Interestingly,
even numerate individuals are bad at drawing the right conclusions
from statistics which don't support their political beliefs. This is
often seen in the context of drug and gun laws and is called
'motivated numeracy'. So, watch out for it, if you are numerate. If
you're not, don't bother. You're going to misinterpret the data
anyway.
Spain
recently raised the age of consent from 13 to 16. The British
government is contemplating reducing it from 16 to 15. This
presumably tells us something about the respective societies but I
haven't the faintest idea what.
Talking
of cultures, I learnt from a podcast on the French economy yesterday
that there's no phrase equivalent to 'value for money' in the
language which gave us laissez-faire
and entrepreneur.
And Spanish? Well, one dictionary gives Tener
buena relación calidad-precio which
does the business, I guess, albeit less succinctly. Which is usually
the way in Spanish, of course.
With
each passing day, I feel I understand the Spanish legal system less
and less. Yesterday I read that 40-odd Valencian politicians have
petitioned for the pardon of some jailed ex-mayor even though the
majority of said politicos have themselves been indicted for some
form of corruption or other. And they all look so straight and
innocent sitting there in their hemisphere. But, then, so did Dr Shipman in his surgery.
Finally
. . . The final bits from David Kynaston's Family
Britain, which majors on the UK of
the 1950s.
There
was no disposition on the part of the British Medical Association not to regard homosexuality
as a problem requiring treatment. That treatment could take several
forms, but subsequently released Home Office papers showed the quite
widespread use of electric-shock treatment and
oestrogen (a female sex hormone) in order to try to turn homosexual
prisoners into heteros.
Birds
Eye Fish Fingers, introduced only 2 weeks before the start of
commercial TV, were reputedly saved by a last minute name change from
being called 'Cod Pieces'.
Dab-it-off,
Windolene, Dura-Glit, Brasso, Brillo, Rinso, Lifebuoy, Silvikrin,
Amm-i-Dent, Delrosa Rose Hip syrup, Mr Therm, Put-U-Up, Toni perms,
hairnets, headscarves, Jaeger, Ladybird T-shirts, rompers, knicker
elastic, cycle clips, brogues, Clarks sandals, Start-rite, Moss
Bross, tweed jackets, crests on blazers, ties as ID, saluting AA
patrolmen, driving gloves, Austin Cambridge, Morris Oxford, Sunbeam
Talbot, starting handles, indicator wings, Triumph, Norton, sidecars,
Raleigh, Sturmey-Archer, trolley buses, Green Line, I-Spy, Hornby
Dublo, Triang, Dinky Toys, Meccano, Scalextric, Subbuteo, Sarah Jane
dolls, plasticine, Magic Robot, jumping jacks, cap guns, Capstans,
Players Navy Cut, Senior Service, Passing Clouds, cigarette boxes,
Dagenham Girls Pipers, saturday morning cinema, Uncle Mac, Nellie the
Elephant, the Laughing Policeman, fountain pens, Quink, napkin rings,
butter knives, vol-au-vents, Brown Windsor soup, sponge cakes, Welgar
shredded wheat, Garibaldis (squashed flies), Carnation, Edam, eat up
your greens, Sun-Pat, Marmite sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, semolina,
shape, sucking oranges through sugar cubes, Tizer, Quosh, Kia-Ora
Suncrush, Dandelion and Burdock, Tom Thumb drops, Sherbet Fountains,
Spangles, Trebor chews, barley twists, blackjacks, fruit salads,
pineapple chunks, Big Chief Dream Pipe, flying saucers, Traffic Light
lollipops, gobstoppers.
Postscript:
Friends and I have extended this list of 50s icons. Please feel free
to make your own citations. I'll post a complete list in a week or
two.
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