Sigh...

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Yesterday I went shopping with my dad to Mountain Equipment Co-op in order to buy some base layer shirts. My dad wanted something in wool, but they only had stuff made out of Polartec Power Dry material (some synthetic water wicking fabric).

My dad asked the salesman what was the advantages of Power Dry over natural wool. The saleman started explaining the moisture wicking properties of the fabric. Of course, instead of using easy to understand terms, he was throwing out terms like "the fabric is hydro-phobic". My dad wouldn't understand what that means for Pete's sake! English wasn't his first language. Jeesh.

Stupid.

Naturally, my dad has a confused look on his face. Then the salesman has the gall to ask him: "You don't know what that means? Didn't you study Latin?"

No moron. I'm sorry, but I don't think he got a chance to study Latin when he was growing up in his village in Korea.

He continued: "It's Latin for 'afraid of water'. 'Hydro' is Latin for water, and 'phobic' is Latin for being afraid of."

You're wrong moron.

Neither "hydro" nor "phobic" are Latin words. Three years of learning hellish Latin can back me up here. Both words are English words that have been originally derived from Greek roots. I was going to correct the fool, but I bit my tongue. I just bought the shirt and drove my dad home.

Actually, it's quite frightening that I would actually still know this crap.

Sigh.

("Hydro" comes from the Greek noun "hudro" and "phobia" from the Greek verb "phobos". The Latin word for water is "aqua", and the Latin word for fear is "timeo". I looked it up to make sure.)

By the way, that Polartec Power Dry stuff looks really good. I think I might get a shirt myself.

Posted by Dave at March 13, 2002 03:56 PM