Strange things noticed in books

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Jules the jester
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Fri Jun 08, 2007 3:52 pm
Jules the jester says... · Fri Jun 08, 2007 3:52 pm
Well anything you think is pretty strange you noticed in a book just post it here. And sure enough there are plenty of strange things I spot in books.

Well i just re read half blood prince and i noticed a few things about teh whole harry potter series. Ok well it is set in modern day britain.

So why do they use quills instead of pens??

Why do they use parchment and not Paper??

And what about electricity? They all seem to be using torches!

And in Sophie's World By Josten Gaarder. Isnt it slightly strange that a forty year old philospher just decides to start sending a fourteen year old girl packages without actually meeting her?? Then he goes and meets her. Weird!!
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BrokenSword
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Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:24 pm
BrokenSword says... · Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:24 pm
Well, electricity is a convienence discovered by Muggles, therefore witches and wizards don't use it. They have easier ways.

Honestly, I really don't see what's weird about those things. It's just what the author wanted.
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Alteran
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Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:58 pm
Alteran says... · Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:58 pm
Yeah, I dont see oddites in books cause the Author created a whole thing and our job is to read it and enjoy it.

I suppose everyone is different.

Quills Vs. Pens - Quils are magical as they come fomr birds and in magical workings feather quills are perfered.

Parchment Vs. Paper - Uhh, Parchement is paper. It's just thicker. More durable. And in a school where things can and will explode you need the best paper you can get.
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Snoink
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Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:27 pm
Snoink says... · Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:27 pm
Isn't it funny that Winston would rather read a stupid long boring book about Big Brother when there's a hot chick by his side and they're lying on a bed together?

:?
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Meep
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Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:53 pm
Meep says... · Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:53 pm
On electricity: apart from witches and wizards not needing it, modern Muggle appliances don't work in Hogwarts. It seems as though anything after clockwork, development wise, just won't function.

... as for why quills and parchment, it's part of the joke. Why robes and not jeans? Muggle and wizard culture branched off at one point. The idea is that Muggles have at least some knowledge of witches and wizards, whether we know it or not. (If that makes sense.)
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Firestalker
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Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:29 am
Firestalker says... · Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:29 am
... as for why quills and parchment, it's part of the joke. Why robes and not jeans? Muggle and wizard culture branched off at one point. The idea is that Muggles have at least some knowledge of witches and wizards, whether we know it or not. (If that makes sense.)


I completely agree with Meep. As for strange thing i havnt seen even one.
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deleted6
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Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:33 am
deleted6 says... · Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:33 am
Snoink wrote:Isn't it funny that Winston would rather read a stupid long boring book about Big Brother when there's a hot chick by his side and they're lying on a bed together?

:?


Good point Snoink, I never noticed that but now you point it out you're like damn lmao. XD can't think of any right now unless someone can explain why Dumbledore didn't just drain the water out using the goblet. Than drinking it. I probably need to reread book though.
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Kelcia
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Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:44 pm
Kelcia says... · Wed Jan 06, 2010 8:44 pm
What I never understood is why Harry didn't just squirt water into Dumbledore's mouth from his wand. I suppose he just didn't think of it.

Another strange thing I noticed is that in the Bartimaeus Trilogy, the djinni's name in arabic is "saher al jinni." The literal translation is "slave of the jinni," but that doesn't make sense, because the djinni is the slave. I think what the author was trying for was "jinni al saher," which means "the jinni slave." This is an inexact translation, mark you.
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Jianfre
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Sat Jan 09, 2010 8:11 pm
Jianfre says... · Sat Jan 09, 2010 8:11 pm
Harry Potter is known for its bad latin word based spells. :/ Its like if I said 'FIRE!' a magicial fireball would shoot out of my wand. With that kind of theory, if I said 'MONEY' I'd have a stack of $100 bills simply by demanding it. Wish it were true sometimes.
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WrittenSoul
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Wed Jan 13, 2010 10:21 pm
WrittenSoul says... · Wed Jan 13, 2010 10:21 pm
I did notice something odd in the Harry Potter series (though I completly agree with the whole wizards-and-Muggles-branched-off-at-some-point thing :)). In Half-Blood Prince when Harry's trying to revive Dumbledore in the cave, he says, "Rennervate." Now, all through the fourth and fifth books they were saying "Ennervate" when something like that happened. Or is "Ennervate" just for Stunning and "Rennervate" for something else? But I did notice that the use of Rennervate kept up throughout the rest of the series....Maybe I'm just being stupid too - it's a very likely possibility. :lol:
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Light_Devil!
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Thu Jan 28, 2010 8:47 am
Light_Devil! says... · Thu Jan 28, 2010 8:47 am
Kelcia wrote:Another strange thing I noticed is that in the Bartimaeus Trilogy, the djinni's name in arabic is "saher al jinni." The literal translation is "slave of the jinni," but that doesn't make sense, because the djinni is the slave. I think what the author was trying for was "jinni al saher," which means "the jinni slave." This is an inexact translation, mark you.


Actually in "saher al jinni" (while I'm not totally sure what "saher" means, but I'll take your word that it stands for slave) the "al" in this case isn't "the", but is used to make it is a possession of a type of description. So, the "al" in this is the claim that the word "jinni" is his to use as a name.

So basically, translated it means "Slave (al is used to make a naming description) Jinni." Anyway, I think that's right. :D

Also, since Arabic is read right from left and not left from right, it is possible that the author translated it wrongly (like word by word left to right, instead of word by word right to left) and you were indeed correct with your translation. :lol:
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BenFranks
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Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:00 pm
BenFranks says... · Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:00 pm
Strange things aren't strange in strange books. It could also depend on what you define as "strange". I mean, what if your definition of strange was strange?

Philosophy's too much for me to cope.
Infact, it's somewhat strange.

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Rubric
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Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:17 am
Rubric says... · Sat Jan 30, 2010 8:17 am
Benfranks I assume they mean "dissonant" or "incoherent:.

A fantasy setting calls for and explains a certain amount of craziness, but when that craziness is exceeded without reason, it's like putting dragons in Dickens.

What I want to know is "Why do we give this thirteen year old girl a device that allows her to travel back in time, but not use that same device to allow Aurors to investigate the crimes committed by the Basilisk?"

Though to her credit, Rowling did a good job blowing up the time turners before the factions went to war in the sixth book. That would have been a narrative nightmare.
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BenFranks
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Sun Jan 31, 2010 3:25 pm
BenFranks says... · Sun Jan 31, 2010 3:25 pm
Rubric wrote:Benfranks I assume they mean "dissonant" or "incoherent:.

A fantasy setting calls for and explains a certain amount of craziness, but when that craziness is exceeded without reason, it's like putting dragons in Dickens.

What I want to know is "Why do we give this thirteen year old girl a device that allows her to travel back in time, but not use that same device to allow Aurors to investigate the crimes committed by the Basilisk?"

Though to her credit, Rowling did a good job blowing up the time turners before the factions went to war in the sixth book. That would have been a narrative nightmare.


My philosophy post was essentially a joke, but thanks for clarifying.
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