# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636 "2024-02-16T02:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 48
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/942 "2024-04-12T15:04:40Z")
I was stopped at a stoplight, and lightning struck the hood of the car stopped next to me. So maybe… 15’ away from me. Not sure how to score that. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/943 "2024-04-12T15:06:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I love the song _I Think We’re Alone Now_. My favorite rendition is by **The Killers**. They start off crediting **Tommy James & the Shondells** , then they mention it was stolen by **Tiffany**. Then **Brandon Flowers** says, “well tonight we are taking it back” and they start doing their cover. Also covered by Lena Lovich, Girls Aloud and an assortment of others. About once a decade a proper cover is released. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/944 "2024-04-12T15:17:10Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > About once a decade a proper cover is released. [My absolute favorite cover is by Gilbert Gottfried.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzEJCg_Ayk4) I miss him. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/945 "2024-04-12T15:28:09Z")
My house wasn’t directly hit, but the lightening ran through the phone lines, and fried a modem and a couple of phones attached to the landline. My neighbors had a TV implode, and their burglar alarm was hit and failed in “on” mode. The people next to them had some damage, too. My best guess is that the telephone pole across the street was hit. We were awakened by that bolt of lightening, and the accompanying boom. I wasn’t sure how to vote, either, but went with “stone’s throw”. But maybe that counts as a hit to the house? ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/946 "2024-04-12T15:29:59Z")
@Mollie_Magill & @Cardigan This option would cover your circumstances :- > I was within sight of someone or something when it was struck by lightning. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/947 "2024-04-12T15:32:43Z")
Tangentially - I spent the last two days restoring phone service to a small town in Texas after a lightning stick took out the switch. That was fun. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/948 "2024-04-12T15:34:15Z")
I went with building. I was also in a plane struck by lightning. Basically - avoid me during thunderstorms. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/949 "2024-04-12T15:34:21Z")
But they were both a lot closer than that. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/950 "2024-04-12T15:35:18Z")
On several occasions I’ve reached the shore and secured my boat just as a thunderstorm moved into the area. Once a lightning bolt hit a tree about 200 yards down river, scaring the crap out of me ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/951 "2024-04-12T15:35:27Z")
While on its face correct, ‘within sight’ covers a whole lotta ground. Watching, say, the Empire State Building get struck while blocks away might technically be in the same category. However, feeling your vehicle buffeted by the shock wave of a strike 15 feet away carries a very different emotional impact. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/952 "2024-04-12T15:48:03Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > My house wasn’t directly hit, but the lightening ran through the phone lines, and fried a modem and a couple of phones attached to the landline. I selected ‘in a house which was hit’ but the house itself wasn’t damaged. The strike ran through the electric lines and blew out everything that was turned on at the time. I also once saw a strike hit the middle of an intersection while I was maybe 50 feet away on the sidewalk. But the poll wouldn’t let me choose two. And I’m genuinely not sure what to say about Tokyo. I think I’m saying two syllables; but if I listen hard there’s a hint of a third one in there. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/953 "2024-04-12T16:46:20Z")
[Deep Purple](https://youtu.be/b-ScDz4Vj98?si=7HVXYpyNocKIAsgy) says three syllables. That’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/954 "2024-04-12T17:17:51Z")
Lots of words get stretched out or cut short to fit into lyrics. “Tokyo” has always been two syllables for me; to make it three just seems unnecessary. I don’t remember the 2017 eclipse being all that hyped, actually. I was much more aware of this one, maybe because this area was in the path of totality (which was _totally_ awesome, BTW). We were able to see it from our NE Ohio backyard and had a great time. I’m sorry so many people had traffic problems elsewhere. I never particularly liked the Eurythmics song “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” but I’ve heard it a million times on the radio. Marilyn Manson’s version has the virtues of both novelty and creepiness, so it got my vote. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/955 "2024-04-12T17:46:29Z")
There are very few English words that end in a consonant or consonant cluster followed by “yo”. The only one I can find is “embryo”, in which the “-bryo” is pronounced as two syllables (bree-yo). So it’s not surprising that many English speakers will pronounce Tokyo as toe-kee-yo. The [Cambridge Dictionary](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/tokyo) gives the three syllable version as the only English pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/956 "2024-04-12T18:35:39Z")
Gawd, I love that album. I gave it as a gift, as well, to a schoolteacher friend of mine. He loved it, too. I couldn’t answer the lightning poll, because I’ve seen lightning, but never very close. And I’ve never seen someone hit by it. Tokyo is two syllables. If you know Russian, it’s kinda like the palatalized portions of words. Also, the “su” portion of Japanese words almost always has only the “s” pronounced. Like sukiyaki is pronounced skeeyaki. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/957 "2024-04-12T18:53:46Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > In certain J words, in theory there’s an extra syllable but when pronounced a syllable disappears (or is so subtle you just can’t hear it). I can’t say I understand the pattern well, but it’s a vowel in the middle of a word. I’ve only just started learning Japanese in Duolingo, so take what I say with a grain of salt. My understanding is that when they are at the end of a word or surrounded by unvoiced consonants, the vowel sounds /i/ and /u/ are silent. Unvoiced consonants include include /s/, /k/, and /t/ Hence, in the name of the city Yokosuka and _です_ (the verb “be”, transcribed _desu_) the /u/ is silent. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/958 "2024-04-12T19:24:10Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > in the name of the city Yokosuka and _です_ (the verb “be”, transcribed _desu_) the /u/ is silent. So “yoh koh skah” then, right? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/959 "2024-04-12T19:42:16Z")
I know very little about Japanese, but I had understood that /i/ and /u/ between unvoiced consonants are not silent, but rather unvoiced. The vowels are still pronounced, but without voice (that is, without the larynx vibrating, like how /f/ is an unvoiced /v/). Unvoiced vowels do not normally occur in English, so it can be difficult for English speakers to hear what’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/960 "2024-04-12T20:35:17Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > What’s the hurry? We have a Ukrainian rescue cat named Ксюша (Ksyusha). It’s properly pronounced “ksyoo-sha” but I like to annoy my partner by calling her “kuh-suh-yoo-sha”. (That is, that’s what I call the cat, not my partner. I have all sorts of other names I call my partner to annoy her. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/961 "2024-04-12T20:36:22Z")
About 20 years ago, I was on an airliner that was hit by lightning while in flight. There was a very bright flash, the plane shuddered, and my skin felt tingly for a few moments. I pronounce Tokyo as (roughly) TOE-kih-yoh; the middle syllable is kind of subtle. I picked “three” in the poll, because it’s clearly not two, but it’s not entirely three, either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=47) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=49)