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BeeHive  >  Press Articles  >  A rose by any other name...

A rose by any other name...

You'll never guess what I’ve just found out, so I'll tell you. A ten-gallon hat, you know, the type cowboys wear, well, guess what? It only actually holds six pints, that's what. I mean, who’d have thought that? It’s true, though. I read it on the internet. I found out a load of other strange things too. For a start it turns out that French Fries aren’t French at all, they’re Belgian. Also, Great Danes (those big dogs) have got nothing to do with Denmark. They’re German actually. Rice paper is a bit odd too. Basically, it hasn’t got any rice in it, not even one grain. Koala bears are not bears, nor are mountain goats, goats. They’re antelopes, mountain goats, that is, not koala bears, which are marsupials.

While I’m at it, I’ll add the fact that prairie dogs aren’t dogs either, they’re rodents. Catgut is a funny one too, it doesn’t come from cats after all, it comes from sheep. And if you’ve never eaten Bombay Duck because you don’t like the thought of eating the cute multi-coloured feathered guys you feed in the park, don’t worry about it because its actually a dried fish. On the other hand, if you’re allergic to fish, don’t order Bombay Duck unless you want a nasty reaction.

I also found out that the horned toad is in fact a lizard and that silk worms are not worms. Nor are fireflies, flies. But the one that really got me was this. It turns out that Guinea Pigs are not only not pigs, but they’ve got nothing to do with Guinea either. And that’s my point really, the language appears to be breaking down all over and it really does make it difficult to understand what’s going on sometimes. I mean, where will it all end? The next thing you know someone will be telling us that our new simplified pensions system isn’t going to be simple at all.....

Steve Bee


First published in Pensions Management, April 2004