July 14, 2006, - 4:14 pm

We Learn New English, Every Day

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We’ll never stop marvelling at the absurd new psychobabble and hifaluting words created by new age types to sound fancy.
The latest is the new phrase we learned today:
avian vomitologist
What is that? And where did we hear it? No, it’s not a new name for a spectator flying over next week’s tax-wasting and getting sick to his/her stomach in mid-air.
It’s a fancy name for a guy who collects owl vomit for a living. Why? We don’t know. Today’s USA Today “Life” section has a feature on “interesting” new summer shows, “This is Your Brain on Pause.” One of the shows, Discovery’s “Dirty Jobs,” is hosted by Mike Rowe who has worked in that job for an episode of the show.
Since when is “vomitologist” a word? And doesn’t “ologist” denote one who studies, not one who collects? Either way, we have one easily understood standard English word in response:
Yuck!




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6 Responses

How about “vomaggregator”

Uncle Tim on July 14, 2006 at 6:22 pm

Pukearrestor?

KOAJaps on July 14, 2006 at 10:11 pm

There’s something new on the Internet: Google. I used it to find out that owls vomit up what they cannot digest. Universities can study these remains to determine the owls’ diets and children can study owl vomitus to learn about owls, their digestive systems, and things like that.
Rather than mocking something I don’t understand or know about, I looked it up. I’m bizarre that way.
The man who invented the title “avian vomitologist” collects owl vomit and sells it to universities and schools. He’s making money at it. Why shouldn’t he? This is capitalism at work.
One of the articles I used was at ABC News.
YOU’RE SO TALENTED. WE’RE SO IMPRESSED. WE KNOW WHAT IT MEANS, AS WE DEFINED IT IN THE POST, WHICH YOU CLEARLY DID NOT READ. A COURSE IN READING COMPREHENSION IS IN ORDER FOR YOU. WHO CARES ABOUT OWLS’ DIETS, DIGESTIVE SYSTEMS, ETC.? YOU SOUND LIKE ALL THOSE ANNOYING “ANTHROPOLOGISTS” WHO WERE SO UPSET ABOUT ARTIFACTS “LOOTED” FROM IRAQI MUSEUMS . . . DUSTY PIECES OF CRAP NO-ONE CARED ABOUT FOR DECADES BEFORE.
DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL

Rob on July 15, 2006 at 12:14 pm

Why study the digestive systems of owls? Because there are many things we can learn that can be applied to advancing our own progress. Owls are fascinating creatures who survive in the most improbable conditions: they continue to hunt for food at extreme temperatures (hot or cold), they have an incredibly advanced vision system that allows them to see the smallest objects at night — the list goes on. The study of owls, just like studying anything else, proceeds in small steps — and the more we know about all aspects of their existence, the more we’ll discover. And discoveries frequently provide great models for inventions. Consider how many great inventions have been modeled on animal or plant life: airplanes came from birds, sonars and radars – from bats, even something as silly as Velcro was based on cockleburs. So I wouldn’t discount the study of anything just because it sounds disgusting to you.
And the “vomitologist” thing… well, I suspect that a proctologist, for example, wouldn’t want to be known as a “poop chute scooper” either; but it’s unfortunate that a fancy name is somehow necessary for a profession to be respected.
ONE OF THE PROFESSIONS FROM THE SHOW IS A “CHICKEN SEXER,” WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SEX. I SUPPOSE, BY YOUR THEORY, IF IT’S NOT A FANCY NAME FOR A DISGUSTING JOB, THEY NEED A SEXY NAME? NOT REALLY. CALL A SPADE A SPADE. A JANITOR AND A GARBAGEMAN GET MY RESPECT FOR THEIR HARD WORK AND NECESSARY JOB, WITHOUT THE BS TITLE OF “SANITARIAL ENGINEER.”
DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL

K. Dragon on July 16, 2006 at 5:15 pm

Incidentally, here’s the video of that segment from “Dirty Jobs”: http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/16772/Dirty_Jobs_Avian_Vomitologist.html
Seems like dissecting dried remains of owl prey is a widespread activity in classrooms all around America.
YES, AND READING, WRITING, AND ARITHMETIC ISN’T. VERY COMFORTING.
DEBBIE SCHLUSSEL

K. Dragon on July 16, 2006 at 5:35 pm

While the ingredients in the “medication” they send you may not be things like “arsenic” or “Lye” it could very well contain trace amounts of materials that may have adverse affects on you depending on your reaction to them. ,

bznvcmxf on June 3, 2011 at 6:41 pm

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