this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2024
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Science Memes

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top 27 comments
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[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

I went to fact check this. It's real but I feel like we're missing out on something here

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Explains why Frank would have eaten them.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago
[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 month ago

Street urchins aka boulevard hedgehogs

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 month ago (5 children)

In dutch they are literally called sea-hedgehog. (zee-egel)

So, while latin and all is nice, there's always the dutch way of "doe maar normaal dan doe je gek genoeg". Which translates into: just behave as regular, that's more than enough excitement.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Same in Spanish, but from a different root-word. Erizo del mar, which erizo is just a normal hedgehog

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Same in Slovene. Morski jež - sea hedgehog

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

This is turning into the whole ananas / pineapple thing where English is the outlier again.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Same in danish: Søpindsvin

Sea-stick-swine

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Continuing the chain, same in Brazilian Portuguese: "Ouriço-do-mar"

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Je bent niet echt

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

It's actually the same in italian, ricci di mare

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

"doe normaal.."

In french they're "oursins", apparently from bears, which they thought had very hard fur.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Similarly, seals? Sea dogs.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

See, this is why etymology is such a fascinating field, and why learning Latin and Greek are still worthwhile.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Do you speak Latin? I'm trying to learn Latin for fun, and I would like some recommendations. I already have the first Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata PDF.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

I do (or did) speak Latin. Nowadays it’s mostly bits and pieces.

I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything to recommend

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I'm confused! Doesn't urchin really relate to children?

Is that a colloquialism or more English-on-drugs?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The use of "urchin" to refer to children is separate from its original meaning.

Maybe it became that as a word for something underfoot?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I like this one the best!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Thats a street urchin. Strangely, this blog post was one of the first links that came up. It ponders how the name street urchin came to be.

It says

Looking in the OED, I see two possibly relevant definitions. 1c. A goblin or elf. (From the supposition that they occasionally assumed the form of a hedgehog.)... There is also 4a. A pert, mischievous, or roguish youngster; a brat.

Edit: formatting is crazy

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

In French, oursin (urchin) seems to be the diminutive of ours, which means bear. So oursin means something like "little bear".

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

I read somewhere that male hedgehogs have really long dicks. Long enough that they can jack themselves off with their arms. They make awful pets because they get cum everywhere and it starts smelling real bad real fast.

No idea if this is true or not.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Completely unrelated, in Norway we call them "crow balls" (kråkeboller)