Turtles: Oddities & Forteana (General; Miscellaneous)

[blessmycottonsocks]

Neil Oliver, the presenter on GB News just now, used the expression "it's turtles, all the way down"

That very weird expression piqued my interest and I just had to Google it.

Well its origins are obscure but Wikipedia declares that it is "an expression of the problem of infinite regress. The saying alludes to the mythological idea of a World Turtle that supports a flat Earth on its back. It suggests that this turtle rests on the back of an even larger turtle, which itself is part of a column of increasingly larger turtles that continues indefinitely.
The exact origin of the phrase is uncertain. In the form "rocks all the way down," the saying appears as early as 1838. References to the saying's mythological antecedents, the World Turtle and its counterpart the World Elephant, were made by a number of authors in the 17th and 18th centuries."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down

 

[Frideswide]

Neil Oliver, the presenter on GB News just now, used the expression "it's turtles, all the way down"

That very weird expression piqued my interest and I just had to Google it.

Well its origins are obscure but Wikipedia declares that it is "an expression of the problem of infinite regress. The saying alludes to the mythological idea of a World Turtle that supports a flat Earth on its back. It suggests that this turtle rests on the back of an even larger turtle, which itself is part of a column of increasingly larger turtles that continues indefinitely.
The exact origin of the phrase is uncertain. In the form "rocks all the way down," the saying appears as early as 1838. References to the saying's mythological antecedents, the World Turtle and its counterpart the World Elephant, were made by a number of authors in the 17th and 18th centuries."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down

I think I know it throught Pratchett. But mnaybe not.

 

[ramonmercado]

Giant turtle. Vid at link.

Chicago kayakers discover 'Chonkosaurus' turtle​

These two kayakers and their thick Chicago accents came upon a turtle so big that they and the internet have nicknamed it 'Chonkosaurus'.
'I can only wonder what this thing has been eating,' one of the kayakers wrote on Twitter.


https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65529029

 

[Sillyhuron]

Poet Carl Sandburg called Chicago the "City of the Big Shoulders".

Big Turtles too, I guess.

 

[ramonmercado]

You could get shell shock.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a dire warning against kissing small turtles.

"Public health officials are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella linked to small turtles," the CDC states in an official notice. "Although any turtle can carry Salmonella germs that can spread to you and make you sick, turtles with shells less than 4 inches long are a known source of illness."

Apparently, turtles with shells smaller than four inches are banned under federal law specifically because of this risk. However, the animals can be purchased illegally online, at roadside stands, and some shady shops.

Even if the turtle is chonky, the CDC says that the reptiles "are not recommended for children younger than 5, adults aged 65 and older, or people with weakened immune systems. These people are more likely to get a serious illness from germs that turtles can carry."

https://boingboing.net/2023/08/24/c...gainst-kissing-or-even-snuggling-turtles.html

 

[Sillyhuron]

To paraphrase Queen
"I'm just a poor turtle, nobody loves me".