My wish

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Eventually, every person shall be able to decide for himself/herself in his/her own living room, using the internet.... which information is to be trusted and which information is propaganda, misinformation or bullshit. Wikipedia is a premier tool which allows you to do this.

Lost in translation

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Learning different languages allows one to discover cultural differences. Here's a chart showing some common translation mistakes that can occur:

Misnomer / mistranslation
(target language)
What it means in English What it's called over there
(original language)
What it's really supposed to mean over there
French fries (English) French fried potatoes fr:Pommes frites or fr:Frites (French) unused
Hamburger (English) hamburger de:Hamburger (German) somebody or something from Hamburg, Germany
Hawaiian Punch (English) Hawaiian Punch or any similar punch drink fruit punch (Hawaiian English) unused (may be misunderstood as asking someone to punch you)
Kombucha (English) a type of fermented and sweetened tea Kōcha-kinoko (ja:紅茶キノコ) (Japanese) tea made from kelp kombucha (ja:昆布茶),
and definitely NOT fermented
Wieners (English) hot dog
(or in slang, penis)
de:Hot Dog (German) somebody or something from Vienna, Austria
Wienerschnitzel (English) an American fast-food chain, Wienerschnitzel unused (German) a Viennese style veal cutlet,
Wiener Schnitzel (de:Wiener Schnitzel)

About myself

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I am an American, and I've respected and supported Ronald Reagan, his policies and his ideals. That's the reason I've voted for George W. Bush, hoping that he would continue that legacy. (Disclaimer: I am unaffiliated with any particular political party, and I have voted for both Democrat and Republican candidates before.)

The legend of the Wiki-Wiki Shuttle

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The "Wiki" portion of the word "Wikipedia" is etymologically derived from the Wiki Wiki Shuttle bus service at the Honolulu International Airport.[1] While the newer electric trams are now grounded for maintenance reasons, they are tentatively replaced by older diesel buses.[2] Here are some external links concerning the Wiki-Wiki Shuttle....

  1. The Honolulu Advertiser, Nov. 11, 2005 news article
  2. Picture of the Wiki-Wiki Shuttle at the "flickr" site
  3. HCATT (Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies)
Hanzi (Universal) Simplified Kanji Chinese Japanese Korean Vietnamese
() (), zh:禅 禅, ja:禅 ChánChan Zen Seon Thiền tông (禪宗)
漢字 (), wikt:漢字 汉字, wikt:汉字, zh:汉字 漢字, ja:漢字 HànzìChinese character Kanji Hanja Hán tự
(), zh:酒 酒, ja:酒 JiǔChinese wine Sake JuKorean wine Tửu, rượu
漫畫 () 漫画 (), zh:漫画 漫画, wikt:漫画, ja:漫画 MànhuàManhua Manga Manhwa Manga,
mạn họa


 This user is a member of
WikiProject Trains in Japan.