# Tell us an interesting random fact you stumbled across (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785 "2024-07-25T15:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 76
**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:** [February 1, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1501 "2025-02-01T18:39:51Z")
I find it a bit strange, there are many contradicting informations out there. See for instance: > **[When Did French Become The Official Language Of France | WordSCR](https://wordscr.com/when-did-french-become-the-official-language-of-france/)** > > The French language has a rich history and has played a significant role in shaping the culture, politics, and identity of France. As the most widely spoken > So, when did French become the official language of France? The answer is not as straightforward as it seems. The French language has been the de facto language of France for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that it was officially recognized as the national language. > In 1830, the French government passed a law making French the official language of France. This law was reinforced in 1849, when the French Constitution declared French to be the official language of the country. And still the 1992 date you quoted keeps creeping up. The constitution I quoted is also there, from 1958 (see the PDF document in English (!)), and it says nothing of later amendments of the second article, but many others are mentioned in the preamble as coming into force later or under special circumnstances. Perhaps a French jurist can help? And what about Canada? ETA: And this states that > The [Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts) of 1539 made French the administrative language of the kingdom of France for legal documents and laws. Previously, official documents were written in medieval [Latin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin), which was the language used by the [Roman Catholic Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church). > […] > The French government allowed in 1964 for the first time one and a half minutes of Breton on regional television. But even in 1972, president [Georges Pompidou](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Pompidou) declared that “there is no place for minority languages in a France destined to make its mark on Europe.”[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_policy_in_France#cite_note-6) > […] > In 1992 the constitution was amended to state explicitly that “the language of the Republic is French.” > **[Language policy in France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_policy_in_France)** > > France has one official language, the French language. The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals, but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications. In addition to mandating the use of French in the territory of the Republic, the French government tries to promote French in the European Union and globally through institutions such as La Francophonie. The perceived threat from Anglicization has prompted efforts... ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1502 "2025-02-01T19:11:59Z")
Like many other European countries, historically France was a region of many cultures each with its own language, some few of which might still be spoken natively. The purpose of making French the official language was to (charitably) unify the country or to (uncharitably) impose the will of the rulers upon disparate and fractious peoples by the forcible imposition of a national language. I long ago read a novel with this as its plot once, from the point of view of a woman from Languedoc. It’s where I learned that Languedoc translated as ‘the tongue of yes’, meaning where people said Oc to mean yes. There are or were other tongues of yes. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2025, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1503 "2025-02-01T19:13:54Z")
The others are the [“Langues d’oïl”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langues_d%27o%C3%AFl) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1504 "2025-02-02T03:33:01Z")
TIL I learned that, as a lifelong milk-drinker, I am a _galactophagist_ Which leads us to recognize that “the Milky Way Galaxy” is a bilingual redundancy like “Sahara Desert.” ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1505 "2025-02-02T10:31:27Z")
Guerrilla war ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1506 "2025-02-02T14:56:51Z")
Jumbo Shrimp. Dammit, I messed that up. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1507 "2025-02-02T16:05:01Z")
Swiss Cheese ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1508 "2025-02-02T17:18:21Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Swiss Cheese I think you’re missing the pattern. The word “galaxy” literally means milky. The word “sahara” literally means desert. The word “guerilla” literally means war. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1509 "2025-02-02T17:30:02Z")
The word “guerilla” does not literally mean “war,” which is “guerra.” It means “skirmish.” So a guerilla war is a war of the sort that consists of skirmishes rather than big battles between full armies. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1510 "2025-02-02T17:34:36Z")
The La Brea Tar Pits. Which is “the the tar tar pits”. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1511 "2025-02-02T17:39:07Z")
The Los Angeles Angels ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1512 "2025-02-02T17:39:49Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > The others are the [“Langues d’oïl”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langues_d%27o%C3%AFl) Standard French is from Langues d’oil. French as originally spoken in the south was Langues d’oc (among other things). There is a province named Languedoc in the south. The “oil” and “oc” are how the two dialects said “yes.” “Oil” eventually became “oui.” ---
**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:** [February 2, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1513 "2025-02-02T17:43:05Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > Swiss Cheese > > I think you’re missing the pattern. The word “galaxy” literally means milky. The word “sahara” literally means desert. The word “guerilla” literally means war. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Jumbo Shrimp. Sorry, I thought it was about [oxymorons](https://dai.ly/x893pak). (sorry, you have advance to 18:01 on this video). ---
**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:** [February 2, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1514 "2025-02-02T17:43:17Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > The word “guerilla” does not literally mean “war,” which is “guerra.” It means “skirmish.” It means _little war_, as “-illa” (like “-ita” and “-iña”) is a feminine diminutive ending. Thus guerrilla war would be a war of little wars. Skirmish is OK, just nitpicking. Concerning the repeated meaning, the brown bear is called in scientific nomenclature _Ursus arctos_, which means bear bear in Latin and Greek, respectively. The grizzly subspecies is _Ursus arctos horribilis_, that is the horrible bear bear. I like that. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1515 "2025-02-02T18:04:19Z")
I was going with the primary RAE definition rather than the etymology, but my Spanish is sub-fluent so I won’t argue! (Edit: I also spelled guerrilla wrong, twice, which you were kind enough not to draw attention to!) ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1516 "2025-02-02T18:46:54Z")
I learned today that if you are out camping in the freezing temps and don’t want your water bottle to freeze, bury it in the snow! The air bubbles trapped in the snow insulate the bottle. Crazy but true! ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1517 "2025-02-02T19:00:30Z")
The classic example is Torpenhow Hill. Which translates as hill hill hill hill. > **[Torpenhow Hill](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpenhow_Hill)** > > Torpenhow Hill (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}locally /trəˈpɛnə/, trə-PEN-ə) is claimed to be the name of a hill near the village of Torpenhow in Cumbria, England, a name that is tautological. According to an analysis by linguist Darryl Francis and locals, there is no landform formally known as Torpenhow Hill there, either offici... ---
**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:** [February 2, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1518 "2025-02-02T19:25:44Z")
I find the pronunciation amusing; a typically British wearing down of the sounds so that the “o” has disappeared and the “how” has reduced to a schwa. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1519 "2025-02-02T19:40:59Z")
Hills do erode over time! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785/1520 "2025-02-02T21:20:23Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Warhol’s Brillo Boxes wouldn’t appear until 1964, and at LA’s Dwan Gallery, not respectable NYC). How surprising! I always thought of Warhol as the quintessential NYC pop artist, not least because he started out with advertising art which was a very New York thing at the time. The Brillo boxes weren’t very representative of what L.A. artists were doing in the early '60s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=75) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-an-interesting-random-fact-you-stumbled-across-part-2/1004785.md?page=77)