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> Note that "gas" in this context means natural gas, not gasoline What's up with Americans consistently calling things "wrong" like this? "Gas" isn't even the

> Note that "gas" in this context means natural gas, not gasoline What's up with Americans consistently calling things "wrong" like this? "Gas" isn't even the right state of matter for the subject, nor is "football" actually a sport where the ball is mostly for the foot, almost like things are intentionally named bad.

vrganj 7mo ago
Did you know that "Danishes" were... Austrian?
- embedding-shape 7mo ago
  You know, the first five times I read your comment it didn't make sense. This time I got curious enough to investigate what the hell you're talking about... Apparently in some countries there is something called "Danish Pastry" or "Danish" for short, I had no idea! Funnily enough, where I grew up, those are called "Wienerbröd" (and in Danish it's "wienerbrød", the same basically) which quite literally translates to "Viennese bread". So no, I didn't know "Danishes" were Austrian, but I did have the suspicion that Viennese bread was indeed Austrian :)
SAI_Peregrinus 7mo ago
What's up with the British calling refined gasoline "petrol"? It's not even an abbreviation for the word, it's a totally different material? You don't go calling refined aluminium "bauxite", but you do call gasoline "petrol". We're both wrong. It's a liquid at room temperature, and it's called not petroleum.
- whynotmaybe 7mo ago
  Yes, we all know the French are right on this one by calling it "essence"
  - deleted 7mo ago
    [deleted]
  - wongarsu 7mo ago
    Seems cromulent to me. One of the common meanings of essence is "a product of distillation" (compare e.g. essential oils - oils won through steam distillation). And gasoline is won through fancy distillation
- wongogue 7mo ago
  Do you call water “steam juice”?
xigoi 7mo ago
Also, they drive on a parkway and park on a driveway.
triceratops 7mo ago
"Gas" is short for "gasoline" which means "gas oil". That is a perfectly cromulent name for a liquid. "Football" is a different game in the US because it arrived there from England in the 19th century when carrying the ball was allowed. In England the sport eventually split into distinct sports: association football (aka soccer) and rugby. In America they evolved the game independently but didn't change the name. Hope that clears it up.
- embedding-shape 7mo ago
  > but didn't change the name. That's the part that don't make no sense, so no, still very unclear why Americans keeps insisting on calling things the wrong names :)
  - triceratops 7mo ago
    Because changing a name that's been in use for decades is very confusing and unnecessary. A rose by another name etc. The full names of the two rugby codes are "rugby union football" and "rugby league football". So Americans aren't alone in their cavalier use of the word "football". See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football
    - embedding-shape 7mo ago
      > Because changing a name that's been in use for decades is very confusing and unnecessary Yeah, that never happens, not even with important national institutions or anything like that.
      - triceratops 7mo ago
        Why do Germans and Dutch call gasoline "benzin"? It's clearly not benzene.
  - ianburrell 7mo ago
    It is the British that changed things. They also used to call it soccer and then changed in the 1980s. Canada and Australia still use soccer, probably cause they have native footballs.
happymellon 7mo ago
> nor is "football" actually a sport where the ball is mostly for the foot This is untrue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football There are lots of countries where Association isn't the "football" for the region.

vrganj 7mo ago

Did you know that "Danishes" were... Austrian?

embedding-shape 7mo ago
You know, the first five times I read your comment it didn't make sense. This time I got curious enough to investigate what the hell you're talking about... Apparently in some countries there is something called "Danish Pastry" or "Danish" for short, I had no idea! Funnily enough, where I grew up, those are called "Wienerbröd" (and in Danish it's "wienerbrød", the same basically) which quite literally translates to "Viennese bread". So no, I didn't know "Danishes" were Austrian, but I did have the suspicion that Viennese bread was indeed Austrian :)

SAI_Peregrinus 7mo ago

What's up with the British calling refined gasoline "petrol"? It's not even an abbreviation for the word, it's a totally different material? You don't go calling refined aluminium "bauxite", but you do call gasoline "petrol". We're both wrong. It's a liquid at room temperature, and it's called not petroleum.

whynotmaybe 7mo ago
Yes, we all know the French are right on this one by calling it "essence"
- deleted 7mo ago
  [deleted]
- wongarsu 7mo ago
  Seems cromulent to me. One of the common meanings of essence is "a product of distillation" (compare e.g. essential oils - oils won through steam distillation). And gasoline is won through fancy distillation
wongogue 7mo ago
Do you call water “steam juice”?

xigoi 7mo ago

Also, they drive on a parkway and park on a driveway.

triceratops 7mo ago

"Gas" is short for "gasoline" which means "gas oil". That is a perfectly cromulent name for a liquid. "Football" is a different game in the US because it arrived there from England in the 19th century when carrying the ball was allowed. In England the sport eventually split into distinct sports: association football (aka soccer) and rugby. In America they evolved the game independently but didn't change the name. Hope that clears it up.

embedding-shape 7mo ago
> but didn't change the name. That's the part that don't make no sense, so no, still very unclear why Americans keeps insisting on calling things the wrong names :)
- triceratops 7mo ago
  Because changing a name that's been in use for decades is very confusing and unnecessary. A rose by another name etc. The full names of the two rugby codes are "rugby union football" and "rugby league football". So Americans aren't alone in their cavalier use of the word "football". See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_rules_football
  - embedding-shape 7mo ago
    > Because changing a name that's been in use for decades is very confusing and unnecessary Yeah, that never happens, not even with important national institutions or anything like that.
    - triceratops 7mo ago
      Why do Germans and Dutch call gasoline "benzin"? It's clearly not benzene.
- ianburrell 7mo ago
  It is the British that changed things. They also used to call it soccer and then changed in the 1980s. Canada and Australia still use soccer, probably cause they have native footballs.

happymellon 7mo ago

> nor is "football" actually a sport where the ball is mostly for the foot This is untrue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football There are lots of countries where Association isn't the "football" for the region.