Today is the Fourteenth of February. Why do we spell 14 "fourteen," but 40 "forty"? It's not a joke, it's a legitimate question. Anyone want to offer an answer?
The number 4o is different from the number 4 in Russian, too, but even more so than in English: for 4, they say "ch-tir'-ee," while for 40 the word is simply "sor'-ok." No apparent semantic relationship: no roots in common, not even any letters in common. I don't speak any other languages- if you speak any aside from English, I'm interested in how they deal with 4 and 40. Ask your friends! Is this just a European thing? Is it just a Romance thing, which happened to somehow also get reflected in a Slavic language? I'm genuinely curious! Also, if you speak Russian and happen to have some insight into the 4/40 thing, I'd love to hear about it.
Support Senator Leahey's Bush Truth Commission! We need to at least air that dirty laundry.
I Hate Banks news: Microbusiness on the rise! This in particular is very exciting news for anyone who's ever disliked banks. Go, Zopa!
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