Sunday, November 23, 2008

Quatre-Vingt-Sept

I've decided I need to invent a new system of numbers.

You see, Mr Brian Raney was so excited by my posting in the sidebar of two images of a young lady wearing number 43 to commemorate my 86th sail, that he seriously said that he was hoping that I would not get any further than 86 in my quest for 100 days of Laser sailing in 2008. But I have already completed sail #87 and hope to do sail #88 soon, so I am going to have to disappoint Mr Raney by changing the images I use to count "# Days Laser Sailing in 2008". Ms 43 has to go.

Or does she?

I started thinking about the French language. Did you know that the French don't have words for "eighty" or "ninety"? The number after 79 is quatre-vingts or four-twenties. And then they go on counting in that fashion. Four-twenty-one for 81, four-twenty-two for 82..... and then 90 is four-twenty-ten. And they keep going in that crazy way... four-twenty-eleven for 91, four-twenty-twelve for 92.... Come to think of it, they don't have words for 17, 18 or 19 either, so they have to say four-twenty-ten-seven for 97, four-twenty-ten-eight for 98, and four-twenty-ten-nine for 99. (And for 100 they have stolen a word from American and say "cent".)

How weird is that? Oh geeze, now I'm going to get a rude comment from my one French reader. Sorry Frankie.

Anyway, I was thinking... if the French can count in "four twenties" why can't I count in "two forty threes"? That way I can leave those two pictures that are so treasured my Mr Raney (and I dare say other gentlemen who are fans of Mr Polamalu) and just add other images below them to keep counting towards 100.

So 87 is hereby renamed two-forty-three-one. Etc. Etc.

Comprenez-vous?

7 comments:

The O'Sheas said...

Je nais se pais, le Francais, but I do understand and greatly appreciate the base-43 number system. Why do tens? Everyone does them and they are just plain gauche. Move on, world, to base-43.

Tillerman said...

Nix Dix? I like it.

Pat said...

So many numbers, so little time.

Sailors' Rondy is posted on Desertsea.

Anonymous said...

You have more than one readers in France : I am one of them,
keep going, whatever numbers :-))

Anonymous said...

Aha, monsieur Teelerman, you see we French are good for more than just Cabernet, Camembert, et croissants, non? Our numbers, they are good, too, n'est-ce pas?

A vrai dire! Mademoiselle quarante-trois, she is so hot!

When you visit, you stop by L'Elysee and I teach you to cook, sans doute. How you Eenglish survive all these years eating what you do, mon dieu, c'est une miracle!

- Nico

Frankie Perussault said...

you guys are hilarious... it reminds me the story about asparagus that Tillerman once told! Well, yes, no the French can't count. The Belgians and the Swiss are smarter, they say 'septante' and 'nonante', but they've missed the point since they still say 'quatre-vingt'... And 'cent' comes from the Romans, mate!!! remember the centurions! More of this,please, we need a good laugh.

Anonymous said...

Merci beaucoup, mon ami!!!!

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