this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2024
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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[–] shneancy@lemmy.world 129 points 1 month ago (3 children)

"apple" used to be a generic term for fruit. So it's actually "fruit of the earth", the French are poetic like that

[–] Isoprenoid@programming.dev 60 points 1 month ago (3 children)

“apple” used to be a generic term for fruit.

Oh, that explains the myth that Adam and Eve at an apple, when a specific fruit is never mentioned.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/apple

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It also explain why we here in the Nordics call oranges "appelsin", as in a "Chinese apple".

[–] appelkooskonfyt@lemm.ee 4 points 1 month ago

Same in Dutch: sinaasappel

[–] Don_alForno 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Great! Can't have myths about random fruit in this otherwise totally valid, reasonable and trustworthy story about a woman that was made from a man's rib and talked to reptiles.

[–] Isoprenoid@programming.dev 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

If a narrative is not literally true, does that mean it has no truth value?

[–] Don_alForno 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

What is "truth value" supposed to mean?

[–] Isoprenoid@programming.dev 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Sorry, I wasn't explaining myself well.

Just because a story isn't factually true, doesn't mean that it has no value, or negative value. There are other types of values which can supersede factual value:

  • aesthetic
  • symbolic
  • ethical
  • didactic

Truth isn't always about facts. Sometimes factual statements can be used as a weapon of deceit.

[–] Don_alForno 2 points 1 month ago

There are other types of value, of course. It's just funny to specifically call the apple out for being a myth. The entire story is a myth, so they could have made it a pomelo for all I care.

[–] moistclump@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

But… we’re talking French and Adam and Eve was written in Hebrew. Is it the same for Hebrew?

[–] Uruanna@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Hebrew used a generic word for fruit, all languages translated that word as their version of apple which was generic at the time, and then much later, all languages changed the meaning of their word for apple, it's not specific to French. The use of apple for one specific fruit is fairly recent - more recent than the King James Bible, even.

I don't know what the word in Hebrew is and if it also changed its meaning since then, though.

[–] nabladabla@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 month ago

Literally yes, ground apple is potato in hebrew

[–] Shapillon@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Also apples used to be small, tart, and acidic.

You wouldn't eat them as a dessert but as a basis for brewing alcohol.

It's wild how much fruits changed in recent times.

So much so that most zoo are stoppimg giving them to animals and switched to more leafy greens. They have gotten so sugary that they promoted tooth decay and obesity.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

Than you, I was going to say modern apples have a taste and texture nothing like apples when this name was created.

[–] Daze@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

So this means moonshine is apple juice?