It pays to be a fast talker
QUESTION Why do auctioneers talk so fast?
NOT all auctioneers talk fast. Fine art, car and property sales are relatively subdued.
Sales of livestock appear incoherent to the uninitiated – your ear has to be attuned.
General sales auctioneers need to be fast because otherwise selling up to 1,000 lots would take an eternity rather than a day.
Auctions are about excitement and vitesse: ‘Keep up, bid up or be left behind!’
I considered my sales of general goods to be a theatrical pursuit. I pitted myself against those looking for a bargain – fine, nothing wrong with that – but it was my responsibility to gain the best price for my client, auctio being the Latin for to increase. R. I. A. Green, Malvern,
Worcestershire.
QUESTION Do all cultures recognise a man in the Moon?
THE human tendency to make meaningful shapes, in particular faces, out of random patterns in inanimate objects is known as pareidolia. While many cultures recognise the face of a man in the Moon, Asian observers see a rabbit.
The Moon is made up of lunar ‘seas’ and uplands that we see from Earth as dark and light patches. The seas, also known as maria, are massive, hardened lava plains made of volcanic rock that is less reflective than other parts of the lunar surface.
The uplands, known as terrae, are brighter. The configuration of maria and terrae make up the man in the Moon’s face: the Seas of Serenity and Rain are his eyes; the Sea of Clouds forms his mouth; and the Seas of Islands and Vapours make up his nose.
The phenomenon has long been recognised. Plutarch, the Greek Platonist philosopher, wrote a dialogue entitled Concerning The Face Which Appears In The Orb Of The Moon, which is more widely known by its abbreviated Latin title De Facie. In China, Yutu the rabbit, companion of the Moon goddess Chang’e, is seen in the Moon. With a pestle and mortar, he mixes the elixir of life that Chang’e has been banished to the Moon for stealing.
The rabbit motif has spread across Asia. In Japan and Korea, the rabbit pounds the ingredients to make mochi (rice cakes) or medicine. An alternative rabbit legend comes from Mesoamerica. An Aztec legend recounts how Quetzalcoatl, god of life, light and wisdom, lord of the day and the winds, while still an Earth-bound human, almost died in a trek through the wilderness because he couldn’t find any food.
A rabbit offered up her life to save his, and in return Quetzalcoatl imprinted her form on the Moon so her sacrifice would be remembered.
Shia Muslims believe that the name of Ali Ibn-Abi Talib,
Muhammad’s son-in-law, is written on the Moon. This interpretation has roots in several writings or hadith by Muhammad, where he compares Ali to the Moon and himself to the Sun.
Francis Jones, Caernarfon, Gwynedd.
QUESTION I’ve just got an internet radio. Can anyone recommend any weird and wonderful stations around the world that I can tune into?
WHILE listening to Nashville country music station WSM, the DJ asked if any people were listening in foreign countries. I phoned in and became a guest on the Bill Cody Breakfast Show. Bill is a big fan of English football and we had a great chat. I also listen to legendary Mozambique station LM Radio, which has been around for 60 years.
Also on my listen list is WMEX in Rochester, New Hampshire, which plays old-time radio shows such as Dragnet and Gunsmoke on Sunday nights.
Philip Brannon, London. PYONGYANG FM in North Korea is better than you might imagine.
The US offers some of the more interesting streams, including local police dispatch radio in various cities and air traffic control frequencies. Kennedy Steve (now retired) managing planes coming into New York became famous thanks to internet radio.
Since World War II, it has been illegal to listen to air traffic control in Britain unless you are directly connected with aviation.
Don Trower, Braintree, Essex. THERE is a plethora of radio stations out there offering very specific content. Operating out of London, Fix Radio is aimed at people in the building trade, offering a mixture of ‘music, news and cheeky banter’. If you are having trouble sleeping, Radio Doudou offers soothing music. It is aimed at babies, but its output might work on adults.
WooFDriver All Dog Radio is aimed at our four-legged friends and their owners. It is focused on information and anecdotes, rather than music. Kerrang! Radio’s Rockdog also has canines in mind, while Cat Galaxy caters for felines and their owners.
Nasa has its own internet station, Third Rock Radio, which plays music interspersed with information about space.
CRaTER Live plays music composed in space by special software on board a Nasa satellite. Data gathered from space ‘noise’ (cosmic rays) is turned into tunes.
Radio Nostalgia plays only music recorded on 78rpm vinyl, which stopped being used as a recording medium in 1959.
Brazilian Birds Radio does what it says on the tin, playing South American birdsong.
Horror Radio tells scary stories and Fringe Radio is dedicated to conspiracy theories and Flat Earth believers.
Bob Dillon, Edinburgh.
Is there a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Irish Daily Mail, DMG Media, Two Haddington Buildings, 20-38 Haddington Road, Dublin 4, D04 HE94. You can also fax them to 0044 1952 510906 or you can email them to charles. legge@dailymail.ie. A selection will be published but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.