OT tragicomedy

On 8 Jan 2005 14:04:47 -0800, "jim rosinski"
wrote:

Cub Driver wrote:

If true, it reinforces my belief that renaming tidal waves as
tsunamis
was a really really stupid thing to do. We all knew what a tidal wave
was! And I bet the secretary of the prime minister of Sri Lanka knew
also.

Actually, I believe tsunami is one of those weird hemisphere-dependent

Although Japanese in origin it is an old and almost universally used
term.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
words that depends on where the event occurs. Just like "typhoon" in
east Asia and "hurricane" in North America. So I don't think it's a
renaming. If one of those things hits California it'll probably still
be called a "tidal wave".

Jim Rosinski

Roger wrote:

Actually, I believe tsunami is one of those weird
hemisphere-dependent

Although Japanese in origin it is an old and almost universally used
term.

That isn't what I meant. Yes the term tsunami is "universally used". My
point was that whether an event is called a "tsunami" or a "tidal wave"
may depend on where the event occured.

Jim Rosinski

"jim rosinski" wrote in message
oups.com...
Roger wrote:

Actually, I believe tsunami is one of those weird
hemisphere-dependent

Although Japanese in origin it is an old and almost universally used
term.

That isn't what I meant. Yes the term tsunami is "universally used". My
point was that whether an event is called a "tsunami" or a "tidal wave"
may depend on where the event occured.

No. It depends on when you were born. If you were born before 1960, you
probably call it a tidal wave.

C J Campbell wrote:

That isn't what I meant. Yes the term tsunami is "universally
used". My
point was that whether an event is called a "tsunami" or a "tidal
wave"
may depend on where the event occured.

No. It depends on when you were born. If you were born before 1960,
you
probably call it a tidal wave.

Interesting. Searches of online dictionaries don't yield evidence to
support my geographical origin-based theory. So I'm inclined to be
persuaded by your explanation. Thnx, CJ.

Jim Rosinski

"jim rosinski" wrote in message
oups.com...
C J Campbell wrote:

That isn't what I meant. Yes the term tsunami is "universally
used". My
point was that whether an event is called a "tsunami" or a "tidal
wave"
may depend on where the event occured.

No. It depends on when you were born. If you were born before 1960,
you
probably call it a tidal wave.

Interesting. Searches of online dictionaries don't yield evidence to
support my geographical origin-based theory. So I'm inclined to be
persuaded by your explanation. Thnx, CJ.

Kids used to 'learn' a lot from comic books. Dick Tracy fought a tidal wave;
Buz Sawyer (IIRC) a tsunami. No doubt Superman has seen both.