# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/21 "2022-04-14T21:06:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > “Glasses” has two different meanings, and both of them are now often made of plastic. Thank your deity of choice – my military-issued glass lenses were so heavy that I got blisters on the bridge of my nose! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/22 "2022-04-14T21:13:27Z")
The letter “W”. It’s NOT double-U, it’s double-V. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/23 "2022-04-14T21:14:09Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > You’d never say, “Can you hand me a tin foil? And also a lead?” Can you hand me that roll of tin foil? Can you hand me a box of pencil leads for my mechanical pencil? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/24 "2022-04-14T21:14:49Z")
Baby powder? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/25 "2022-04-14T21:16:57Z")
Measuring square should be measuring triangle. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/26 "2022-04-14T21:19:33Z")
A telescoping antenna is not made out of telescopes. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/27 "2022-04-14T21:21:14Z")
When you “tickle the ivories”, the piano keys are probably plastic. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/28 "2022-04-14T21:25:43Z")
Film and tape. Declining in use, but not unheard of to say you have a film or tape of something when you may only have a digital copy. Also used as verbs. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/29 "2022-04-14T21:35:12Z")
Sailors’ oilskins were never made of skin, and today are rarely waterproofed with oil. (Although plastic is made **from** oil, so you could quibble about that.) ---
**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:** [April 14, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/30 "2022-04-14T21:36:19Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Can you hand me that roll of tin foil? Can you hand me a box of pencil leads for my mechanical pencil? Yes, but the object is “roll” and “box,” not “tin foil” or “lead.” **Miller** makes a case that “a lead” is a thing, and I maybe buy that; but “a tin foil” ain’t. > [@Grrr](#): > > Measuring square should be measuring triangle. A square is not a material. > [@Grrr](#): > > The letter “W”. It’s NOT double-U, it’s double-V. A U is not a material. > [@Chronos](#): > > The fine silver you set out on the dining-room table is probably stainless steel. A silver is not an object. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Baby powder? Ha ha! A powder is not an object. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > . Declining in use, but not unheard of to say you have a film or tape of something when you may only have a digital copy. Ooh, nice! “I saw a film” works really well. > [@mbh](#): > > Sailors’ oilskins were never made of skin, and today are rarely waterproofed with oil. (Although plastic is made **from** oil, so you could quibble about that.) Then the object was never named for the material. I guess this is a harder concept than I thought! ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/31 "2022-04-14T21:40:26Z")
At the large computer company I used to work at, before the use of PowerPoint and projectors, the transparency sheets used on overhead projectors were called “foils”. I never heard a good explanation why that was so. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/32 "2022-04-14T21:46:45Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Ooh, nice! “I saw a film” works really well. I thought you were going to nitpick that the words don’t exactly refer to the material, but rather the structure of the material (i.e., a film of celluloid plastic). However, I was going to counter-nitpick that the same is true of glass, which refers to any amorphous solid and not a specific molecular composition. I think people still use “mixtape” occasionally, even if it’s just a playlist on a streaming service. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/33 "2022-04-14T21:49:22Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > A silver is not an object. How about silverware? ---
**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:** [April 14, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/34 "2022-04-14T21:56:55Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > before the use of PowerPoint and projectors… Not quite “material”, but I’m surprised people still refer to a single image from a PowerPoint presentation as a “slide”. I did a lot of presentations, and it’s probably been thirty-five years since I loaded slides in a carousel (upside down, of course!) before I gave a talk. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/35 "2022-04-14T21:59:56Z")
It’s called a square because it has a square corner, ie a right angle. So it’s not a misnomer at all. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/36 "2022-04-14T22:00:35Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I never heard a good explanation why that was so. I would venture that it is a literal mistranslation from German, were [Folie](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folie) refers to a sheet, like in paper sheet or plastic sheet (bingo!), steming from Latin _[folium](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folium)_. Compare too [transparency or viewfoil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparency_(projection)) with [Overheadfolie](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overheadfolie). It is interesting that the [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overhead_projector#History) does not mention that the modern overhead projector was developed by Carl Zeiss in Germany, as the [German Wikipedia](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overheadprojektor#Geschichte) claims. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/37 "2022-04-14T22:12:52Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > It’s called a square because it has a square corner, ie a right angle. So it’s not a misnomer at all. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > A U is not a material. I see my humor is wasted on you guys. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/38 "2022-04-14T22:15:23Z")
We are the forever humourless. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/39 "2022-04-14T22:36:22Z")
We used to think that one’s temperament was a product of the proportion of various fluids in one’s body, but no we know that your humor is unrelated to your humors. (I know, not an object…) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2022, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836/40 "2022-04-15T01:09:33Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > A powder is not an object. What is it? A concept? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-plastic-glass-an-online-paper-and-other-material-contradictions/962836.md?page=3)