# Shaking up old arguments **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 19, 2005, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299 "2005-03-19T11:07:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Butters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Butters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Butters)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/1 "2005-03-19T11:07:19Z")
To this day, there doesn’t seem to be any name for ‘Shake -em ups’ as far as I can tell. Not even the One Look Reverse Dictionary is no help! See [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_243a.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_243a.html) Does anyone find this ridiculous? And even if they have these in encyclopedias, how could you find them? Oh well, I’ve always called them ‘snowglobes,’ or ‘snowdomes’ and so does everyone else I know of. I wonder if this is highly regional? I’m from Ohio, by the way. I’m living in a different place, Washington, where they call ‘soda’ just plain ‘pop’ and pretty much everything around here is quite informal-sounding. I have never thought to ask anyone what they call these things until just now. Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut until I did so. But perhaps you could help me out here? I find this highly strange! A cursory search on the web finds that they seem to be called snowglobes more often than snowdomes, which also could refer to indoor ski resorts. It’s perplexing. But it’s not in ANY dictionary! Well, I’m off to bed. I have to get my new driver’s licence at the ‘Licence’ place. (Rather than the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.) ---
**Author:** ![mike1dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mike1dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mike1dog)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/2 "2005-03-19T13:55:17Z")
I don’t know, but you can get a [Batman and Robin](http://www.toynk.com/catalog/batman_and_robin_snowglobe_3475181.htm) one for $124.99. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/3 "2005-03-19T15:11:34Z")
I think I much prefer [rhombicosidodecahedron]([http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Small](http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Small) Rhombicosidodecahedron.html). Maybe niveous thixotropic rhombicosidodecahedron. …or snowglobe. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/4 "2005-03-19T20:06:00Z")
I’ve only ever heard them called “snowglobes”. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/5 "2005-03-22T15:45:16Z")
I’ve only ever heard ‘Snowglobe’. Shake-em-up? 'da heck? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/6 "2005-03-22T16:01:05Z")
In any case, before spending a ton of money on one, consider [building your own](http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/snglobe.html). ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/7 "2005-03-22T17:12:32Z")
They’re _snowglobes_! \*Goes off to check out \*_Arnold’s \*\* link._ ---
**Author:** ![OasissisaO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aca169/32.png) [@OasissisaO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OasissisaO)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/8 "2005-03-22T18:19:14Z")
I saw the subject and thought: Well, this’ll be the shortest response ever. Not only wasn’t it the “Snowglobes, sill!” response that I expected, but it was completely wrong as well! For _shame_ Cecil! We all know it’s **snowglobes**! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/9 "2005-03-22T18:28:24Z")
In keeping with **Noodles** ’ link, I should note that crushed eggshells can also be used for “snow”. And I should note, by the way, that that link quite correctly refers to them as snowglobes. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/10 "2005-03-22T18:30:32Z")
Like most around here I’ve only ever heard of “snowglobes” or occasionally “snowdomes”. What about ones which don’t use “snow”? I remember (though can’t find a link to) a website selling the Plagues of Egypt in globe form. For instance, the one for locusts was a guy recoiling in terror (seemingly from nothing) and when you shook it a bunch of little locust-shaped things would swarm up and over him. “Darkness” was basically a little town and rather than tiny solid things it had a heavy ink in the base which would swirl up and occlude the globe. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/11 "2005-03-22T18:42:49Z")
I once tried to help a Quebecoise tourist on the Atlantic City boardwalk who was having trouble cmmunicating with the guy behind the counter at a souvenir shop. She was asking for a _boule de neige_, which I initially translated as “snow cone,” since they sold those, and since the top scoop is rather snowball-ish, but then she took me by the hand to the snowglobes in the window. And asked me what they were called in English. So I said, in effect: “Aha! You want a… um… er… one of these fake snow things that you shake up. Um, I think we call them something like snowglobes…” That’s the first time in my life that I found English language vocabulary limited. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/12 "2005-03-22T20:04:58Z")
Another vote for **snowglobes**. Never heard them called anything else. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/13 "2005-03-22T20:16:14Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > I remember (though can’t find a link to) a website selling the Plagues of Egypt in globe form. For instance, the one for locusts was a guy recoiling in terror (seemingly from nothing) and when you shook it a bunch of little locust-shaped things would swarm up and over him. “Darkness” was basically a little town and rather than tiny solid things it had a heavy ink in the base which would swirl up and occlude the globe. I love that! 🆒 I’m not sure what this says about me, but I’ve got to have one, even if I have to make my own. Maybe I’ll make a Black plague one. How cool would that be? 😃 BTW, they’re called snowglobes. I wonder what I’ll call my plague globe… ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/14 "2005-03-22T21:25:22Z")
The website [http://www.snowdomes.com](http://www.snowdomes.com) belongs to a company called “Global Shakeup”, but they call their products “Snowglobes” and “Snowdomes” (and “Float Pens”, but that’s neither here nor there). Their home page has a footnote on the word “Showdomes” reading: > [@](#): > > \*snowglobe, snow dome, snowstorm, boule de neige, snow ball, schneekugel, snowshaker, blizzard weight, snow bubble, snow scene, waterball… you know… ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/15 "2005-03-22T22:13:56Z")
\*\*Snowglobe \*\* is the term I’ve heard used most commonly. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/16 "2005-03-22T22:15:24Z")
I’ve heard of them as snowglobes, or snowdomes. I think it is pretty well understood what one means when they say one or the other, but ‘shake -em ups’, I think cecil just pulled this one out of his backside. No-one would understand what one ment if they heard that term. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/17 "2005-03-23T00:57:27Z")
I work in a retail store that sells these so called “shake-em-up’s”, but we (as well as our suppliers) only ever refer to them as snowglobes, snowdomes, or water domes. Once in a while we get a manufactuer who will insist that they are called “water balls” :smack: but we ignore them and stick with globe or dome. (water dome is used to refer to all the non-snowing snowglobes, which would include those nifty plagues globes.) I have never heard anyone other than Cecil refer to them as Shake-em-up’s. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/18 "2005-03-23T02:49:59Z")
I’m afraid Cecil may have to update this column: **Snowglobe** : Google hits: 188,000 First on list: relevant to topic **"Snow globe"** : Google hits: 123,000 First on list: relevant to topic **"Water domes"** Google hits: 52,900 First on list: Relevant to topic **Snowdome** : Google hits: 83,400 First on list: Snowdome: The UK’s Premier Real Indoor Slope **"Snow dome"** Google hits: 21,000 First on list: See Snowdome. **"Shake em ups"** Google hits: 43 First on list: [What do you call those liquid-filled glass things that “snow” when shaken?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_243a.html) I’m afraid that there’s only one person in the world who regularly refers to these devices as “Shake 'em ups”, and his name is not Slug Signarino. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/19 "2005-03-23T02:51:46Z")
> [@Measure for Measure](#): > > I’m afraid Cecil may have to update this column: I’m just waiting for the lightning to strike for blasphemy. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299/20 "2005-03-23T03:48:30Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > I’m just waiting for the lightning to strike for blasphemy. Be afraid, be very afraid… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shaking-up-old-arguments/295299.md?page=2)