sticky tape?!

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i was watching to other night on tlc. the hosts kept calling duct tape and electrical tape "sticky tape". what is non-sticky tape? audio/video tape? that doesn't make much sense. i also really like the way they say al-u-min-um, not a-lum-i-num like people around where i live. once i figured out what they were refering to of course. thanks a lot.

-- jodi lynn black (jayellblack@yahoo.com), December 07, 2000

Answers

Has to be like the way they call a wrench a 'spanner'... Some forms of wide 'tape' actual wraps without sticking, but I'm with you... an interesting linguistic idyosncracy...

-- Jeff Esposito (jesposito@gsscorp.com), December 08, 2000.

That brings to mind the name of the show itself. Why did the Americans feel compelled to change the name from Scrapheap Challenge to Junkyard Wars? 'Scrapheap' is perfectly understandable to Americans, even if they don't commonly use it. And it really isn't a direct competition (unlike Robot Wars), 'Challenge' is more descriptive.

What next? Will we Americans bring over University Challenge and call it "College Wars"? Maybe 'Scrapheap Challenge' doesn't roll off the tongue quite like 'Junkyard Wars,' but I say let Brits be British.

-- Derek Jensen (djensen@kconline.com), December 11, 2000.


they call it that because it would be like advertising and it would be illegal because it just would.

-- Scooter B (bodesco@potosisd.k12.wi.us), December 15, 2000.

they also call 4-wheelers quad-bikes it's funny

-- shoo not bee bop nahasapemapetalon (pee_bob@myhouse.org), December 21, 2000.

Regarding "Junkyard Wars" vs. "Scrapyard Challenge," I'm sure the name change was to make the show sound sexier to American viewers. "War" obviously sounds much more macho and militaristic than "Challenge", which, sadly to say, would appeal more to most US viewers. "Scrapheap" sounds to us more like a dump or a rubbish heap, full of rotten fruit and disposable diapers, whereas a junkyard is where we keep wrecked cars and other machinery that can be scavenged for parts. Also, "Junkyard" brings to mind "meaner than a junkyard dog" -- more macho posturing for you.

A bit of slang I enjoy is the term "bodge," (sp?) which I have never heard before and assume is British. In engineering circles, we say "kludge" or "cobble together" or "cob up," although these terms have slightly different connotations and cannot be made into a noun like "bodger."

-- Eric Kollenberg (ekollenb@us.ibm.com), December 21, 2000.



As a bloke raised in England for my first 7 years before imigrating to America, I really enjoy the verbage used in the U.K. version of the show. Cock-up, Bodge, Dodgy, Sticky tape and Celotape (made from Celophane) are all common names/terms used in England. For me, the language they use is as entertaining as the other edutaining components of the show. I will miss this in the U.S. Version. Steve. P.S. What should we do with all these kids? Someone should get in touch with Nickleoden.

-- Steve Summers (stephan.a.summers@boeing.com), December 21, 2000.

I love the weird British slang on the show. My friends and I get a big kick out of it. Stuff like "the iron's packed up" and "it's really hotting up out there" just makes us laugh a lot. It took us forever to figure out what "bodge" was, too, we had to look it up. But the British words that are so different from American terms is one of the most entertaining parts of the show.

-- Cathy Erbes (cce777@hotmail.com), December 22, 2000.

people, remember... one of the reasons we went to war was so we can do our own thing and speak our own language...so who cares why they say bodging and sticky tape.i mean there english...give them a break! what we call building they call bodging what we call putting together they call bodging what we call assembling they call bodging...what we call duct tape they call sticky tape....i thing u get my point

p.s. i dont if my answer, answers anything i just felt like writing something

-- dave (macdaddydave82@aol.com), December 29, 2000.


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