How we ‘aught’ to…

[JustJames]

If anybody is interested in how Merkin English came to be different from English English (or vice versa, as the case may be), I can heartily recommend Made In America by Bill Bryson.  It's amusing, informative and also gives a brief history of the US of A.

[Mike Sydney]

It seems that the sizing related to wire originally? The AWG system, which would have this as “ought”.
https://boathowto.com/electrics/conductor-sizing/ 
 

While down the rabbit hole this article on fish hooks was an entertaining read too

https://feathersmc.com/SALFLYER/vol_9/summer/history.html

 

 

[XD351]

I think that the system for hooks was around long before electrical wire though and even before fencing wire . I wonder if it may be something like sewing or knitting needles - iirc they use /0 system as well . Hooks are weird as they use a double sided scale for sizing , one side the higher  the number the smaller the hook , the other side the higher the number the bigger the hook .

It does make me wonder how far back the use of the /0 system goes in regards to fishing hooks - maybe Scandinavian countries were using this centuries before America was discovered? 

[DerekD]

On 11/2/2023 at 4:15 PM, noelm said:

Americans have all sorts of funny terminology, some words they officially changed to suit themselves. The common one is Aluminium, all metals ended in “ium” like titanium, but they changed it to Aluminum (pronounced al ooo me num) because they didn’t like to say the ium on the end, even a word like “solder” they say “sodder” why? I have no idea.

Seems it was the fault of the British scientist that invented it.

Is it aluminium or aluminum?
The metallic element with the atomic number 13 is used in a wide variety of everyday objects, such as in cans, kitchen utensils, and foil to wrap food. In American English, this element is called aluminum, while in British English it’s more commonly referred to as aluminium. The two names refer to the same chemical element. In scientific writing and academia, both aluminum and aluminium are commonly used and considered correct names. 
The term aluminum was created by the man who first identified the existence of the element, British chemist Humphry Davy. Davy originally referred to the element as alumium but ultimately altered the name to aluminum. 
The term aluminium emerged around the same time as Davy’s aluminum. This term seems to have been motivated by a desire to give the element a name that sounded more like classical Latin, which was in line with other known elements at the time whose names ended in –ium, such as magnesium and calcium. 
For the rest of the 1800s, both aluminum and aluminium were commonly used to refer to the element. Beginning in the 1900s, preferences for each term began to split among users. Aluminum became the more popular name in American English, and aluminium became the more popular name in British English. These preferences are still common today, but most chemistry organizations recognize both terms as acceptable.
 

Yes, I've also noted your second example of Americans calling Soldering, Soddering. First heard it from the Mythbusters team then started to hear it from other people. I'm not sure at what point the L went silent or the justification therefore. 

For those that haven't heard it here are a few examples:

First few seconds of this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jG_JvnHGvQ

This one at 15 seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qps9woUGkvI

 

 

 

[JustJames]

6 hours ago, Mike Sydney said:

While down the rabbit hole this article on fish hooks was an entertaining read too

https://feathersmc.com/SALFLYER/vol_9/summer/history.html

 

That article says:

"By 2000 A.D. the Egyptians were fishing with rods, lines and hooks, a level of sophistication that the Chinese would not match for a thousand years"

 

I suspect that the Egyptians were using rods lines and hooks long before 2000AD....and a look on AliExpress gives the lie to the second claim!

[XD351]

I think you might have one too many 0 on that number James - 2000AD was not that long ago ! Or was it 2000bc?

I think it is a typo in the article - 2000BC looks more like it 

Edited November 7, 2023 by XD351

[JustJames]

24 minutes ago, XD351 said:

I think you might have one too many 0 on that number James - 2000AD was not that long ago ! Or was it 2000bc?

I think it is a typo in the article - 2000BC looks more like it 

The error is in the article.

 

The tricksy difference between BC and AD.

 

It amused me to read that the Egyptians had discovered fishing about 20 years ago, and that the Chinese have another 1,000 years to wait.