XPost: alt.usage.english   
   From: larry@invalid.ca   
      
   On 2024-09-22 10:30, occam wrote:   
   > On 22/09/2024 14:29, Janet wrote:   
   >> In article ,   
   >> rich.ulrich@comcast.net says...   
   >>>   
   >>> On Sat, 21 Sep 2024 21:11:31 +0200, Silvano   
   >>>  wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> Aidan Kehoe hat am 21.09.2024 um 17:10 geschrieben:   
   >>>>>   > On 21/09/2024 12:52, Silvano wrote:   
   >>>>>   > > Japan was already wiser 40 years ago, but the more appropriate   
   name is   
   >>>>>   > > probably "speed limit warnings".   
   >>>>>   > > A friend gave me a ride there when an alarm sound went off.   
   >>>>>   > > - What does this noise mean?   
   >>>>>   > > - I was driving at over 100 km/h (the speed limit on their   
   highways at   
   >>>>>   > > that time). We have a warning system on all our cars.   
   >>>>>   > > - What about all those cars overtaking us? Do they produce the   
   same noise?   
   >>>>>   > > - Yes.   
   >>>>>   >   
   >>>>>   > This sound warning is optional on my car (i.e. can be disabled). The   
   >>>>>   > visual warning (on the GPS display) however, is not.   
   >>>>   
   >>> >From what I saw at that time, Japan was ridiculously underdeveloped on   
   >>>> some items (washing machines, squat toilets - well, they moved on in   
   >>>> these 40 years and we should learn a lot from them about modern toilets,   
   >>>> see ), but it was much   
   >>>> better than Continental Europe on other items (bullet trains, fax etc.).   
   >>>> But even they did not have GPS displays 40 years ago.   
   >>>>   
   >>>   
   >>> I found that article on toilets in Japan to be interesting.  I once   
   >>> read a whole book about bathrooms, so it could be that I am easily   
   >>> amused.   
   >>   
   >>    On my bucket-list;  test-driving a Japanese-style   
   >> washlet toilet.   
   >>   
   >>   Must be the whole shebang with voice activated commands,   
   >> warm water bum wash and hot air dryer.   
   >>   
   >   
   > Have you started learning Japanese for the voice activation part?  One   
   > wrong intonation, and the seat may incinerate your privates.   
      
   Reminds me of an old joke, it ends with the doctor saying to his male   
   patient,   
   "You must have pressed the blue button! That activates the tampon remover!"   
      
   --   
   Doctor: "You have onomatopoeia"   
   "What is that?"   
   "It's exactly what it sounds like."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)