Adventure Game Studio

Community => Adventure Related Talk & Chat => Topic started by: Cpt_Jigglypuff on Sat 11/09/2004 08:31:40

Title: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Cpt_Jigglypuff on Sat 11/09/2004 08:31:40
It just dawned on me that the logo/mascot/icon/whatevah, for this website/program is a friggin coffee mug.......I don't mean to sound rude, I just wanna know....what's the story behind that?? ???
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Mr Jake on Sat 11/09/2004 08:33:05
its the AGS logo/mascot/demi-god.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: edmundito on Sat 11/09/2004 08:40:23
If you've used AGS, you would understand that the original sprite for AGS was a blue cup.  :=
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Cpt_Jigglypuff on Sat 11/09/2004 08:44:01
Quote from: netmonkey on Sat 11/09/2004 08:40:23
If you've used AGS, you would understand that the original sprite for AGS was a blue cup.  :=

.......but why? ???
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Mr Jake on Sat 11/09/2004 08:45:40
you only just found out what the bluecup was and you've already changed you avatar to it -_-;

Bluecup is the defualt sprite - used (unless you are starting with the black template) when a sprite hasn't been defined, why? Probably because a cup was the easiest thing CJ could think of to draw at the time.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Cpt_Jigglypuff on Sat 11/09/2004 08:52:47
Quote from: Hotspot on Sat 11/09/2004 08:45:40
you only just found out what the bluecup was and you've already changed you avatar to it -_-;

I needed an avatar, and couldn't remember the name of one of the old forums that my old avatar was at, and my computer was wiped so that would be the only way I could get it back, or making a new one, which I didn't feel like doing right now either....and this topic just came to mind, and I decided I kinda like it cuz it's quirky, and random.....so ....... bada bing I have an avatar....and it 'pwns'...  ;D
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: auhsor on Sat 11/09/2004 09:36:44
Oh its actually called the Blue Cup, not a coffee mug :P. I remember a thread a while ago about the mascot/logo of AGS. It was mentioned that newbies would be confused by thee bluecup. I guess they were right.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: TerranRich on Sat 11/09/2004 10:06:13
The Bluecup is the AGS mascot, so to speak. According to the AGS Dictionary (www.esseb.com/andail/dictionary.htm)...

QuoteBLUE CUP

1. The first object in the sprite manager of the demo-game. Has become a common term within the AGS-community, primarily because of the fact that beginners often fail in changing the graphic of a desired object, and thus keep getting the picture of a blue cup.
2. The Blue Cup trophy is the prize for winning the annual AGS-awards.
3. An IRC-bot on #ags. Referred to as a good-looking woman.

:)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Andail on Sat 11/09/2004 10:15:32
Or, as we can read in this excerp from the 2003 mittens publication "Blimey":

"... it is rumoured that Mittens originates in annual meetings amongst the alchemists of the middle ages, and that the name derives from the hand garments  these druids and sages were required to wear while drinking the traditional Blue Cup of the Mittens Elixir â€" being to hot for bare hands to grasp..."

The blue cup obviously had some sort of ceremonial function in the early days of AGS. Exactly what the elixir consisted of is yet to find out.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: TerranRich on Sat 11/09/2004 20:28:37
Whatever was in it, man, was killer! Seriously, my dog died drinking that stuff, man.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Mats Berglinn on Sat 11/09/2004 20:35:20
I was going to ask this question myself but you guys have already anwered it which I'm happy for. I suspected that one of the reasons was that the blue cup was pretty easy sprite to draw so that's why it became the first sprite and therefore the symbol/logo of AGS... and I was right.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Pumaman on Sat 11/09/2004 20:41:47
Quote from: Andail on Sat 11/09/2004 10:15:32
Exactly what the elixir consisted of is yet to find out.

However, early indications show that Foster's features significantly.


In terms of the Blue Cup, I wish there was some great significance to it, but the truth is that when I first made AGS, I drew a few default sprites like the blue cup, the yellow key, the pink poster, etc, and the blue cup happened to be the first one in the list.

Of course, it's also the default sprite if you don't set things up properly in your game, which is why it has since become something of a 'cult icon'.Ã,  :P
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Haddas on Sat 11/09/2004 21:11:34
So you mean... The pink poster could've been the AGS logo :o ?

You horrible, HORRIBLE man. Good thing fate stepped in and stopped that from happening. I mean... not that there's anything wrong with the pink poster...

that leads me to a question. Why pink?
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Mr Jake on Sat 11/09/2004 21:23:43
because he had finished drawing the transparenys on the cup and was too lazy to change the colour?
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Rui 'Trovatore' Pires on Sat 11/09/2004 22:59:15
Why, why, why! You blasphemous people always want an explanation for everything! Count yer own blessings and be done with ye!
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Pumaman on Sat 11/09/2004 23:25:14
I have a question of my own, regarding the subject of this thread... how much longer does it really take to type "with" rather than "w/"?
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Privateer Puddin' on Sat 11/09/2004 23:29:25
you probably save the time wasted on doing '<----'
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Edwin Xie on Sun 12/09/2004 00:24:31
Quote from: Pumaman on Sat 11/09/2004 23:25:14
I have a question of my own, regarding the subject of this thread... how much longer does it really take to type "with" rather than "w/"?
Uh, I don't know, they both seem to have the same lengths of time typing them, at least for me.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Evil on Sun 12/09/2004 01:08:22
And whats the deal with the '@' sign? Seriously.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: [Cameron] on Sun 12/09/2004 03:00:28
*Alec takes the chance to show his evil red mug of EVIL!
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: rodekill on Sun 12/09/2004 03:27:29
Did anyone ever actually use the '@' sign before email?
Did anyone even know that '@' was 'at'?
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Scummbuddy on Sun 12/09/2004 03:40:44
Quote from: Haddas on Sat 11/09/2004 21:11:34
So you mean... The pink poster could've been the AGS logo :o ?

Could have been worse... we would have been dragging stupid obnoxious keys to mittens and waved them around and gotten them signed by everyone else. You know, those over-sized ones that are sometimes given away as 'keys to cities', but are also seen on my grandmothers walls as 'decoration'.

You know, out there, according to Stephen Hawking, whom, I believe used us as his example, believes there are infinite parallel universes out there, and there are Mittens get-togethers, where our evil-opposites, (so some of us are nice) and oogle pink posters. Whats on them, I cant see from my worm hole direction, but I believe its a girl.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Las Naranjas on Sun 12/09/2004 08:06:22
In The Demolished Man by Bester [1952] there's a character called @tkins, which is interesting.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Kinoko on Sun 12/09/2004 09:14:23
Quote from: Pumaman on Sat 11/09/2004 23:25:14
I have a question of my own, regarding the subject of this thread... how much longer does it really take to type "with" rather than "w/"?

I only just noticed that. I always write that when I'm making notes at uni, but I've never ever thought to type it. I do find 'with' much quicker to type myself. Hand writing though... once I saw someone else do it, I got into the habit and I can do it in a flash. I also hand write (again, only when making quick notes) something/someone/somewhere as s/thing, s/one and s/where.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Haddas on Sun 12/09/2004 11:19:08
Rodekill. Acoording to this book I have the '@' letter was invented by a monk during medieval times, possibly around the 15th century. I have sadly lost the book, but this is what I remember. @ started getting used in emails because it had no real purpose and they needed something.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: TerranRich on Mon 13/09/2004 20:37:12
After all, that @ symbol was taking up precious space on the keyboard...might as well have used it for something.\

Betcha also didn't know that & is designed to look like "Et" and the word "ampersand" is derived from "And per se and". What that means, I haven't the faintest clue.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Haddas on Mon 13/09/2004 21:02:02
perse means ass in finnish! Did that clear things up? I'm sure it did!
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Proskrito on Mon 13/09/2004 22:40:38
QuoteDid anyone even know that '@' was 'at'?
i think @ is an old weight unit. In spanish it has a name, ('arroba', dont know if it has one in english), nothing to do with 'at', so it doesnt make much sense in email adresses. Like if you said 'john kilogram yahoo dot com'.
just FYI : )
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Mr Jake on Mon 13/09/2004 22:59:36
the AOL scientist era..... 'omglol did u no dat e\thing is made of @oms!!!!!'
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Sutebi on Tue 14/09/2004 04:13:56
Yeah, I read a stupid essay on @ in Spanish once. . .yeah.

It mentioned something about the sign (arroba, as said) was used by merchants or something a while ago in their transactions, so it might have been used as unit of measurement. I don't know. It was very vague and I wasn't really paying attention.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: DragonRose on Tue 14/09/2004 04:46:30
Everything you want to know about the at sign (http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/HistoryofAtSign.asp)

As to that "and per se and" thing Rich mentioned, it means "and by itself is and."  I'm guessing the first and means the sign and the second is used as a definition. So basically it comes out as "& is all you need to say and." Yay for half remembered Latin classes!
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: on Tue 14/09/2004 07:36:33
I wonder if centuries from now archeologists will dig up old harddrives and marvel at how twenty-first century humans can begin a thread on the subject of the origins of the blue cup and end it with a long dissertation on abbreviations and symbols.

Astounding. :)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Gilbert on Tue 14/09/2004 07:40:10
Let's move back on topic then. ;D
(http://www.sylpher.com/kafka/agswbimages/bluecup-gilbert.gif)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: remixor on Tue 14/09/2004 10:26:23
Hey man, it's just one of life's glorious mysteries.  Ya gotta have faith.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Goldmund on Wed 15/09/2004 03:41:29
Gilbot has loads of fun insulting us with a vulgar and obscene chinese symbol, whose meaning (apart from the Gil himself + several million chinese people) nobody gets.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Phemar on Thu 16/09/2004 12:44:23

The blue cup holds pure grog ... and perhaps some Fosters if you're feeling lucky ;)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: TerranRich on Thu 16/09/2004 14:27:54
Several million Chinese people? What decade are you in? It's more like a billion. ;)

My blue cup is used as a hat when I want to feel pretty.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: SSH on Thu 16/09/2004 15:26:18
Quote from: QuantumRich on Mon 13/09/2004 20:37:12
After all, that @ symbol was taking up precious space on the keyboard...might as well have used it for something.\

Betcha also didn't know that & is designed to look like "Et" and the word "ampersand" is derived from "And per se and". What that means, I haven't the faintest clue.

I did, and this is WHY:

When printers had to lay out movable type by hand, there was usually one guy setting the lead letters in the correct place on the plate for printing, and one guy would help him by finding the letters in the big box of letters for that font. So, the typesetter would say "L and O and L and Space and O and M and F and G and And and ..." for "LOL OMFG&". Obviously "And and and" is a bit confusuing, so for the and which referred to the "&" character, he would say "and, per se, and".

SO there you go.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Andail on Thu 16/09/2004 16:02:49
SSH, a fountain-festival of knowledge
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Haddas on Thu 16/09/2004 18:09:17
All hail SSH, the new supreme ruler of oracleness. please do share your wisdom with us more.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Alun on Thu 16/09/2004 23:15:22
Quote from: rodekill on Sun 12/09/2004 03:27:29
Did anyone ever actually use the '@' sign before email?
Did anyone even know that '@' was 'at'?

Yes and yes.  It wasn't a particularly uncommon symbol before e-mail; it's just that after e-mail it's become so thoroughly co-opted that that's what people immediately associate it with.

Quote from: QuantumRich on Mon 13/09/2004 20:37:12Betcha also didn't know that & is designed to look like "Et" and the word "ampersand" is derived from "And per se and".

Did know about the &/"et" connection (actually, in some fonts, the resemblance is pretty obvious); didn't know about the derivation of the word "ampersand".

But while we're on the subject of the names for symbols: does anyone know what that backwards P paragraph symbol is called?  (Other than "paragraph symbol", I mean... it has a one word name.)  I do know the name, but I think I'll wait and see if anyone else here knows it before giving the answer.... ;)

Quote from: Kinoko on Sun 12/09/2004 09:14:23I also hand write (again, only when making quick notes) something/someone/somewhere as s/thing, s/one and s/where.

Eh... why bother writing all that?  When I write quick notes to myself, I abbreviate "something" as "sth" and someone as "so", among other similar abbreviations.  (Yeah, I know "so" is a word by itself, but it's generally pretty clear whether I mean "someone" or "so" per se from the context.)  I also tend to write extremely small...  frankly, if anyone else ever got ahold of my notes to myself, I think they'd have a heck of a time trying to interpret them... ;)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: TerranRich on Thu 16/09/2004 23:26:49
It's called a pilcrow sign.

Next: Give as many names of "#" as you can possibly think of.

Answers below:
Spoiler
UK: hash sign, gate. US: pound sign, crosshatch, sharp. MISC: octothorpe.
[close]
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: AGA on Fri 17/09/2004 02:14:09
Why would it be called the poundsign?
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: on Fri 17/09/2004 03:05:21
When drawing, Chris obviously chose a cup over an actual adventure game studio :P That would however, make a funky 3D intro. :D
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: TerranRich on Fri 17/09/2004 04:26:42
Quote from http://www.daube.ch/docu/glossary/signs.html ...

QuoteUntil about 1970 this sign was also called pound sign (for weights) in the US and in German speaking areas (1 pound = 1/2 kg).
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Alun on Fri 17/09/2004 06:50:25
"Pound sign" is actually what it's still most often called in the U.S. (or at least it's what I've usually heard it called), though I've never seen it actually used to represent "pounds".  I guess its use as a symbol for "pounds" died out but the name stuck.

I prefer the term "octothorpe", personally, but that's one you don't see used very often...  ;)

Okay, you got the pilcrow question, so here's another one: what is the term for three asterisks arranged in a triangle?  (Yeah, that doesn't get used much, but there is a special term for it.)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Phemar on Fri 17/09/2004 07:32:17

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v424/zor/bLUECUP.jpg)

Teh bluecup on my desk in my room in all it's glory :D
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Mr Jake on Fri 17/09/2004 16:25:41
I cant remember what the triangle is called... but I know what it means....
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Pft! on Fri 17/09/2004 17:54:00
I have that very mug!  :o :o :o
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Phemar on Sat 18/09/2004 06:39:43

We all have that very mug...

Else we're not true AGSers ... Are we?

EDIT:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v424/zor/bluevswhitecup.jpg)

Who will win?


Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Mephistophilis on Sat 18/09/2004 18:32:23
Somebody isn't trying to show off their collection of classics are they? heh, I don't have a Blue Cup because I believe it is a conspiracy and infact some new kind of spyware, of those of you who have one who can remember where they got it? and if you can did you fel compelled to because of AGS? CJ is invading our homes I tell you!

I'm not paranoid He really is after me!
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Phemar on Sat 18/09/2004 20:01:41

Everyone sees the PC and says to themselves, "Hey sweet! That guys got SoMI and LSL1, he must be so l33t! Let me send him all the money in my bank account!"

That's how it works. Several AGSers have already donated their money to me, which due to security reasons name's cannot be mentioned.

Oh yes, that and the corresponding publishers also pay me for product placement.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Pumaman on Sat 18/09/2004 22:57:47

I also have a Blue Cup on my desk, and just to prove it:

(http://www.agsforums.com/images/newsbot3c.jpg)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens on Sat 18/09/2004 23:03:16
I, however, do not have a blue cup, and am therefore not a true agser.  Yes, I am a spy.  George the spy, to be accurate.  Well, George the FBI Spy Guy to my friends.  Except that I hate being called George, and I hate blue cups....
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Pelican on Sun 19/09/2004 01:39:44
I have 2 blue cups! I had three, but some git broke one. And I do remember where I got them. Poundstretcher - we're such cheapos in N.I.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Domino on Sun 19/09/2004 02:16:17
If i had a bunch of styrofoam cups and painted them blue.Ã,  Would that count?Ã,  I could probably attach little paper handles to them also.Ã,  :)

Geez, i only own clear glasses with no handles.Ã,  Now i feel terrible.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Phemar on Sun 19/09/2004 06:46:19

CJ's cup is not the true blue of the AGS.
Either CJ has had trouble choosing the correct shade of blue for his cup, or he had trouble choosing the correct shade of blue for the AGS logo.

I mean, what if the dark blue cup was actually meant to be light blue, but CJ couldn't find that color in MSPaint?
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: TerranRich on Mon 20/09/2004 05:47:40
Alun_Clewe: It's called an asterism. ;D

Back at ya... What do you call the Spanish/Portuguese C with a hook on the bottom? (Ç and ç)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Phemar on Mon 20/09/2004 05:58:03

A cedille (in French)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Rui 'Trovatore' Pires on Mon 20/09/2004 08:00:23
And "cê cedilha", or "cê com cedilha", in good ol' Portuguese.

Yarr, matey.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Alun on Mon 20/09/2004 08:14:48
And in English, of course, a cedilla.

Come on, now.  That's an easy one.  ;)

(It's not a "Spanish/Portuguese" symbol, by the way... it occurs in Portuguese, yes, but not in Spanish.  Not in modern-day Spanish, anyway, though I think it did occur in archaic Spanish.  It does also occur in French, though.)

Okay, then, while we're on the subject of diacriticals... what's the difference between an umlaut and a diaeresis?  (No fair cheating by looking at dictionary.com or some other reference source.  ;) )
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Rui 'Trovatore' Pires on Mon 20/09/2004 08:32:03
Sheesh! What's that? Sounds like it came from a medical text!

Well, I don't know, but I remembered this one, so I thought I'd mention it.

What's the difference between a cat and a complex sentence?
Spoiler
A cat has claws at the end of its paws, and a complex sentence has a pause at the end of each clause
[close]

Now back to guessing what the HECK is Alun_Clewe talking about...
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Andail on Mon 20/09/2004 18:15:59
Good one, Redrum.

Alun, that's a tricky one. I'm impressed if anyone knows it without checking it up first. I have studied language for quite some time, and I can only barely recognise the term, much less define it.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: BlackMan890 on Mon 20/09/2004 19:57:51
i have 3 blue cups, so i am an ags member, but the proplem is, i also got one YELLOW, what does that means:

BLUEÃ,  Ã,  Ã,  =Ã,  official ags logo
REDÃ,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  =Ã,  the evil cup, enemy of The Blue Cupâ,,¢
YELLOW =Ã,  weaker, paler, slower version of The Blue Cupâ,,¢
GREENÃ,  Ã,  =Ã,  evil immortal enemy of The Blue Cupâ,,¢
PINKÃ,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã, =Ã,  The Blue Cupâ,,¢ girlfriend
BLACK    =   Unknown enemy of The Blue Cupâ,,¢

Edit finished the list
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Privateer Puddin' on Mon 20/09/2004 19:59:39
holy crap, bluecup is a lesbian? :P :D
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Damien on Mon 20/09/2004 20:03:31
I thought that the Green cup is evil immortal enemy of The Blue Cupâ,,¢.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: TerranRich on Tue 21/09/2004 00:16:19
YELLOW is the weaker, paler, slower version of BLUEcup. Ya know, the one that people pity.

Also:

Heh, I hope you know this is all my cup of tea, so to speak. ;)

Umlaut and diaeresis: The same exact symbol, but different uses. The diaeresis is used to change a syllable by having one of the vowels pronounced differently, like the second O in "cooperate". Technically, you could add a diaeresis to the second O to change it from looking like "coop" to "co-op". It's used in various languages except German (Greek and French, among others), and even in English in rare cases. The umlaut is used to change a vowel so that it's pronounced more to the front of the mouth, sometimes for a better sounding word. This is the one used mostly in German.

Bring it on! That was all from memory, not from cheating. I'm a language/punctation/letters freak. :)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Alun on Tue 21/09/2004 04:18:09
QuantumRich - Yes, you are, of course, absolutely correct.  And did a pretty thorough job of explaining the answer, too.  ;)

(By the way, for those who don't know what an umlaut/diaeresis looks like, it's just two dots over the vowel.  The umlaut appears, for example, in the German über, and the diaeresis in the Spanish vergüenza.)

Well, this one's probably going to be somewhat easier, but anyway: in faux Old English, you'll often see "the" spelled "ye", as in "Ye Olde Inne".  In genuine Old English, though, "the" wasn't really spelled with a Y.  What was it spelled with, and where did the Y come from?
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Kinoko on Tue 21/09/2004 04:43:30
It was originally spelt with an 'L' because of the French, and the 'Y' came from medieval times when Robin Hood shot an arrow through the top of a lower case 'l' and split it in twain.

Seriously, I have no idea. This is all very interesting but beyond my linguistics knowledge.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: TerranRich on Tue 21/09/2004 05:06:40
:P IIRC, the old-letter form of "th" looked much like a "p" with its stem elongated. People misread the symbol (I believe) and saw it as a "y". Am I right on that one?

If so: What is the name for the dot above the letters "i" and "j"? Bonus: Besides "forward slash", what are the other names for "/"? (three total)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Alun on Tue 21/09/2004 05:22:04
Quote from: QuantumRich on Tue 21/09/2004 05:06:40
:P IIRC, the old-letter form of "th" looked much like a "p" with its stem elongated. People misread the symbol (I believe) and saw it as a "y". Am I right on that one?

Basically right, though I was also looking for the name of the symbol.  (It's called a "thorn".)

QuoteIf so: What is the name for the dot above the letters "i" and "j"? Bonus: Besides "forward slash", what are the other names for "/"? (three total)

Well, in answer to the bonus question, "solidus" and "virgule"--but as for the first question, that one I don't know.  Unless it's "tittle" as in "jot and tittle", but that's pretty much just a guess.  (Hm... I just checked dictionary.com, and it does define "tittle" as "A small diacritic mark, such as an accent, vowel mark, or dot over an i"... but that means it's not just the dot over an i or j, but any similar small mark, so it's probably not the answer you're looking for...)

(Oh, and by "three total" in the bonus question, did you mean counting "forward slash", or three total other names?  Because if the latter, I got two of them, but I don't know the third...)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Phemar on Tue 21/09/2004 06:10:25
Quote(By the way, for those who don't know what an umlaut/diaeresis looks like, it's just two dots over the vowel. The umlaut appears, for example, in the German über, and the diaeresis in the Spanish vergüenza.)

This is also in French. It's called a Tréma. It's used the same way in words such as Noël.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Andail on Tue 21/09/2004 11:21:33
Ok here's a tough one.
What's the name of this ancient symbol? It derives from Anglo-saxon times, used to separate sections in a text. It could also mark the end of a text passage.

I uploaded two versions, the first one is a free hand drawing from me, the other is a symbol I found on the internet.

(http://www.nolore.com/picmisc/oldsymbol.gif)
(http://www.nolore.com/picmisc/oldsymbol2.gif)

It goes under two names. Any of them will do :)
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Rui 'Trovatore' Pires on Tue 21/09/2004 11:22:38
Leaf? ;D
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Andail on Tue 21/09/2004 14:02:08
As a matter of fact, it can be called xxx-leaf, but it also goes under a more technical term.
Title: Re: <----What's up w/ the coffee mug??
Post by: Ishmael on Wed 22/09/2004 08:07:38
Talking about the dots, finnish has two letters, ö and ä, that use them. They're letters by themselfs, but they are pronounced in relateion to o and a, just with a bit more "pitch" maybe... I don't know for sure, but anyway...