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Chasing Dragons
Coronavirus scare: When will 'hamsterkauf' become an English word?
Supermarkets in Germany have witnessed signs of panic buying as the new coronavirus spreads. Some English-language media are in love with the special word the Germans use for hoarding stuff, as Hardy Graupner found out.
The coronavirus scare has seen quite a number of Germans resorting to panic buying, although the chances of them really needing a lot of stuff at home over a longer period are rather slim. But that's a different story.
The point is that the Germans have a rather nice and descriptive word for hoarding stuff. They call the activity of panic buying hamsterkauf, with the corresponding verb being hamstern.
It's not too hard for people from the English-speaking world to guess its meaning. After all, they share the same word for the rodent that's used as a descriptive term in German to indicate that if you do a hamsterkauf, you want a lot of stuff — just as hamsters are eager to store as much food as they can in their cheeks. You never know, it could come in handy.
Soon an English (borrowed) word?
Panic buying is perhaps part of the German angst that crops up once in a while. The question is: If angst made it into the English language long ago, isn't it time for hamsterkauf to follow suit and join the likes of dachshund, blitzkrieg, kindergarten, realpolitik and hinterland? Probably not, as compound words stand a far lower chance of ever being incorporated, but never say die in this crazy lexiconic world.
Supermarkets in Germany have witnessed signs of panic buying as the new coronavirus spreads. Some English-language media are in love with the special word the Germans use for hoarding stuff, as Hardy Graupner found out.
The coronavirus scare has seen quite a number of Germans resorting to panic buying, although the chances of them really needing a lot of stuff at home over a longer period are rather slim. But that's a different story.
The point is that the Germans have a rather nice and descriptive word for hoarding stuff. They call the activity of panic buying hamsterkauf, with the corresponding verb being hamstern.
It's not too hard for people from the English-speaking world to guess its meaning. After all, they share the same word for the rodent that's used as a descriptive term in German to indicate that if you do a hamsterkauf, you want a lot of stuff — just as hamsters are eager to store as much food as they can in their cheeks. You never know, it could come in handy.
Soon an English (borrowed) word?
Panic buying is perhaps part of the German angst that crops up once in a while. The question is: If angst made it into the English language long ago, isn't it time for hamsterkauf to follow suit and join the likes of dachshund, blitzkrieg, kindergarten, realpolitik and hinterland? Probably not, as compound words stand a far lower chance of ever being incorporated, but never say die in this crazy lexiconic world.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
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Did you know we now have more than 2 million Roma living here in the contiguous 48? Most people who know very little about them have very biased opinions of who they are. Masny famous people had at least one Roma parent like Elvis, Yule Brynner, and Charlie Chaplin. If anyone is interested I can write up a series of stories about them.
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Chasing Dragons
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan
“Look 's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbour life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
“Look 's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbour life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
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Chasing Dragons
Under the new covid 19 rules in England, My daughter-in-Law's Mother, a nurse on a covid ward and living alone, can now resume contact with my grandchildren and provide childcare.
The two of us, who have remained isolated and together, are deemed a greater risk and therefore are not permitted to visit our children and grandchildren with the exception of remaining outside and two metres distant.
The two of us, who have remained isolated and together, are deemed a greater risk and therefore are not permitted to visit our children and grandchildren with the exception of remaining outside and two metres distant.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
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Hey hey ..just a random pop in to give a hug 😂😃
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..a month later 😂😂😃 ..hug for the month of August 
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..and at the end of August even ..I'm so tired, I can just sit here and do nothing 😂😂😃 but I cannot
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Quote by gillianleeza
We have that up here in MA too Gill! But you have Chesapeake Bay crabs and all ours are hard shelled. You cook yours so hot, it makes you sweat. We just take out the meat and make crab cakes or crab meat sandwiches.
Tommy's little darlin'
Why is it always the winks?
My heart has wi-fi and the password is Tom Petty.
Chasing Dragons
Another Random Burt (Kwouk)
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
Tommy's little darlin'
She has eyes like skydust and a smile to rival the sun.
My heart has wi-fi and the password is Tom Petty.
Primus Omnium
This says a lot about our current population in the United States.
Tommy's little darlin'
I'm so tired it's unreal.
My heart has wi-fi and the password is Tom Petty.
Chasing Dragons
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana
Tommy's little darlin'
I'm so soft for Jane right now.
My heart has wi-fi and the password is Tom Petty.
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Tommy's little darlin'
I think I need a map cause I'm lost in Jane's eyes.
My heart has wi-fi and the password is Tom Petty.
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Quote by gillianleeza
What term is used for there's a cat in it, Purrfect?
You can't get there from here, because when you get there you're still here and here is now there.
