scientific gibberish

Benjamin Barrett gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM
Mon Feb 6 06:00:01 UTC 2012


I recall a discussion about this on a translators' list. I think someone brought up the point that it might be valid if in Kelvin. One of those things that will simply appear from time to time.

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

On Feb 5, 2012, at 9:21 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:

> What does one mean when he says "twice as cold"?
>
> http://goo.gl/3OFkG
>> "Temps are dropping below -40 Celsius [-40 degrees Fahrenheit] and
>> they have only a week or so left before they have to winterize the
>> station," he said. "I can only imagine what things must be like at
>> Vostok Station this week."...
>> When the winter arrives in the next few weeks, the temperature can
>> _get_twice_as_cold_. Vostok Station boasts the lowest recorded
>> temperature on Earth: -89.4 degrees Celsius (-129 degrees Fahrenheit).
>
> [facepalm]

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list