Unutterably Silly Corrupt-A-Topic (anymore off-topic and it would be on-topic)

[orlok]

What do you call a group of (war-like) chameleons?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

I was watching Teen Titans Go! and they mentioned that a group of pegasi are called a "flerd." I checked the Wikipedia page concerning pegasi and they didn't mention what a group are called. However, "flerd" seems appropriate since pegasi are a combination of the word for a group of birds (flock) and the word for a group of horses (herd).

Flerd seems a logically created word to describe a group of pegasi. But with so many other animals, to me it seems there's no consistency when coming up with the group names for specific animals. Some examples (all are from Wikipedia):

• A group of crows is called a murder.
• A group of eagles is called a convocation.
• A group of ferrets is called a busyness.
• A group of gorillas is called a whoop.
• A group of hedgehogs are called an array.
• A group of bluejays is called a charm.
• A group of wildcats is called a destruction.

Plus, ducks have 14 different names for their groupings, which varies based on where they are (air, land, or water).

Why is there so much variation in the names for groups of creature?

Because biologists have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands and are far too interested in being clever????

I mean...a "murder" of crows. We've all heard it, of course, but how on earth did that come to be? A "convocation" of eagles? A WHOOP, for the love of god, for a family or gathering or crew of Gorillas?

Jesus wept, really.

Hitch

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Because biologists have waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands and are far too interested in being clever????

I mean...a "murder" of crows. We've all heard it, of course, but how on earth did that come to be? A "convocation" of eagles? A WHOOP, for the love of god, for a family or gathering or crew of Gorillas?

Jesus wept, really.

Hitch

You forgot about a Parliament of Owls.

[Bilbo1967]

My favourite collective noun is "flange" when applied to baboons. Bizarrely, it was coined as part of a comedy sketch and for some reason has now been adopted. From the Urban Dictionary;

FLANGE: Commonly misused collective term for a group of baboons. Has since been adopted by the Scientific community due to its publication and usage in otherwise professional documents.

The correct collective tem for baboons is a 'troop' or 'congress'.

Origin credited to Richard Curtis, comedy writer. The word was used in a 'Not the Nine O'Clock News' comedy sketch entitled "Gerald The Intelligent Gorilla", purely for comedic effect. Gerald was played by Rowan Atkinson. The sketch also starred film director and comedian Mel Smith.
Whoop is now also used as a baboon collective term, due to appearing in the same sketch.
NTNON was a popular UK sketch show in the 1980s.

[WT Sharpe]

If comedy writers really wanted to do the world a great service they could offer their services pro bono to local newscasters who are faced with the need for a clever news story introductory line whenever the story involves whales or outer space. "Whale of a tale" and "out of this world" are so sickeningly cliche that I want to throw a shoe through the tv whenever I hear them.

[crich70]

The correct collective term for baboons is a 'troop' or 'congress'.

For some reason I find myself visualizing a group of baboons seated in our nation's capital and thinking that the dictionary has it right.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by crich70

For some reason I find myself visualizing a group of baboons seated in our nation's capital and thinking that the dictionary has it right.

That's funny; I find myself visualizing a group of baboons seated in our nation's capital thinking that THEY have it right...

Hitch

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Hitch

That's funny; I find myself visualizing a group of baboons seated in our nation's capital thinking that THEY have it right...

Hitch

I meant that I find myself thinking that the dictionary is right about the definition of Congress. i.e. a gathering of baboons. Certainly it would explain much about how things are in this country.

[cromag]

I don't believe I've ever posted in this thread before.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by cromag

I don't believe I've ever posted in this thread before.

Should we alert the media?

Hitch

[crich70]

Will the meaning of 42 ever be discovered?

[Solitaire1]

But "42" is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. But what is the ultimate question? You need that to determine what "42" means. An ultimate question was discovered but if it is the true ultimate question then it means that the structure of the universe is fundamentally flawed to its core.

And now for something completely off topic:

Although WSIWIG word processors might seem to be an advance, I sometimes wonder if it has actually been a detriment to ensuring that documents are properly structured. I think that this is especially important when it comes to ebooks since it is necessary to ensure that the ebook is rendered properly.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

But "42" is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. But what is the ultimate question? You need that to determine what "42" means. An ultimate question was discovered but if it is the true ultimate question then it means that the structure of the universe is fundamentally flawed to its core.

I've always liked base 13. It's the mathematician in me. I like all sorts of basing systems. I mean, why stop with just octal and hexadecimal? My age is 33 (base 18).

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I've always liked base 13. It's the mathematician in me. I like all sorts of basing systems. I mean, why stop with just octal and hexadecimal? My age is 33 (base 18).

But would base 18 have been accepted if it meant that several individuals would have to lose their little toes?

And now for something completely off-topic (once again):

Thinking about the "Harry Potter" movie series, I was wondering: Why do they still use quills and parchment for writing? I can understand avoiding high-level technology since it's not needed due to magic, but paper and a ballpoint pen would overcome many of the disadvantages of both parchment and quill.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

And now for something completely off topic:

You mean the prior statement wasn't off-topic?

*fines Solitaire 1 billion Monopoly dollars for being on-topic in an off-topic zone*