# A plastic glass, an online paper, and other material contradictions **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836 "2022-04-14T19:52:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/222 "2022-05-04T02:47:06Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I think that also kills your example of “horn”, which is likewise a material named after an object. Yeah, on thinking more about it, the instrument “horn” is very rarely made from the material “horn,” and certainly wasn’t named after the material, instead being named after the object. DENIED! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/223 "2022-05-04T03:05:37Z")
Back in the “weird and archaic” category: “a birch” in the sense of an instrument of corporal punishment originally constructed from a bundle of birch twigs was frequently made of other substances instead. In fact, a timorous peek into some of the dimmer corners of the interwebs reveals several reports of some unfortunate but apparently willing young lady being “punished with a leather birch”. So, “a birch” is no longer necessarily made from birch. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/224 "2022-05-04T03:14:19Z")
Oh, and “a tea” (singular in the same sense that “an ice cream” is) is no longer necessarily made from tea. It can be made from all sorts of other dried leaves or flowers rather than those of the tea plant. How did we miss that one up to now? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/225 "2022-05-04T07:21:28Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > It can be made from all sorts of other dried leaves or flowers rather than those of the tea plant. Heresy. The word _tisane_ exists for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/226 "2022-05-04T13:38:07Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Back in the “weird and archaic” category: “a birch” in the sense of an instrument of corporal punishment originally constructed from a bundle of birch twigs was frequently made of other substances instead. Around here it was a hickory. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/227 "2022-05-04T16:33:51Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “canvas,” as in the thing an artist paints on, is still used when referring to digital art, despite sail cloth no longer being involved. And in Photoshop, if you want to extend the size of your art’s background, that’s referred to as the “Canvas”. So you go to the menu and select “Canvas Size”. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/228 "2022-05-06T09:20:23Z")
@Left_Hand_of_Dorkness BTW, what did you think of the two examples of material-named scarves ([post #176](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/176)) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836.md?page=11)