Column 8
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday November 28, 2008
"Your reporter Jano Gibson refers to traffic being impeded on Bondi Road when the clearway restrictions are lifted so shoppers can park in the outer lane," writes John Roberts, of Toronto ("Quicker to walk to Bondi Beach", Herald, Tuesday). "I have always referred to the centre line lane as the 'outside' lane and the kerb lane as the 'inside' lane. Some of my family members disagree with this. Perhaps your readers can comment." You can bet they will, John.
"Since the beginning of the financial crisis the number trillion has become very popular," writes Bob Ryan, of Kewarra Beach, Queensland. "In the good old days, a billion was a million million, but the Yanks got hold of it and it is now accepted to be a thousand million. Could someone enlighten me as to how many noughts there are in a trillion?" We believe that a trillion is a thousand billion, and so comes with 12 noughts. It's a fair chunk of cash by any measure. What we want to know is this: what comes after that? We've heard of "quadrillions", but then it gets a little silly, and people talk of "gazillions", or simply "heaps". Maybe an astronomer would know - they deal with these numbers every day. Treasurers are still coming to terms with it all.This is the kind of question Column 8 was founded to address, by those wise men way back in the '40s. It is simple, yet perplexing, and comes from Penny Gerner, of Middle Cove, who asks, "Assuming that the size of men's and women's noses are similar, why are men's handkerchiefs so much larger than women's?""A biblical quote on a church notice board at Glenorie on Monday," reports Jim Pollitt, of Wahroonga, "read: 'A quarrelsome wife is like a dripping tap. Proverbs 27:15.' The next day a comment was added in stick-on letters: 'Sexist religion insults women.' Today both signs have been removed and a new missive: 'Apologies: a wife of noble character is worth more than rubies. Proverbs 31:10.' Go, Glenorie girls!""I like the SMH news update that's delivered to my email account twice daily," writes Richard Caladine, of the University of Wollongong, "but am perplexed by the sub-headline in this Wednesday's edition: 'Petrol prices dip to 99.9 cents for some motorists in Sydney, and around a dollar for others.' What's the difference?" Well, it's a very small difference, it's true. But ask any statistician. There is a difference. We think."Do they teach any Australian history at school these days?" asks Paul Townsend, of Sunshine Bay. "In a queue for tickets at the movies last night a 17-year-old (or thereabouts) in front of us was heard commenting, 'Why did they call it Australia? It has nothing to do with Australia. There are places being bombed in it - nowhere in Australia has ever been bombed!' Hopefully the movie will enlighten some. I couldn't bring myself to let him know the truth, and I doubt if he would have believed me in any case."Column8@smh.com.au (no attachments please). Phone 9282 2207 fax 9282 2772. (include name, suburb, daytime phone)
© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald
