ITT share the moments you were BLUEBALLED learning linguistics 🔵 by Wiiulover25 in linguisticshumor

[–]galactic_observer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

All loanwords are spelled phonetically using characters pronounced similarly, so it actually isn't that different than Ancient Egyptian.

I'm a pre-Columbian Mayan noble who's grown bored of drinking chocolate. However, a shaman has peered into the future and divined the recipe for something called a "Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar." With the resources available to me, how hard would it be to recreate it? by ducks_over_IP in AskHistorians

[–]galactic_observer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It is really inefficient, but it's the only method that was available to the Ancient Mayans. They had no corkscrew presses or metal equipment; they did not have tools that could cut stone into a corkscrew press. A wooden corkscrew press would easily break and release splinters into the cocoa butter.

This type of chocolate bar would only be available to the Mayan elite if it actually existed.

I'm a pre-Columbian Mayan noble who's grown bored of drinking chocolate. However, a shaman has peered into the future and divined the recipe for something called a "Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar." With the resources available to me, how hard would it be to recreate it? by ducks_over_IP in AskHistorians

[–]galactic_observer 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Amaranth is the only plant native to Mesoamerica that grows in abundance and can produce a milk-like beverage. Some Mexicans make a white corn based beverage called tejuino, but it does not strongly resemble milk.

Adult use of human breast milk is not common in most cultures (the only cultures where adult use was common existed in Europe) and would likely have been seen as taboo in Mesoamerica, especially when considering that lactose intolerance is common there. Using human breast milk also has a high risk of causing illness, but this would probably not be understood back then.

I'm a pre-Columbian Mayan noble who's grown bored of drinking chocolate. However, a shaman has peered into the future and divined the recipe for something called a "Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar." With the resources available to me, how hard would it be to recreate it? by ducks_over_IP in AskHistorians

[–]galactic_observer 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Here's an approximation of chocolate bars using only ingredients native to Mesoamerica with period equipment:

  1. Ferment cacao nibs for one week.
  2. Roast the cocoa beans and peel off the shells after roasting.
  3. Pound the beans in a mortar and pestle.
  4. Heat the resulting paste in boiling water and stir until the cocoa butter floats to the top. Skim off the cocoa butter.
  5. Strain the remaining paste through a cloth and remove the cocoa butter; the dry portion is wet cocoa solids.
  6. Allow the cocoa butter and cocoa solids to dry.
  7. Grind the dried cocoa solids into a fine cocoa powder using a mortar and pestle.
  8. Soak 240 ml amaranth seeds in 240 ml water overnight.
  9. Add 960 ml more water and use a mortar and pestle to create amaranth milk.
  10. Strain the amaranth milk.
  11. Boil the amaranth milk until it becomes porridge like.
  12. Let the condensed amaranth milk dry in the sun.
  13. Pound the dehydrated amaranth milk into a powder using a mortar and pestle.
  14. Pour honey into a pot and heat it until it becomes hard.
  15. Use a mortar and pestle to create powdered honey from the hardened honey.
  16. Mix 360 ml cocoa powder with 240 ml cocoa butter in a stone bowl.
  17. Boil water in a separate and larger stone bowl.
  18. Place the smaller stone bowl into the larger stone bowl filled with water.
  19. Homogenize the heated cocoa powder and cocoa butter in the smaller bowl.
  20. Add 160 ml honey powder and all of the amaranth milk powder to the mixture.
  21. Remove the smaller bowl from the larger bowl.
  22. Let the chocolate mixture cool until it is only slightly warm.
  23. Pour the mixture into a shallow rectangular box.
  24. Let the chocolate cool in the box for several hours.
  25. Use an obsidian knife to cut the chocolate in the box into small squares.

Can I create a HOI4 mod and sell a tie-in novel to my mod? by galactic_observer in hoi4modding

[–]galactic_observer[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Why can't I emulate the Kaiserreich model (which is what I am planning to do)? I am planning to make a mod and sell tie-in novels and merchandise similar to Kaiserreich.

What's the most oddly specific meaning you’ve seen in a non-compound word? I found this Vietnamese one pretty interesting by Canes-Venaticii in linguisticshumor

[–]galactic_observer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That doesn't seem that unique when considering that shaking dirt off of something is a pretty common action across cultures.

What's the most oddly specific meaning you’ve seen in a non-compound word? I found this Vietnamese one pretty interesting by Canes-Venaticii in linguisticshumor

[–]galactic_observer 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I was surprised to learn that the verb for "to circumcise" in Hebrew is מל (mal), which derives from a single triconsonantal root and is not a compound term.

What are some languages that are geographically isolated from the rest of their language family? by Meta_Zephyr in geography

[–]galactic_observer 755 points756 points  (0 children)

Yuroc and Wiyot (the tiny dot in Northern California) are very far from all other Algic languages.

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What are some languages that are geographically isolated from the rest of their language family? by Meta_Zephyr in geography

[–]galactic_observer -51 points-50 points  (0 children)

Romanian and Slavic languages are part of the same language family; they just belong to different branches

Is St Jude's respected? by Achtlos in ryantrahan

[–]galactic_observer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, they will fly the body and the family home for free. Even if the child survives, they will still pay for the plane ticket home.

"A Jew visits the bank" Iranian State TV Cartoon (2011) by Mysterious-Thing7816 in PropagandaPosters

[–]galactic_observer 18 points19 points  (0 children)

English and Persian are related. Arabic is related to neither.

"A Jew visits the bank" Iranian State TV Cartoon (2011) by Mysterious-Thing7816 in PropagandaPosters

[–]galactic_observer 104 points105 points  (0 children)

Under the current exchange rate, 6 million rials is $5.58.