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What's The Most Boring Fortean Subject?

brownmane said:
It is interesting that @Ghost In The Machine's attachment lists the meaning of were-wulf as "fiend".

Considering the works of Wulfstan are the only ones using this word, and that Wulf is part of his surname, did he create a word to indicate that someone not of his family was a were-Wulf ie no familial connection, or an enemy?

Big difference between what we understand as the meaning of werewolf and fiend.
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yeah, this guy was someone who mixed languages probably intentionally,
 
Aydee_Aitchdee said:
Great story, but I'm not understanding this. Why would scans come to mind when looking at a young couple?
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Babies! Both of them look the picture of health (son's seizures had only just started and he hadn't yet lost his muscles, so ostensibly, to a stranger, a scan for ill health - like you might think if you looked at an older person, for example - wouldn't be likely. Baby scans would be a better bet?)
 
brownmane said:
It is interesting that @Ghost In The Machine's attachment lists the meaning of were-wulf as "fiend".

Considering the works of Wulfstan are the only ones using this word, and that Wulf is part of his surname, did he create a word to indicate that someone not of his family was a were-Wulf ie no familial connection, or an enemy?

Big difference between what we understand as the meaning of werewolf and fiend.
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It looks to be a possible word for "devil" or "demon" kind of - and I'd doubt it was coined by Wulfstan (his own name , "Wolf-stone", is a coincidence and just a standard native name).

The fact he's using it to signify some sort of demon doesn't preclude it being also a more literal wolf-man (well, "man-wolf"). I'd guess - and it is just a guess - that it's an old (pre christian) word that may well have got co-opted. I'd have to look deeper and see if I can find an earlier instance of it in a less christian context, but that's quite likely. In fact, the idea of a "ravening man-wolf" does seem to be decidedly pagan so could be another lost god/demi-god being turned into a christian construct to literally demonise the older more shamanic/nature based belief systems..?

ETA: There's passages in Wulfstan prohibiting people worshipping "stones" or at wells, etc. So the whole feel of this is that it's about crushing the older, native, religion.

ETA2: Damn I'm started to get interested in wolfmen.
 
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Ghost In The Machine said:
Ah damn missed that - now I'm trying to think where else it might be possible to find that word. It's a big problem with Old English that we sometimes have only one incidence of a word...
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Can't help but being reminded of Calvin and Hobbes.

wkrmeyx5qqja1.jpg
 
IIRC, many of the "lost" words are things like certain animal and plant names. But where we don't know them, we can sometimes take an educated guess from German or maybe other Germanic languages (my favourite is "flying mouse" for "bat"). Then again, there's times where there's a word, like a plant name in a document, where there is no known parallel and we can't translate it at all, if the monks haven't done a Latin gloss, or whatever...

I'd be willing to bet though that "wer-wulf" is an older word even if we only get it in a christian context. Not sure but it's more than likely.
 
Ghost In The Machine said:
Babies! Both of them look the picture of health (son's seizures had only just started and he hadn't yet lost his muscles, so ostensibly, to a stranger, a scan for ill health - like you might think if you looked at an older person, for example - wouldn't be likely. Baby scans would be a better bet?)
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Plus, of course, people going to fortune tellers, Tarot readers, mediums, etc, tend to have questions about something specific. Not many go just for a general 'read', people have a central issue that they want to have resolved, even though they may not be overtly aware of it at the time. A young couple, obviously in love - they are going to want to know how happy they are going to be, what sexes their babies will be and will they be healthy - all that kind of thing. It's the sort of thing you do when you've either just got engaged or you've just had another happy event - like a positive pregnancy test.
 
Ghost In The Machine said:
IIRC, many of the "lost" words are things like certain animal and plant names. But where we don't know them, we can sometimes take an educated guess from German or maybe other Germanic languages (my favourite is "flying mouse" for "bat"). Then again, there's times where there's a word, like a plant name in a document, where there is no known parallel and we can't translate it at all, if the monks haven't done a Latin gloss, or whatever...

I'd be willing to bet though that "wer-wulf" is an older word even if we only get it in a christian context. Not sure but it's more than likely.
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yeah, that's the REALLY hard one, names of a specific species. 'cause loans... might re-use a name for a different species. Like the word "corn" the modern usage is NOT what it used to mean... not even close. o-o'
 
Analogue Boy said:
I once experimented with a pyramid and one of dad’s razor blades. He was sceptical and maybe justified as there was no discernible difference. He stuck with his glass blade sharpener. A bit like this one but this is made of uranium glass which elevates it in a dangerous boy fashion. If I didn’t have a Braun, a mole and the luxury of more time in the morning, I’d like to go back to The Old Ways with this Proper Chap gear.

Lillicrap’s Home Uranium Green Glass Razor Safety Blade Sharpener.
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I tried the old Wilkinson Sword safety razor years ago and ended up with a face that looked like a Pizza topping.
Our Turkish barbers use a cut throat with disposable blades and never draw blood when I have them shave me.
 
Tempest63 said:
I tried the old Wilkinson Sword safety razor years ago and ended up with a face that looked like a Pizza topping.
Our Turkish barbers use a cut throat with disposable blades and never draw blood when I have them shave me.
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yeah, heard it's REALLY hard to get a proper shave with a straight razor by doing it yourself.
 
Tempest63 said:
Yet my dad used to do it every morning with cold water; I shudder just thinking about it.
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My dad used to use a straight razor when I was young. At some point he switched to an electric.
 
marhawkman said:
It is a good point that all words have an origin... it's just most are lost to time. It's one of the most fascinating, yet frustrating aspects of linguistics.
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We've had threads on regional slang, where posters have declared their willingness to die on the hill of the exact derivation of (say) 'dosh'. :chuckle:
 
I've a copy of the OED and now access to the Open University online library which has loads of reference books to look up derivations, first usages etc.
 
Leprechaun museums?

National Leprechaun Museum named as Ireland's most boring tourist attraction​

National Leprechaun Museum Named As Ireland's Most Boring Tourist Attraction

The National Leprechaun Museum was the only Irish attraction in the list. Photo: PA

The National Leprechaun Museum has been named as the country's most boring tourist attraction.

The museum in Dublin city, which features interactive oversized furniture, ranked number 38th in a global list – and was the only Irish attraction in the top 100. The museum opened in 2010, containing some of Ireland’s most famous myths and legends while you walk through various rooms with huge furniture, lush forests and wishing wells.

The list was put together by Solitaired.com, by analysing almost 67 million Google reviews of more than 3,000 attractions worldwide.

The Branson Scenic Railway in Missouri took the number one spot, with the US occupying the top seven spots.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland...s-most-boring-tourist-attraction-1614532.html
 
I did a long drive to the Lake District, passing The Pencil Museum and something to do with teapots. I'd have thought they would give Leprechaun World a run for their money.

My son was joking that they made Shed World sound like a fascinating tourist attraction.
 
Thing is, to define what is interesting you need to define 'interesting'. It's all a matter of perspective.
You might have a 'museum' of sticks. Does it sound interesting?
However, upon attending said museum and lectures you might learn about the stick in legendary; the different historical setting of various sticks; the use of different woods in sticks.
I find things interesting whereas others don't. Who says what qualifies as 'interesting'? Some really obscure subjects can become interesting and others sound dull; it's all down to presentation of the subject.
 
ramonmercado said:
Leprechaun museums?

National Leprechaun Museum named as Ireland's most boring tourist attraction​

National Leprechaun Museum Named As Ireland's Most Boring Tourist Attraction's Most Boring Tourist Attraction

The National Leprechaun Museum was the only Irish attraction in the list. Photo: PA

The National Leprechaun Museum has been named as the country's most boring tourist attraction.

The museum in Dublin city, which features interactive oversized furniture, ranked number 38th in a global list – and was the only Irish attraction in the top 100. The museum opened in 2010, containing some of Ireland’s most famous myths and legends while you walk through various rooms with huge furniture, lush forests and wishing wells.

The list was put together by Solitaired.com, by analysing almost 67 million Google reviews of more than 3,000 attractions worldwide.

The Branson Scenic Railway in Missouri took the number one spot, with the US occupying the top seven spots.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland...s-most-boring-tourist-attraction-1614532.html
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I miss the Rope Museum at Hawes.
 
catseye said:
I did a long drive to the Lake District, passing The Pencil Museum and something to do with teapots. I'd have thought they would give Leprechaun World a run for their money.

My son was joking that they made Shed World sound like a fascinating tourist attraction.
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Oh god, no, the Pencil Museum is epic! I love it! Been there so many times. (Also the attached museum shop which is also the factory shop for Derwent for anyone into art supplies).

I still remember as a kid at school in the 60s/70s, everyone rushing to be the pencil monitor when the new tins of Lakeland pencils came in, so you could be the first one to open it and so get to sniff the new pencils-smell.

Creepy sounding now but in those days, that was as exciting as school got.
 
catseye said:
I did a long drive to the Lake District, passing The Pencil Museum and something to do with teapots. I'd have thought they would give Leprechaun World a run for their money.

My son was joking that they made Shed World sound like a fascinating tourist attraction.
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The Pencil Museum is well worth a look. The memsahib and l visited Keswick for years, disdaining what sounded like a dull “attraction.” One rainy day we thought, “We could visit it ironically!”

lt was fascinating.

*blush*

maximus otter
 
Stormkhan said:
Thing is, to define what is interesting you need to define 'interesting'. It's all a matter of perspective.
You might have a 'museum' of sticks. Does it sound interesting?
However, upon attending said museum and lectures you might learn about the stick in legendary; the different historical setting of various sticks; the use of different woods in sticks.
I find things interesting whereas others don't. Who says what qualifies as 'interesting'? Some really obscure subjects can become interesting and others sound dull; it's all down to presentation of the subject.
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I have a penchant for roof tiles, the *Anglia pantile (old English, dark red)* being my particular favourite, closely followed by a Marley modern and possibly a Double Roman in third.

@catseye has these on her roof.
 
ramonmercado said:
The museum in Dublin city, which features interactive oversized furniture, ranked number 38th in a global list – and was the only Irish attraction in the top 100. The museum opened in 2010, containing some of Ireland’s most famous myths and legends while you walk through various rooms with huge furniture, lush forests and wishing wells.
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That doesn't sound very boring?
 
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