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Geek Culture / Why does inflammable mean flammable?

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Killswitch
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Location: School damnit!! Let me go!! PLEASE!!!
Posted: 3rd Mar 2005 05:04
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Doesn't anyone find it weird that inflammable means flammable? Whats up with that?

~It's a common mistake to make, the rules of the English langauge do not apply to insanity~
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Sol462
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Location: playing with the spazookeedoo
Posted: 3rd Mar 2005 05:18
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It probably only means "Inflammable to a certain degree". Like efficency, it's only good to 99%, never perfect.
Take a piece of aluminum foil for example and ball it all up. At first reaction you wouldn't think that it was flammable, right? Same with me. So I held it with some metal toenail cleaning things and held a lighter under it. After a few minutes, it just burst into flames.

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Osiris
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Location: Robbinsdale, MN
Posted: 3rd Mar 2005 06:09
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http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=inflammable&gwp=11&ver=1.0.3.109&method=2
There is you answer...

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JeBuS
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Joined: 20th Jul 2004
Location: Undisclosed Location, Dominion of JeBuS
Posted: 3rd Mar 2005 06:18
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Why do people feel the need to post every thought that pops into their head? I couldn't find the answer on answers.com or google, so if you can link me, I'd be much obliged.


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Newbie Brogo
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Posted: 3rd Mar 2005 06:22
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It's so people can try and find loopholes to laws restricting matches and objects?


--From your favorite Cat Overlord
--Od waszego Suzerena Kotki ulubienca.
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Dave J
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Location: Secret Military Pub, Down Under
Posted: 3rd Mar 2005 12:22
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I'd imagine it's to do with the word 'inflame', which means to ignite into flames. If something is easily inflamed, then you'd assume it's inflammable.


"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
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BatVink
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Posted: 3rd Mar 2005 16:53
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Well, you learn something every day. I learnt 2 things today, this, and the fact that brushing the snow from the entire length of your road makes the muscles under your arms ache.

Quote: "this –in is an intensive prefix derived from the Latin preposition in. This prefix also appears in the word enflame. But many people are not aware of this derivation, and for clarity's sake it is advisable to use only flammable to give warnings."


BatVink
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Wiggett
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Posted: 3rd Mar 2005 16:57
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ye sbatvink but give a day or so for your arms to recover, then go and do it again, then recover, if you keep a semi constant repeat of it, your muscles will end up taking less stress from it as they start to memorize the action, and it wont tire you out any more. This is how body building works, yous tart off with small weights, and then let ur muscles recover (cause when lifting things you're actually tearing your muscles). then as the lifting of the weight gets easier and easier you move up to heavier weights, thus your muscle needs to get used to lifting the bigger weights and then that itself becomes easier. yeah i worked at a gym for like ever.

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BatVink
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Posted: 3rd Mar 2005 18:29
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But I'm going to look silly, UberWigget. We don't get snow that often, so 9 times out of 10 I'll just be sweeping a clear road. Neighbours will start ignoring me, and these days they could even get a public disorder ruling against me, thus driving me underground to sweep alone.

I think I'll stick to carrying my kids. It looks normal, and they gain weight of theri own accord over time, thus removing the need to think about incraesing the load. What do you think?

BatVink
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Sol462
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Posted: 4th Mar 2005 08:35
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Quote: " Why do people feel the need to post every thought that pops into their head?"

Well, this is the General Talk board, and Van-B said it himself:
Quote: "there\'s this whole freakin board for useless **** called General Discussion"


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Dave J
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Posted: 4th Mar 2005 13:00 Edited at: 4th Mar 2005 13:01
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That really isn't answering the question at all. Doing things 'because you can' isn't a very good reason.


"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
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Osiris
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Location: Robbinsdale, MN
Posted: 4th Mar 2005 13:05
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http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/inflammable.html
There is your answer...

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