Indeed, coldfuse. As the M-W link will confirm, "Antipodes" means "with feet opposite", and thus "the place where people are upside down compared to us". In 1800, of course, Britain was a world power and Australia/New Zealand were fledgling colonies, so naturally they were named relative to Britain.
I still want to know where Extralea is. My supermarket has signs advertising "Extralean meat".
Posts: 744 | Location: Surrey, England | Registered: 06-03-02
It is Coldfuse. We use the word antipodean to mean any inhabitant of Australasia , on the opposite side of the globe to us. They are Antipodeans.They are understood to be 'opposite the feet', from the Greek. Few of us are aware of 'antipode' being used in chemistry or to mean the diametric opposite, figuratively or in fact. Generations of children here have been asked to imagine boring through the middle of the Earth 'and coming out in Australia' ( sometimes with 'where the people walk on their heads! added'). Our early education in science or geography is not perfect
While I am not sure of the time period, I know that there was a theory stating that there must be land masses in the southern hemisphere opposite Europe to 'balance' the planet. This was, of course, long before the Continental Drift Theory became the accepted one. Personally, I like the one with the elephants standing on a turtle. It just makes more sense to me.
Posts: 16605 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Absolutely DG. And what is the turtle standing on? Another turtle and then it's turtle on turtle all the way down, right? It makes more obvious sense than that stuff about relativity and chaos theory and quantum and all !
