Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
I heartily endorse this product and/or service.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


                           

mountweazel dictionary

  (+10)(+10)
(+10)
  [vote for,
against]

A mountweazel, as everyone knows, is a fake word definition inserted in a dictionary as a copyright trap - i.e. to detect when another dictionary publisher steals word definitions from the dictionary you've written. All dictionaries contain mountweazels.

This idea is for a comprehensive dictionary of mountweazels from all other dictionaries. It will, of course, contain a few real words - i.e non-mountweazel entries, to guard against plagiarism.
hippo, May 18 2017

mountweazel https://en.wikipedi...ki/Fictitious_entry
[hippo, May 18 2017, last modified Oct 04 2021]

Real Mountain “Weasel” https://www.peakbag...peak.aspx?pid=66942
Well, Weasel Butte, Oregon. [Frankx, Oct 10 2021]


Please log in.
If you're not logged in, you can see what this page looks like, but you will not be able to add anything.



Annotation:







       (+) ...and a map of fake towns.   

       Interesting story; they do the same with maps, inserting a fake town or two to be able to prove plagiarism, and in one map a town called Agloe was added to map of the New York area.   

       Sometime later the makers of the map bearing the fake town sued another map maker for inserting it in their map, but it turns out that someone during that time had built a gas station and an Agloe general store based on the original map designation and so for a short time there was an Agloe New York that only existed because of the fake name.   

       Ooh, I like that [2 fries] - deterministic mapping!
hippo, May 18 2017
  

       Nature imitating art - very philosophical.   

       The OS maps of the UK used to ( in the 1960's and 70's) show AWRE Aldermaston as just a patch of mixed woodland. Presumably this was intended to stop the USSR finding out where it was, although the helpful black-and-red on white road signs put up by Berkshire County Council were (and are) a bit of a giveaway at ground level.   

       No doubt the chaps at the MoD didn't consider that some wandering Soviet citizen might just get off a train at Thatcham and simply ask the nearest taxi driver ...   

       On the plus side, it did manage to baffle visiting Americans, but that's a bit like challenging a penguin to a bicycle race.   

       Is it possible that a map could be produced which lacks any reference to the existance of Swindon ?
8th of 7, May 18 2017
  

       Many maps are almost entirely devoid of reference to Swindon - e.g. I have a map of Vermont which doesn't mention it once.
hippo, May 18 2017
  

       Treasure it, and guard it with your life ...   

       Now, a map of Wiltshire which doesn't mention Swindon - that would be beyond price.
8th of 7, May 18 2017
  

       I like this very, very a lot.
blissmiss, May 18 2017
  

       I support this idea most bostiferously.
MaxwellBuchanan, May 26 2017
  

       My late father, when he worked in market research, used to include mountweasel products in questionnaires, so that he could weed out respondents who were not answering in good faith. (This was worth checking, since he was paying the respondents for their responses - though, admittedly, not very much).   

       I no longer have the data - but, if I did, and if the data volumes had been much larger than they actually were, then I could draw conclusions about what would be appropriate names for future products that would, then, exist. (See [2 fries]' remark above about Agloe).   

       Now that the whole activity has moved online, this is probably being done.
pertinax, Oct 04 2021
  

       To really circle the square, wouldn't it be great if some map included a place called Mount Weazel? [+]
4and20, Oct 04 2021
  

       No, Wessex just south of Little Hogwallop, the traditional festivals they were named for, held on adjacent days so people could attend both, were still being held up until the 1940s.   

       Around which time Hogwallops festival fell from favour, people didn't think it was funny enough, the Mount Weazel festival persisted for another twenty years & is still remembered to this day by entertainers putting ferrets down their trousers, it not being as easy to come by real weasels as it was, but the performance is but a pale shadow of the original event.
Skewed, Oct 04 2021
  

       Ah, there is a mountain named Weasel. [link] Weasel Butte, Oregon - depending on your definition of mountain. More of a hill really.
Frankx, Oct 10 2021
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle