English names for
groups various creatures are often bizarre. Many of the stranger collective nouns came from the
Boke of St. Albans. Most lists don't include a "parliament of rooks" any longer. Lists of collective animal names are available for
children and
adults. Though, oddly there doesn't seem to be a collective name for humans as a species, numerous names (mostly silly) exist for types of
human groups.
Dispute does exist in the world of collective nouns. Officially monkeys are grouped in "troops", but most people would agree that the proper term for a group of monkeys is
barrel . However debate seems to have been closed on the subject of the proper term for a group of
tentacle monsters (NSFW).
Of course, you have to know how the
proper grammar when using collective nouns.
posted by sotonohito
on Aug 10, 2005 -
33 comments
The Mythical Quest , an old exhibition at the British Library. 'Throughout the world, tales have always been told of
heroes and heroines embarking on perilous quests in
search of lost loved ones, the secret of immortality,
earthly paradise or simply great riches. Many of these
stories have elements in common, such as clashes with
monsters, battles with the elements, interventions by
the gods and tests of moral character, mental cunning
and physical strength. These tales have been expressed
in songs, literature, art and dance for thousands of
years, and are still being reinterpreted today in
books, comic strips, interactive games and adventure
films.'
More British Library exhibits
here, from
early Indian photography to
the secret life of maps.
Examples of mythical quests :-
Monkey:
Journey to the West (another version
here,
not to mention
the
TV series);
the
Ramayana
(and the
Ramakian,
the Thai version);
Cupid
and Psyche at
the
Classics Pages (subject of
a previous
thread);
the
Holy
Grail (more at
the
Catholic Enyclopaedia);
the journey of
Alexander
the Great;
Pilgrim's
Progress and
John Bunyan;
the
world of Dante and
a
map of
Hell.
posted by plep
on Jul 11, 2003 -
17 comments
The Most Gruesome Toy Ever Well, maybe not, but Retrocrush does make a good argument for this Aurora Monster Model kit of the Girl Victim. Check out the comic book ad, featuring Vampirella and Frankenstein's monster. Do kids still play with monster dolls and monster models, or have they been shelved as un-PC? Never had the models, but as a girl in the '70s, I loved my cousin's monster dolls (uh, action figures?). (Link via
Cruel Site of the Day.)
posted by GaelFC
on Jul 12, 2002 -
16 comments
Bloop! Scientists have revealed a mysterious recording that they say could be the sound of a giant beast lurking in the depths of the ocean. Researchers have nicknamed the strange unidentified sound picked up by undersea microphones "Bloop."
Is it
Cthulu?
Communist robot sea monsters [pdf]?
posted by badstone
on Jun 13, 2002 -
24 comments
