# What is the oldest 'new' thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2015, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259 "2015-10-31T14:54:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/41 "2015-11-02T22:27:12Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Carthage, meaning “New City”, is quite ancient. Some founding legends date it to just after the Trojan War (lots of events are linked to that in classical “history”). More reliably, it was probably around by at least 800BC. > > Cartagena, in Spain, was refounded as another Carthage in the 3rd century BC, renamed Carthago Nova: New Carthage (New New City) by the Romans. > > Cartagena, in Columbia, was named after the Spanish one. Some people called it unofficially New Cartagena (New New New City) to distinguish it from the old one. Huh. You learn something new every day here. (But, you say “kar-thuj” while I say “kar-thayj,” you know.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/42 "2015-11-03T04:04:38Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Cartagena, in Columbia, was named after the Spanish one. Some people called it unofficially New Cartagena (New New New City) to distinguish it from the old one. Nitpick: There’s no U in Colombia. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/43 "2015-11-03T07:49:15Z")
New South Wales is pretty old, geologically speaking. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/44 "2015-11-03T08:39:46Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Just to be really clear, I’m looking for things that lasted a long time along with their coined name containing the term ‘new’ - not long-lasting things that were later called ‘new’ New Kids On The Block. Those dudes are approaching middle age and had a song on the radio within the past couple years. {_ducks and flees_} ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/45 "2015-11-03T11:05:33Z")
> [@](#): > > In the Doctor Who episodes “New Earth” and “Gridlock”, known in full as New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York, as it was the 15th York since the original. → [New New York - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_New_York) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2015, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/46 "2015-11-04T22:04:34Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Nitpick: There’s no U in Colombia. Pick well nitted. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/47 "2015-11-05T04:00:56Z")
Novels, as in book-length stories, were a new concept in the mid-1500’s. Hence the name, which basically means “a new way of telling a story”. The concept is not so novel anymore. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/48 "2015-11-05T12:41:44Z")
The [New River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_River_(Kanawha_River)) > [@](#): > > Despite its name, the New River is considered by some geologists to be one of the oldest rivers in the world. [Estimated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_by_age) 260 to 325 million years old. (It hasn’t actually been called that for so long, I just find it amusing…) ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/49 "2015-11-05T14:07:18Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Pick well nitted. /Nitpick You’re looking for “nit well picked” as nit is the noun and pick is the verb in “nitpick.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/50 "2015-11-05T15:36:20Z")
New Street in Birmingham (mostly known today for being where the train station is in Birmingham) was first recorded as _novus vicus_ in tax rolls from 1296. Excavations and its geometry suggest that it was built around 1150 to service the new textile markets. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/51 "2015-11-05T15:52:28Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > The [New River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_River_(Kanawha_River)) > [Estimated](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rivers_by_age) 260 to 325 million years old. > > (It hasn’t actually been called that for so long, I just find it amusing…) Good one! I wanted to post that. The New River is _older than the Appalachian Mountains_ because it _cuts right smack across them_. It’s a wonder that its course wasn’t completely altered by the orogeny, but the river cut its way through the uplifted rock as fast or faster than the uplift. It’s like cutting a log by holding the chainsaw still and lifting the log up against it from beneath. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/52 "2015-11-05T16:26:23Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The New World, which I believe has been a term since the earliest Scandinavian writings about it ca 1000 BCE. It’s still used as a third-hand, slightly jocular reference. I wouldn’t even call it jocular. There’s really not a good name for it if you’re describing its historical discovery. It’s not the Western Hemisphere, as that starts in the middle of England. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/53 "2015-11-05T16:38:51Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It’s not the Western Hemisphere, as that starts in the middle of England. While that may be the technical definition, more loosely that can be used to refer to the Americas alone and frequently is. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/54 "2015-11-05T17:48:04Z")
It’s newer than some of these other things, but there’s also a [New Mosque](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mosque_%28Istanbul%29) in Istanbul, constructed in the late 16th through mid-17th century. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/55 "2015-11-05T21:27:25Z")
beards. it seems that every fifteen years or so, there’s a new love-affair with beards. something that’s been around as long as faces can’t be all that new. Every once in a while, there’s a news report about a new something-or-other that’s been discovered in outer-space (star, comet, asteroid, etc.). While the _discovery_ may indeed be new, the thing itself is often perhaps millions or billions of years old. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/56 "2015-11-07T16:08:47Z")
> [@Whiskey\_Dickens](#): > > /Nitpick > > You’re looking for “nit well picked” as nit is the noun and pick is the verb in “nitpick.” 😛 [Foghorn Leghorn] I say, I say there. That’s a joke. (Insert “That boy’s about as …” joke.) [/Foghorn Leghorn] Anyway, the name of Novgorod (“New City”) in Russia seems to date to the 10th century, while the original town existed at least 100 years before that. OTOH, the name of Novosibirsk only dates to 1926 (its prior name of Novonikolayevsk dates to 1893). “New”, once part of a name, seems to really stick around. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/57 "2015-11-07T16:46:40Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Good one! I wanted to post that. The New River is _older than the Appalachian Mountains_ because it _cuts right smack across them_. It’s a wonder that its course wasn’t completely altered by the orogeny, but the river cut its way through the uplifted rock as fast or faster than the uplift. It’s like cutting a log by holding the chainsaw still and lifting the log up against it from beneath. New word learned; thanks. > **[Orogeny](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orogeny)** > > Orogeny (/ɒˈrɒdʒəni/) is a mountain-building process that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An orogenic belt or orogen develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted to form one or more mountain ranges. This involves a series of geological processes collectively called orogenesis. These include both structural deformation of existing continental crust and the creation of new continental crust through volcanism. Magma rising in the oroge... I love the way SDGQ guys, myself included, will use a deeply technical word sprinkled among relaxed general descriptions, because you can probably figure it out, and if you can’t, the rest of the post should make perfectly fine sense anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/58 "2015-11-07T21:57:29Z")
**Neutron** , with a tip of the hat to the German language. Many may be as old as 13.8 billion years. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/59 "2015-11-08T01:54:08Z")
Newcastle upon Tyne is called after a castle built in the 11th century. According to Wikipedia, “The town was henceforth known as Novum Castellum or New Castle.” ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2015, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259/60 "2015-11-08T11:46:49Z")
The Sanskrit name _Navadvipa_ or “New Island”\* was applied to land formed by a changing rivercourse at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Jalangi rivers in (what is now) West Bengal, India, at least as early as the eleventh century CE. It has been called by various dialect variants of _Navadvipa_ (e.g., Nadiya, Nadia, Nuddea, Naodah, Nabadvip, etc.) ever since. \*Unless it meant “Nine Islands”, the word _nava_ meaning both “nine” and “new”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-oldest-new-thing/736259.md?page=4)