Weasel @wildweasel@computerfairi.es

OCEANUS PACIFICUS OESTRUS ET ELECTRUM DELENDA EST

trackers are like "what if Microsoft Excel made a cool noises"

You may be familiar with an oft-repeated factoid about the word bear, referring to mammals of the family Ursidae. It typically goes something like this:

Did you know that “bear” doesn’t derive from the creature’s original name? It was feared that speaking its true name would summon one, and over time the original name fell out of favor as people adopted “the brown one” or similar as a euphemism, which eventually evolved into the “bear” that we know today.

The historical truth of the matter is, of course, far more nuanced and the subject of much debate, which I won’t attempt to unravel here. But regardless of its accuracy, it’s a fun story, and it makes me kinda sad that this sort of thing doesn’t really happen any more.

After all, in these enlightened 21^st century times, we know there aren’t any creatures that sit patiently watching, listening, waiting to be summoned by one who would speak their true name.

. . .

“Hey Alexa—”

(also on my blog: https://moonbase.lgbt/blog/the-unspoken-one/)