I love how in English we still have these archaic terms for actions on phones: we still “dial” a phone when we push buttons, we still “hang up” a phone when there’s no hook (and in the telco side of things, phones are “on hook” when not in use).
(We “rewind” streamed content even though there’s no spool and we still “turn” something on or off even though we push a button. A computer can be “on line” even though there’s often no line anymore. We “cc” an email even though there’s no carbon paper involved. We “put a sock in it” even though we have a volume control…)
The term ‘put a sock in it’ actually gets new life in the days of relatively cool but overly bright LED lamps. I sometimes put a sock over the one above the table as the thing can be rather glaring. Just take a white children’s sock and dress the bulb with it and the guests soon stop complaining. A dimmer would work as well but a) there is none and b) I don’t need one and c) that 70 year old light switch looks so much nicer. So, put a sock on it. Don’t try this with incandescents…
Similarly, I recently got into mechanical watches. Complex enough to be mesmerizing, simple enough for one person to understand in their head and not an electron in sight.
I love how in English we still have these archaic terms for actions on phones: we still “dial” a phone when we push buttons, we still “hang up” a phone when there’s no hook (and in the telco side of things, phones are “on hook” when not in use).
(We “rewind” streamed content even though there’s no spool and we still “turn” something on or off even though we push a button. A computer can be “on line” even though there’s often no line anymore. We “cc” an email even though there’s no carbon paper involved. We “put a sock in it” even though we have a volume control…)
Language is fun.
Wait… “put a sock in it” is for the practice of stuffing a sock into a horn loudspeaker?
The term ‘put a sock in it’ actually gets new life in the days of relatively cool but overly bright LED lamps. I sometimes put a sock over the one above the table as the thing can be rather glaring. Just take a white children’s sock and dress the bulb with it and the guests soon stop complaining. A dimmer would work as well but a) there is none and b) I don’t need one and c) that 70 year old light switch looks so much nicer. So, put a sock on it. Don’t try this with incandescents…
Similarly, I recently got into mechanical watches. Complex enough to be mesmerizing, simple enough for one person to understand in their head and not an electron in sight.
Skeleton watches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oyjJymQvtc
Build your own watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDfde-nmtKg