Disc and disk
"Floppy disks were developed in the United States and so take the American spelling. Compact discs were developed in Europe (the physical bit, anyway) and take the European spelling. "
No.
American (which has a smaller vocabulary than British) uses "disk" for floppy disk and "disk" for any other sort of "disk-like" shape - such as a frisbee.
But in British English, "disk" is just a floppy disk, and "disc" is used for things such as frisbees or saucers or CDs.
CDs were invented by not one person, but by a group of people working for Philips and Sony. So they weren't invented by any particular nationality.
Also, if the British hadn't invented the computer, there would probably be no floppy disks today.
«Also, if the British hadn't invented the computer, there would probably be no floppy disks today.»
No. Someone other would have invented computer then ;) Maybe it woul have been Komputer.
British inventions -
stamps
aeroplane (oh yes we did)
antiseptics
antisepsis
artificial diamonds
car (oh yes we did)
reaping machine
Bank of England
Brownian Motion
latent heat
Buiks
Chemical bonds
pennecillin
decimal point
encyclopedia Brittanica
fax
flailing
cloning
golf hypodermic
Kelvin scale
percussion powder
photography (oh yes we did)
logarithms
marmarlade
mackintosh
tarmac
microwave
breech load rifle
quinine
pneumatic tyres
radar
polarised
fridge
scurvey treatment
steam engine
telephone
telegraph
television
thermos
h2so4
steam hammer
Chilean and US Navy
Steam engine — known to the ancient greeks (Heron)
Polarised — polarised what?
Sulfuric Acid:
«The discovery of sulfuric acid is credited to the 9th century Islamic physician and alchemist Ibn Zakariya al-Razi...»
(http://www.absoluteastronomy.com)
Invention are rare done by one man: ideas "flow in the air" and the inventor is the one who cathes it first. That is why many inventions were made almost simultaneously by different people in differnt parts of the world. Radio, telescope...
Anyway, I didn't know of many items of the list that they are British. And why did you post it?
<aeroplane>
Oh yeah and the Americans invented the 'airplane'.
>New zealand has a claim. <
No all inventions by New Zealand is considered British pre 1948.
They are both equivalent except when they are part of registered trademarks (e.g., one must write "Compact Disk" (R), and not "Compact Disk."
<No all inventions by New Zealand is considered British pre 1948. >
Oh so you consider all American inventions (if any) before 1776 British too?
"Oh so you consider all American inventions (if any) before 1776 British too?"
I imagine Adam would, if they were made by British subjects.
Mention of 1776 raises an interesting point. It was a rebellion, so most protagonists (on both sides) were British, yet those on the side of the rebels were and are considered heroes by one side.
Presumably they were thought of rather differently in Britain at the time, but how do modern informed Brits view them?
Stick with "disc" for everything, and just enjoy the inner glow.
>Oh yeah and the Americans invented the 'airplane'.<
Sheesh. We can't even blame Noah Webster for that horrible "word", but he did start the rot...
"Airplane" is much better than "aeroplane" in my opinion.
The 'aeroplane' lands at the 'aeroport'.
Sounds like Spangish though.