Synapses of the world, unite!

According to the statistics section of my blog, I have written 763 posts (not counting this one) since September 28, 2007. This made me think, naturally, of the French and Indian War.

Do not look at me like that with those rolling eyes. It makes perfect sense.

The French and Indian War lasted from 1754 until 1763 -- note those last three digits, 763, which are the same as the number of, oh, forget it -- and was also known as the Seven Years War, even though if you subtract 1754 from 1763 you will get, let me see now, nine years. This is both confusing and completely unrelated to the fact that September, which is the ninth month of the year, was in fact the seventh month of the Roman calendar (in Latin septem means “seven” and septimus means “seventh”) until 153 BC, when the beginning of the year was changed from Kalendas Martius (1 March) to Kalendas Januarius (1 January), but that is neither here nor there. Well, actually it was there, but it’s not any more. Another story I have read explaining the reason September became the ninth month instead of the seventh is that two months were inserted into the Kalenda calendar to honor Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar, namely July and August. The Romans, usually so thorough, apparently figured they had done enough damage and decided not to rename September November, rename October December, rename November Undecimber, and rename December Duodecimber. If you don’t have a clue what I am talking about, clicking here will help.

According to our old friend Wikipedia, the war (we were talking about the French and Indian/Seven Years War, remember?) was also known in Sweden as the Pomeranian War, in India as the Third Carnatic War, and in Prussia and Austria as the Third Silesian War. This is approximately as confusing as calling Constantinople Istanbul, calling Bombay Mumbai, calling Hot Springs (New Mexico) Truth or Consequences (New Mexico), and dividing Ruanda-Urundi into two separate countries and calling one Rwanda and the other Burundi, but it is not quite as confusing as calling the old Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Belarus or calling Burma Myanmar or calling the Hellespont the Dardanelles. If you are really into Greek mythology, my mentioning the Hellespont should bring to mind the legend of Hero and Leander, in which Hero was female, Leander was male, and a lot of swimming was involved. Just like last weekend in the UK. If only Leander had worn an orange hat and a wet suit, perhaps he would not have drowned but would have received a free pair of flip-flops like Daphne did. (Again, clicking on the links will help you understand.)

I have no idea where this post is going. Nor do I know where it came from. Ditto as regards that last paragraph.

The human brain is a funny thing. Not funny ha-ha but funny peculiar. If you don’t believe me, look at this:

I will quit while I am a head ahead.

If you don’t think I am ahead, kindly keep your opinion to yourself.

Until we meet again, please continue sending good thoughts my way and I will do the same back atcha, good buddy (CB* talk for reciprocate). If you have not heretofore been sending good thoughts my way, there is no time like the present to begin.

Or you can entertain yourself by watching this (2:42).

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* by which I mean Citizens’ Band radio. My incurable itch unquenchable thirst for knowledge, however, has led me to discover that CB can mean quite a number of things. Why, just in composing this note I learned that in the UK back in the seventies there was a singing group called Laurie Lingo and the Dipsticks and that Providence, Rhode Island, is known to American truckers as Barftown. Where else, I ask you, would you ever learn such useful and fascinating information? --RWP