Things that make you go WTF?

[Aleister Crow]

For some reason my electricity turned off and back on, followed by a loud distant bang from outside. WTF?

[Lady Amelia Atkins]

Japan, it's the source of 68% of the world's weird things scince 1885 (and that's why I love it )

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Spoiler: WARNING very strange image ahead (click to show/hide)

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lmao. i loved that place when i was there. :] they are so weird.

[Clym Angus]

I blame growing up watching Jeremy Brett's portrayal in the Granada version - that man can make anything sound like innuendo...

Well not necessarily lets look at this historically, final case in 1914. Do we really think that London of that time was ready for a hero in a quazi-homosexual relationship? Captain Jack raised a few eyebrows (and a few complaint letters) and he burst onto the scene what? 2005? Let us not forget that Sherlock was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's major money maker. Upset that apple cart with (what was then) an illegal relationship? Cold day in hell my friend. That said the language is wonderfully ambiguous;

The Adventure of the Three Garridebs: "It was worth a wound; it was worth many wounds; to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation."

Kiss the waspish old mary Watson, you passionate loving fool!

[AlegrahEredschtadt]

A kitchen towel that I saw today that said: WTF. I laughed. Then went WTF myself.

Also, Aleister, I believe that would mean the transformer in charge of your electricity blew up. That happens once every three months in my neighborhood.

[Mr. Maxwell]

I know all the reasons why they put Braille on the signs, It's the imagery of blind drivers that I was thinking of. What's next? Braille bumps on the road?

Braille bumps?  They're called pedestrians.

[DreamHazard]

an idea of our own Reverend Panic, a signed (for the deaf) TV program with braille subtitles.

[DrArclight]

It was through my internet. :/ It was so they could kick me off my wireless internet. I found out by the fact that my computer kept coming up and telling me that my IP address was in correct and that I was interfering with my internet connection. And someone else was working through my modem, which I could tell by the flashy lights. But it's been fixed for maybe two weeks.

That actually most likely means that someone else was just using your wireless connection and happened to set their IP address the same as yours.  Might have been done maliciously, but doesn't actually require any access to your computer.

This is why you should always use encryption, authentication, and MAC filtering on your Wireless Access point, along with setting the SSID to not be broadcast.

[Aleister Crow]

My cat has recently discovered that his water dish is exactly the right height for him to sprawl out on the floor with his head draped over the side, and drink out of the side of his mouth. He's brought "lazy" to a whole new level.

Then again, it beats the phase he went through where he'd only drink by dipping his paw in the water and licking it off...

[AlegrahEredschtadt]

It was through my internet. :/ It was so they could kick me off my wireless internet. I found out by the fact that my computer kept coming up and telling me that my IP address was in correct and that I was interfering with my internet connection. And someone else was working through my modem, which I could tell by the flashy lights. But it's been fixed for maybe two weeks.

That actually most likely means that someone else was just using your wireless connection and happened to set their IP address the same as yours.  Might have been done maliciously, but doesn't actually require any access to your computer.

This is why you should always use encryption, authentication, and MAC filtering on your Wireless Access point, along with setting the SSID to not be broadcast.

It's fixed. xD Our internet company messed it up a while back where it was impossible to do so. But, my brother, computer genius he is, fixed it by giving a new name to our wireless.

[lientie]

The fact that in my college the sign for the lift has bilingual signs above it- In English, 'Lift', in Welsh, 'Lifft'... I know they have to translate everything because of the Welsh language act, but seriously?

[Mercury Wells]

Afraid so, both Welsh & English have equal status as languages.

[AlegrahEredschtadt]

Is that like trying to read the directions on something and finding it impossible to find English among Dutch, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and God knows what else?

[lientie]

Afraid so, both Welsh & English have equal status as languages.

I know, but it just seems such a waste of materials to make another sign just to add an extra 'f'...

[Mercury Wells]

Afraid so, both Welsh & English have equal status as languages.

I know, but it just seems such a waste of materials to make another sign just to add an extra 'f'...

I suspose its the same in Canada having French and English signs.

[Athanor]

Indeed, the situation regarding languages here in the Dominion is altogether weird and strange; even though French is the dominant language in only one province out of ten, manufacturers are legally required to label their products in both languages all across the country. Take, for example, the panel on the side of a milk carton where they tell you about its nutritional value. There's "Iron/fer 4%", which seems reasonable, and I suppose "Vitamin A/Vitamine A 15%" [of daily requirement] makes a certain amount of sense; but "Calcium/Calcium 20%"? And "Sodium/Sodium 5%"?

Then there's Cheddar cheese, which in French of course is "Fromage Cheddar". On the packageing it says "Fromage Cheddar Cheese". More than once I've heard visitors, mostly from the U.S, say things like "This Fromage Cheddar Cheese is pretty good" - "Fromage" of course pronounced "froamidge".

And then there's Victoria Bridge, which crosses the St.Laurence River in Montreal; in French, Pont Victoria. On city maps it is shown as "Pont Victoria Bridge" which, naturally, is what visitors not hip to our strange ways always call it.

Mostly this is simply amusing, but there is the potential for serious consequences. Imagine a traffic accident, and someone yelling into his cell phone, "We're on Rue Tenth Street, we need an ambulance!" True, most emergency operators are bilingual, but in such a case I'd imagine there could be a few precious moments of delay while the operator figured it out; especially if he or she was new to the job.

[rovingjack]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4253849.stm

Wince.

I feel queasey. Hobbles away.

I... I had no idea they just came off like that.

[bicyclebuilder]

*felt the pain reading the post by rovingjack*

Back to languages: I live nearby the Belgian border and there is a big movietheatre in Antwerp.
Because Belgium is bilingual (Dutch and French) they have subtitles in both languages (top line always French ofcourse). First time I saw that, I went WTF but I got used to it, but...
I've noticed that, the French line is always longer than the Dutch. Makes me wanna go WTF.

And another thing. When a country is bilingual, the people there are supposed to speek both languages. That meens that when your visiting that country, you can pick and chose the language, right? Wrong!!! Makes me wanna go WTF. Especially coming from a small country called Holland where we are monolingual (is that correct?) and when your visiting Holland, you can speak English, German, French and we understand and talk back in the language of your choise.

[Capt. Dirigible]

The fact that in my college the sign for the lift has bilingual signs above it- In English, 'Lift', in Welsh, 'Lifft'

Now, I would have thought it would have had two Ls...'Llift 

As for the woman yanking off a bloke's testicle..never under estimate the strength of a 'Bacardi Bruiser'*...but popping it in her mouth!!!??? Gives a whole new twist to 'talking bollocks'






* A woman who becomes violent when drunk

[Angelica Needle]

Indeed, the situation regarding languages here in the Dominion is altogether weird and strange; even though French is the dominant language in only one province out of ten, manufacturers are legally required to label their products in both languages all across the country. Take, for example, the panel on the side of a milk carton where they tell you about its nutritional value. There's "Iron/fer 4%", which seems reasonable, and I suppose "Vitamin A/Vitamine A 15%" [of daily requirement] makes a certain amount of sense; but "Calcium/Calcium 20%"? And "Sodium/Sodium 5%"?

Someone told us when we went in 2001 that there's a required difference in size on roadsigns - the French has to be bigger? Although I can't remember noticing on my last visit.

It just amuses me that I have several shirts that say S/P inside

Back to languages: I live nearby the Belgian border and there is a big movietheatre in Antwerp.
Because Belgium is bilingual (Dutch and French) they have subtitles in both languages (top line always French ofcourse). First time I saw that, I went WTF but I got used to it, but...
I've noticed that, the French line is always longer than the Dutch. Makes me wanna go WTF.

And another thing. When a country is bilingual, the people there are supposed to speek both languages. That meens that when your visiting that country, you can pick and chose the language, right? Wrong!!! Makes me wanna go WTF. Especially coming from a small country called Holland where we are monolingual (is that correct?) and when your visiting Holland, you can speak English, German, French and we understand and talk back in the language of your choise.

Rob lived in Belgium for a while. We went to see Star Wars episode 1 in the cinema. It was in English, with French subtitles, which was very useful for working out exactly what JarJar Binks was saying
He also found that Flemish speakers could get quite insulted if you tried to speak French to them, so it was actually safer to try to speak English first, then change to French if that wasn't understood. I have tried to get him out of that habit in other countries, where (except in Paris) most people appreciate the attempt to use their language, even if they reply in fluent English

[bicyclebuilder]

I had a different experiance in Paris. Speaking barely french, I tried my best to "parlez francais" to the parisians. Almost all of them changed to English right away. Almost, eccept one waiter who riffused to understand my pidgin-french. So I tried: "sprechen sie deutsch? Spreekt u nederlands? Do you speak english? Hable Espaniol?" All being answerd with: "Non"
So I switched back to my pour french and sayd something like:"you must feel pretty stupid just speaking one lousy language." He did n't liked that, but he turned around and asked another waiter to help me. Probably gave him a WTF moment!

[Capt. Dirigible]

So I switched back to my pour french and sayd something like:"you must feel pretty stupid just speaking one lousy language." He did n't liked that, but he turned around and asked another waiter to help me.

Oooh! I wouldn't like to have eaten anything that was served to me after that exchange!!! Never p!ss off people who serve you food!

[Mr. Boltneck]

Around here, the two languages most commonly posted on public signs and such are English and Spanish (OK, if we're being precise, American and Mexican). But some things, like ballots, and many state-government forms, also come in, or include language in, Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and so forth. This can get a bit fraught, as the default assumption is that "bilingual" defaults to "English and Spanish", but there is always somebody for whom that leaves out their home language.

[The Kernel]

He also found that Flemish speakers could get quite insulted if you tried to speak French to them, so it was actually safer to try to speak English first, then change to French if that wasn't understood.

I discovered that the hard way in Brussels too

[ForestB]

As of this moment- Dragon Ball Z Kai.....it seems to be FULL of WTF moments....

[Indefinitive]

The results for America's Got Talent. I watched this far for Prince Poppycock. Wouldn't have bothered at all with the show if I hadn't seen his audition. Along the way, Jackie Evancho grew on me. I just love her.

And yes, while I agree that the Prince's performance was a little too serious, I appreciated the change, and the fact that he was trying to give us a fairy tale ending.

I haven't watched Jackie's performance yet, but...

Michael Grimm. WTF?! Yes, he can sing and play the guitar. We get it. His act isn't glamorous, and I get it that that's just not right for his style. But he's boring compared to the other two. Jackie has this wholesome beauty to her act that I really enjoyed, and Prince Poppycock has a fun, over-the-top style that I just adore. Michael's done a few songs that I know and enjoy, but I thought they were very poor renditions. He just doesn't have stage presence, and it really annoys me that he won out over those two, especially when he has a show exactly like every other singer out there.