• gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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    2 days ago

    I always suspected that the discussion about letting Pluto stay a planet is especially relevant in the US since Pluto was the only planet to be discovered by US scientists … so it’s a point of national pride.

    • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
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      2 days ago

      I’ve certainly not seen anyone frothing at the mouth about it in the francosphere. It’s a non-subject, we just updated our textbooks and moved on. Whereas in English-speaking media even reasonable actors mentioning Pluto in passing will pointedly remark on its status one way or another. Americans won’t admit it but the only reason that’s a thing is chauvinism.

      It’s funny how being bilingual one spots a lot of small semantic or cultural differences that amount to large paradigm shifts between languages. Like how most French people were taught the hydrocution myth (swimming after a meal supposedly being deadly), older Koreans believe fans to be dangerous to use while sleeping, and English speakers associate vanilla flavour with blandness because of the (English-specific) synonym even though the flavor itself is very powerful and no less overused than e.g. strawberry flavoring.

      What’s less funny is how when you point out such a difference some people get Big Mad about it because they can’t admit that some core belief from their childhood is actually a specific sociolinguistic quirk not shared by the rest of the world. People get tribal about the weirdest, most inconsequential shit.

      • gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de
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        2 days ago

        Koreans believe fans to be dangerous to use while sleeping

        tbf i believe that too (but about ACs and not fans) and i’m not korean. the reason i believe this is because of my real-life experiences. When AC is running, it typically gives me the sensation that the air it gives off is not just cold, but creepy cold, like an iron rod is not just hard, but hard enough to smash somebody’s skull with it. The same intensity is the coldness from the typical ACs that i’ve experienced. At least some of them.

        • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
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          2 days ago

          That’s just because it’s dry by nature. Monitor your indoors humidity and adjust accordingly with a humidifier.