41–50 of 190 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No daylight savings time ...would be one that I would add.
Found the German. On a serious note: compared to the other inconsistencies, this seems like a very minor one. If we wanted to standardize time, we should agree on ONE timezone across the world. But of course that seems almost impossible: Having to convince 8 billion people on a change that has little benefit in their everyday life.
When I was trainee in Stockholm in the 1980s most (if not all) escalators in the metro still run such that you had to take the left one.
Still on escalators everywhere, if you're standing, you stand on the right. If you're passing, you pass on the left.
I'd guess in London it's the opposite (has been a while, cannot remember).
There is a joke, that in order to facilitate such a change, it should be done in more manageable steps. So on day 1, only the motorcycles switch over to the other side of driving, on day 2 the motor vehicles, and on day 3 the trucks and busses switches over...
"Have you heared: Britain wants to switch to right-hand traffic?"
...
"Yes, but they want to do it step by step."
???
"They want to start with lorries first."
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Speaking English If you mean teaching english as a second language, I can agree. If you mean switching over to it as the primary language I hard disagree.
> as a second language It should go beyond that, a second official language, so that all signs, documents and government interactions should be just as valid in both languages.
Maybe the world should standardize on: Driving on the right Speaking English The metric system The 2024-06-09 date format The Celsius scale The 24-hour clock
> Driving on the right No thanks > 2024-06-09 date format That doesnt infer what you want. Are you saying you want YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-DD-MM
Maybe the world should standardize on: Driving on the right Speaking English The metric system The 2024-06-09 date format The Celsius scale The 24-hour clock
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Still on escalators everywhere, if you're standing, you stand on the right. If you're passing, you pass on the left.
Everywhere as everywhere in Sweden? I'd guess in London it's the opposite (has been a while, cannot remember).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am fluent in one language and speak three others passably, and have order-a-beer/ask-for-a-toilet/get-directions ability in a few others. It does not matter to me which language I use to communicate. Why should it? The one I am fluent in is not the language of any of my ancestors if I go back just a couple of generations. So what? My children are natively fluent in two languages. Neither of their languages is a sec…
Are you trying to make a point or..? It's a bit unclear. People can have multiple languages they're native in, that doesn't mean we should try to replace every language with English.
Where did I say that everyone should speak only English? I do not care what language people speak.
> Are you trying to make a point or..?
Why are you being unkind? Or hostile, or whatever this is?
I was asking a question. I understand that people think they will lose something if they speak a different language. My native language is not the same as any of my ancestors from just a few generations ago, and I want to know what difference it makes?
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My understanding was that the parent recommends standardizing the native language throughout the world, rather than enforcing ESL.
Sure, but how would I teach my children English as a first language, when my English is only ESL. And even if I could, I would never do that, as a diversity in languages directly leads to a diversity in thought.
First languages do change with time so it does happen, and it can be induced to happen. My grandparents all spoke English as a first language, but if you go back a few more generations only one of my great (or possibly great great) grandparents ancestors would have done.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Found the German. On a serious note: compared to the other inconsistencies, this seems like a very minor one. If we wanted to standardize time, we should agree on ONE timezone across the world. But of course that seems almost impossible: Having to convince 8 billion people on a change that has little benefit in their everyday life.
How would one timezone work? The sun sets at 8:00 in one place and sets at 20:00 on the other side of the world? In terms of working or traveling between time zones, it seem like it would be much harder to remember the fact that, for instance, people in New York stop work when the clock says 17:00 and people in LA work until 20:00, than to remember that they are three time zones apart.