Go ahead!...ask us anything!

[Vertigo]

Seriously. What purpose donipples on a male serve?
I'd appreciate an anatomical or medical answer because I've wondered for way too long now..

Vertigo.

 

[ex-manager]

OK, who the firk is Soft Mick?

 

[Willow]

I'm not entirely sure if this is correct but Iheard some science type bloke talking on the radio who said that male nipples are there because in evolution, the females (along our branch line)were formed first.

Males are in fact a 'seconds' version of females, that is, an after thought.

Biologically, Males are not as efficient or as well developedas females.
While the male nipples serve no purpose, they are important to the species.

It just so happens that males are still catching up with females, at leastin an evolutionary sense.
Eventually, evolution will see male nipples disappear.

 

[ex-manager]

"I know what the stars represent on the American flag. But what do the 7 red stripes and 6 white stripes represent?"

Simple, the 7 red and 6 white stripes represent the original 13 colonies of the U S A.

 

[Vertigo]

Interesting Willow. I do thank you.
Vertigo.

 

[ex-manager]

Why are there no regional accents in Australia?

 

[ozbash]

there is a regional difference in nz gav.
people who live in the south of the sth island have a different accent than those who live in the north island.
must be the scottish ancestry

 

[Johnsy]

Who was the first "tv personality" to use the "What the .........." line?
Johnsy

 

[El Duque]

I don't think you'd call it an accent but I notice Victorians and South Australians pronounce words like dance,chance,pool.graph etc etc differently.Also some aboriginals have a distinctive accent and also some country folk have an accent thats slooow and different to the normal aus accent.

 

This message has been deleted by the author.

 

This message has been deleted by the author.

 

[Cronulla_Mania]

I know this may seem like a dumb question to some, but please, i need to know!!! In articles or pieces of writing, what the funk does the (sic) mean?? I been trying to work that out without actually researching it, but i give up

Moffo.

 

[legend]

Moffo, I think it stands for spelling incorrect, i.e the author has still put the word to print but is unsure as to the correct spelling of the word in question and puts (sic) to let everyone know the spelling may be incorrect.

 

[ex-manager]

Moff, you're not alone. I still wonder when someone put's a (sic) after something, why is it there?
thus or so: thus or so, used within brackets to indicate that what precedes it is written intentionally or is copied verbatim from the original, even if it appears to be a mistake. So, if someone writes something and it's misspelt for instance and you're quoting it, a little (sic) wouldn't go amiss. "Rugby Heaven" (sic) is another example of it's use, because we all know that the joining of Rugby with Heaven is a mistake and also an oxymoron.

 

[Cronulla_Mania]

LOL Gav, rugby heaven definintely deserves a (sic)

Yeh, it makes sense Legend, but still, i think i have seen it in other contexts...but yeh, im going with your explanation for now!

Moffo.

 

[Willow]

(sic) This derives from Latin and means so or thus. It is often used in quotations where the original writer has made a typo, spelling error etc.

Its already been pretty much said but when I put a (sic) after a word its usually because I am quoting another source word for word and I still want to keep it original. Its apparently bad form to correct another's spelling when quoting them butattracting attention to itwith (sic) is for some reason acceptable.

As much as anything, I think its there to protect the second writer from ridicule.

 

[Willow]

Gav. About accents. I have detected different accents in Sydney suburbs. Also, there is definitely a different accent in Melbourne as compared to Sydney. The people in NT are clearly speaking differently.
In SE Qld, its mixture because so many people have settled here fromdifferent parts of the world. Although, NZ folk stick out like sore thumb.

I think some of the regional accents of the UK and the USA are more obvious.

 

[Cronulla_Mania]

People in North Shore Sydney talk differently compared to people in Minto and Campbelltown. Its a different language...

Moffo.

 

[ex-manager]

Willow, I mentioned the fact that Aussies, Kiwis and Canadiansdon't have any regional accents and that the only differences were between the countryside and the city, my other half thought I was talking bollocks.

Ozbash has put me in the picture regarding New Zealand.

I'm waiting for Canadian Steve to see if people in Vancouver talk with the same accent as the folks of Ontario.

There are reasons why Australia and Canada don't have major differences in the way people talk in much the same way that west of the Mississippi there are no regional US accents.

 

[imported_bronco]

Ozbash is definitly right on the difference in accents between the north and south. In the Otago and Canterbury regions they tend to roll their R's whereas we don't in the north island.