Google: People Also Ask

Outfits that press you to get your account statements online, and not in the mail, are not the right thing for older people, necessarily. I take care of most of the financial stuff, and my wife worries about having to handle it if I kick off first. She doesn't necessarily know where all the money is, even, so I tell her that she will get a statement in the mail for absolutely everything. This is good and very important for insurance you have.

So I resent the constant push to switch to 'no US mail'

Sometimes they offer to give you $10 or whatever if you will switch. I'd pay $10 just to get the second reminder it's due [the first is pay date via calendar].

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should I get account statements in the mail or not?

When you receive a paper statement each month, you're more likely to review your account, making it easier to notice fees, catch mistakes and spot fraud. In the Two Sides study mentioned above, 78% of respondents who received statements by mail said that they reviewed the transactions.
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4 reasons to switch [and my comments]

1. No Waiting [you can get email and US mail both]
2. Not Mailbox Bound [you're repeating yourself]
3. Less Clutter [less is not the same as none]
4. More Secure [yeah, OK]

funny how you can get different answers

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Where did the word collie come from?

Collie - Wikipedia
The exact origin of the name collie is uncertain; it may derive from the Scots word for 'coal'. Alternatively it may come from the related word coolly, referring to the black-faced mountain sheep of Scotland.
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Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
col·lie
/ˈkälē/
noun
noun: collie; plural noun: collies

a sheepdog of a breed originating in Scotland, having a long, pointed nose and thick, long hair.

Origin
mid 17th century: perhaps from coal (the breed originally being black).
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Why are dogs called Collies?

Developed centuries ago as hardworking herding and guarding dogs in Scotland and northern England, it is believed that the name "Collie" came from the Scottish black-faced sheep—Colleys—the breed was assigned to watch. For centuries, Collies were strictly working dogs with no fixed type.
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What does the name Collie mean in Scottish?

Collie - Scottish Collie - Facts and Traits | Hill's Pet
Some say the name "collie" comes from the Gaelic word for useful. Certainly these dogs have been useful right from the start, working as herding dogs and all-around farm dogs.
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How did Shelties get their name?

Facts About the Shetland Sheepdog That You May Not Know
The Shetland Sheepdog was originally developed in the Shetland Islands in Scotland, which is also how they got their name. These islands are off the northern coast of Scotland. In the 1900s, they gained the attention of fanciers in other parts of Scotland and England as well.

came across this word and never knew what it meant till now

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What is the meaning of Cochinchina?

Cochinchina, the southern region of Vietnam during the French colonial period, known in precolonial times as Nam Ky (“Southern Administrative Division”), the name that the Vietnamese continued to use.
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Where does the name Cochinchina come from?

Cochin China was used by the Portuguese to refer to the southern third of modern Vietnam, probably in order to distinguish it from the Cochin in India. The French kept this term for the south, adding Annam for the middle region, and Tonkin for the northern third

Telltale Signs That Someone Is American?

"To quote a Latvian woman I met on my trip: 'You hear Americans coming like the thunder.'"

"I worked as a cashier in a touristy area of Paris. I always recognized Americans immediately because they were especially friendly to me and they always left tips."

"An Italian told me that Americans walk confidently in the wrong direction."

"They ask, 'How's your day going?' or 'How are you doing?' in completely random circumstances."

"When you ask where they're from, they don't say 'America' (which would make many people wonder which part). Instead, they say something like, 'I'm from Texas!' No other people in the world tell you what state or region they are from. They usually start at a continental level, like, 'I'm from Europe,' and then maybe go further as to tell you their home country if the conversation continues. American folks just go straight to the state. 'I'm from Texas,' 'I'm from Florida,' etc. Half of them just say their town, which nobody knows. Then, when you look confused, they say their state like, 'Oh, it's in Texas.'"

"They always order ice in their water."

"They ask, 'So, what do you do?' right after meeting someone. It's not a faux pas or anything, but it's just something that seems to be more important to Americans."

"They drive from one shop to the next, even if it's only a 50-meter walk."

"They give gentle grins to strangers as they pass by and make eye contact. It may be received in the Midwest, but not so much in Germany."

"When I lived in Europe, people said only Americans eat while walking. If I was eating a bagel or something on the way to work or class, multiple people would ask if I was American."

"Tipping. Americans will try to tip everyone, even in countries where tipping isn't a thing and can even be considered insulting."

"They act so amazed by things that are more than 200 years old, presumably because they don't have many things that old in the USA."

"They drink coffee in to-go cups. My partner's Italian mother absolutely can't get over the idea of seeing people walk around holding coffees. Americans are the only ones who don't enjoy their coffee while seated at a café."

"In my homestay in London, I was told that I was 'so American' for enjoying a piece of cake for breakfast. I'm not talking frosted cake, but a slice of coffee cake with nuts and dried fruit. Apparently, in Europe this should exclusively be eaten as an afternoon snack — whereas breakfast should be a savory meal."

"When asked how far away something is, an American will tell how you long it takes to get there in minutes as opposed to the physical distance."

"From what I've been told by European friends and travelers, it's a complete and utter lack of an indoor voice that instantly reveals an American."

"An Italian told me he could tell I was American right away because I wore my sunglasses on the top of my head when I wasn’t using them."

"I’ve always observed that my friends from the US like to point at stuff while walking and narrate what it is. We were out walking around Amsterdam recently and they were like, 'Hey, look, it’s a smoke shop’…‘Oh, look, a sex shop’…'Look at the canal.' It was like watching Netflix with audio descriptions turned on."

"Someone asked if I was American in a group setting, and another person spoke up before I could respond. He said, 'Of course he's American, look at his teeth. Apparently, most Americans get braces."

"When they claim to be one-eighth German, one-eighth Irish, one-sixteenth Scottish, one-sixteenth Spanish, three-eighths French, and one-fourth Canadian."

"They are not wearing Speedos at the beach. And for this, I’d like to thank American men!"

might do a movie review of 'Indochine' later

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Why did France not fight in Vietnam War? [of the 60/70s]

Remaining in the background throughout the present conflict is the seasoned regular army of North Vietnam, numbering over 300,000 men. Two key aspects of France's relation to the Indochina war in 1954 were the war's acute unpopularity and French political instability. [from below and written in 1964]

https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v03/d33

I lived through the period of the Vietnam War and could have been drafted to fight in it , but got a lucky number when they did the drawing. One thing that was never brought up but that I realize now, is that the French wanted to leave a safe harbor for the native Roman Catholics, and this was to be South Vietnam. Indeed the Catholics pretty much all migrated there. They formed, largely, the officers for the South Vietnamese army... it was finding out this last fact in a documentary that made me realize all this.

We did get news reports about tensions with Buddhists in the south, but this was never explained. Diem, the first President in the south that Kennedy despised due to these and other problems, was Catholic. Kennedy had the CIA remove him in a coup d'etat. Reportedly he had not intended for Diem to be killed, but he was. This was my introduction to the phrase coup d'etat no doubt.

So the Vietnam War was, in part, a war about religion... I wouldn't want to say it was a "religious war" at all, but there were elements of that and I feel this was totally downplayed, that we were told it was simply a war against communism. Critics have long claimed it was more a war against colonialism from the Vietnamese viewpoint. The aspect of religion is ignored, and it made an impression on me to learn about it. Perhaps if I had been reading deep into newspaper columns I would have already known about it, but, you know what? I don't think so.

When you google the reason for the partition into North and South, I never see this mentioned. The below is typical, mentioning elections, which I don't think anyone was serious about at all.

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Why was Vietnam divided into northern and southern halves at the 17th parallel in the 1950s?

After the battle of Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva Accord was signed that divided Vietnam into two parts with 17th parallel as the temporarily border for regrouping. The French went to the south then back to France and Vietminh went to the North. A general election was expected to unify Vietnam under a new government.

I was wondering why we don't seem to hear about Brontosaurs anymore. Back in the day, you saw the word a lot

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What is the proper name for a Brontosaurus?

Palaeontologists eventually agreed that Brontosaurus is properly called Apatosaurus, under taxonomic rules drafted by the eighteenth-century Swedish systematist Carl Linnaeus and still in use today. The rules state that the first name given for an animal takes priority

Quote: odiousgambit

I was wondering why we don't seem to hear about Brontosaurs anymore. Back in the day, you saw the word a lot

The Flintstones just aren't as popular now.

Quote:

In the iconic opening credits of The Flintstones, Fred Flintstone is famously served a huge rack of dinosaur ribs at a drive-in. These colossal ribs are associated with the Brontosaurus

Fred Flintstone himself worked as a bronto-crane operator, controlling these creatures through reins tied to their mouths, necks, and tails. Bronto-Cranes were essential for heavy construction work.

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Why must farmers wake up at 4 AM to milk the cows? Why not just wait until a more reasonable time, like 8 AM? Won't the cows adjust?

A cow must be milked twice a day, ideally every 12 hours. So 8AM -> 8PM is late to finish the second leg and get all done for tomorrow. Milk is usually sold as fresh as possible, so 4 AM makes a lot of sense to get it ready when the market opens.

Perhaps if I had been "born in a barn" I would know that.

Been putting off reviewing the movie "Indochine"

One thing shown was the workers on a rubber plantation going out early in the morning with headlamps. I was wondering what that was about

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Why is rubber tapped early morning?

Time of tapping: Tapping is to be carried out during the early hours of the day before an increase in the transpiration rate. [an increase] leads to lower turgor pressure and will result in lower dripping time, ensuring a reduction in production. It is ideal to tap pre-dawn with head lights.
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The work is done at night or in the early morning before the day's temperature rises, so the latex will drip longer before coagulating and sealing the cut. Depending on the final product, additional chemicals can be added to the latex cup to preserve the latex longer.
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Is real rubber used anymore?

Today, various rubber articles are made using synthetic rubber. But, rubber bands are still primarily made using natural rubber
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Natural rubber is used together with synthetic polymers in tires for cars, buses, and even airplanes. Its durability and abrasion resistance are the main qualities that help tires last for a long time. Natural rubber is also used for many other automotive parts, such as brake pads, airbags, and window seals