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Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

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Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#201

Post by rob74 »

kelnos wrote: post #161
codetrotter wrote: post #19

> I think the manufacturer of your son's ball mixed in a Swedish word I found this super unconvincing at first. But they just kept goin. And going. And going. And the more I scrolled and the more I read, I started to think that they are right. And by the end I was fully convinced! Well worth reading. Thanks for sharing, OP!

Same! But then I read another answer further down that suggested it might be a Chinese word for axe, romanized in pinyin as yuè (for 鉞). Since the knock-off ball seems to have been made by a Chinese company, that seems more likely to me. That doesn't explain the weird u-boat thing, though.

The "weird u-boat thing" further supports the Swedish hypothesis - "ubåt" or "undervattensbåt" are the standard terms for a submarine in Swedish (https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ub%C3%A5t). The word "U-boat" is also used in English, however with the meaning "German submarine during WW1/2" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-boat) - but I don't think it's widespread enough (or appropriate) to be eligible for a toy.

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#202

Post by kkoncevicius »

Waterluvian wrote: post #97
nullhole wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi lolinder, welcome to HackerNews. Your comment implies that Stack Overflow isn't currently fun. You are of course well within your rights to make that assertion. However, I find that your comment may be improved by removing any implication that Stack Overflow isn't fun. So I invite you to explain your reasons and maybe consider future improving edits to your post.

This is almost too polite to be Stack Exchange satire.

Nowadays it seems like every other comment on Stack Exchange is full of forced and phony politeness. That's in their rules too.

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#204

Post by oneshtein »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #183
lifthrasiir wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really like that because it's obviously a troll question. Its wording and a large number of significant digits clearly demands the acceleration of gravity to be reverse-engineered, so it can't be a real question even by a chance. One thing to consider if it's indeed real: how much water is in that well?

> Its wording and a large number of significant digits clearly demands the acceleration of gravity to be reverse-engineered I think if a bear fell into a well, there would be friction between the bear and the side of the well...

If bear is alive and not oiled, then yes.

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#205

Post by kalleboo »

itsyellowpaint wrote: post #192

It's yellow paint being squeezed out of a tube. The handle is the paint. The axe-head is the tube. The number of people in the comments still speculating and believing in the aye theory is funny. It's literally in the following answer on the StackExchange thread. Or maybe I'm the one who feels the "swoosh" of the joke going over my head, and everyone pretends to see an axe for lulz.

It looks nothing at all like a paint tube though. And why is the paint coming out the side of it?

Also. This clipart image comes up for a google image search of the Chinese characters for "Axe" https://i.stack.imgur.com/Lvi0V.jpg

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#206

Post by kalleboo »

gweinberg wrote: post #104

It's not a really really badly drawn ax with a weird wavy yellow handle, it's yellow paint coming out of a paint pot. The reason the "ax" looks nothing at all like an ax is that it isn't supposed to be an ax.

This image comes up in a google image search for the Chinese characters for "Axe" https://i.stack.imgur.com/Lvi0V.jpg

Re: Which word begins with "y" and looks like an axe in this picture? (2017)

#210

Post by kortilla »

thedrake wrote: post #199
thedrake wrote: post #198

I was the one who solved this. It was an exciting time

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14672359

I’m confused to how you made the assumption that the designer would be searching for “axe” in Chinese. That still assumes axe but then they decided to color it yellow afterwards?
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