and more influenced by USA "English" usage, so perhaps youth would just call it a napkin. People do say 'paper napkin' but without the qualifier it's a fancy piece of cloth [to me].
  - mikelward 6y ago
    I can't decide whether to use the term cutlery (mainly UK) or silverware (mainly US). They're both inaccurate, especially when asking for plastic/disposable versions.
    - PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago
      https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2008/09/stemware-and-other-wares.html https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2008/09/stem...
    - bigbubba 6y ago
      'Utensils' seems accurate, although imprecise.
      - Izkata 6y ago
        This is actually the one I've always jumped to (in the US). "Silverware" and "cutlery" have always had a fancy restaurant vibe, rather than a be a word for an everyday object.
    - pbhjpbhj 6y ago
      If it includes a knife then "cutlery" seems accurate? Sometimes I'll just make a compound of the items "spoons-and-forks" (when it's pasta for tea [tea meaning evening meal where I come from]).
  - jjgreen 6y ago
    Our language gets more and more influenced by USA "English" usage, That's a two-way street https://notoneoffbritishisms.com/ https://notoneoffbritishisms.com/
- Buttons840 6y ago
  I carry a Fisher Space Pen in my pocket with my keys. It can write on wax paper. The ink cartridges are pressurized.
jayd16 6y ago
>This is fag packet math Is this what they call napkin math in the UK? Back of the cigarette pack math?
- dboreham 6y ago
  To be consistent I think it should be "fag packet maths".
- hondo77 6y ago
  From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-of-the-envelope_calculation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-of-the-envelope_calculati...: In British English, a similar idiom is "back of a fag packet".

bigbubba 6y ago

(People scribble on cigarette packages? Aren't those waxed cardboard or something? I wouldn't expect a pen to work well on those.)

pbhjpbhj 6y ago
FWIW they almost certainly didn't write on a cigarette package in this instance ;o) It's just the name of that type of maths because people used to use whatever small, available, piece of paper was around - so cigarette packs some time ago (you definitely could write on them with a ballpoint pen (ie un bic). Getting tangential, napkins to me in the UK have always been cloth, and we have serviettes (a French word, meaning sheet IIRC) made of paper to wipe our mouths with. Our language gets more and more influenced by USA "English" usage, so perhaps youth would just call it a napkin. People do say 'paper napkin' but without the qualifier it's a fancy piece of cloth [to me].
- mikelward 6y ago
  I can't decide whether to use the term cutlery (mainly UK) or silverware (mainly US). They're both inaccurate, especially when asking for plastic/disposable versions.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago
    https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2008/09/stemware-and-other-wares.html https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2008/09/stem...
  - bigbubba 6y ago
    'Utensils' seems accurate, although imprecise.
    - Izkata 6y ago
      This is actually the one I've always jumped to (in the US). "Silverware" and "cutlery" have always had a fancy restaurant vibe, rather than a be a word for an everyday object.
  - pbhjpbhj 6y ago
    If it includes a knife then "cutlery" seems accurate? Sometimes I'll just make a compound of the items "spoons-and-forks" (when it's pasta for tea [tea meaning evening meal where I come from]).
- jjgreen 6y ago
  Our language gets more and more influenced by USA "English" usage, That's a two-way street https://notoneoffbritishisms.com/ https://notoneoffbritishisms.com/
Buttons840 6y ago
I carry a Fisher Space Pen in my pocket with my keys. It can write on wax paper. The ink cartridges are pressurized.

jayd16 6y ago

>This is fag packet math Is this what they call napkin math in the UK? Back of the cigarette pack math?

dboreham 6y ago
To be consistent I think it should be "fag packet maths".
hondo77 6y ago
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-of-the-envelope_calculation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-of-the-envelope_calculati...: In British English, a similar idiom is "back of a fag packet".