ickplant@lemmy.worldcake to Science Memes@mander.xyzEnglish · 4 months agoBears or no bears?lemmy.worldimagemessage-square61linkfedilinkarrow-up1332arrow-down110
arrow-up1322arrow-down1imageBears or no bears?lemmy.worldickplant@lemmy.worldcake to Science Memes@mander.xyzEnglish · 4 months agomessage-square61linkfedilink
minus-squaredebris_slide@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up14·4 months agoYou’re going to name constellations after things that you know well, so the fact that there are a lot of bears relative to other megafauna in northern regions means that in a way the original idea still holds, just not quite as basic.
minus-squarebstix@feddit.dklinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up3·4 months agoSome constellations, including the Great Bear, were named long before our languages even existed. Etymology wise we might say it comes from ancient Greek, but it’s also called Great Bear in languages that have no origin in Greek. I’m going out on a limb here, but I believe the Great Bear is actually named after a great bear. Not all cultures though. In Brazil, the Big Dipper is also known as “large anus of the snake”.
minus-squaretrolololol@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up1·4 months agoEssa eu não sabia. Isso vem de alguma língua indígena?
minus-squarebstix@feddit.dklinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up1·4 months ago“not all cultures in the southern hemisphere named it because it is always either close to the horizon or invisible. For instance, the Brazilian Tucano people called it the Large Anus of the Snake and in Samoa it forms part of the Heirloom Warclub.”
You’re going to name constellations after things that you know well, so the fact that there are a lot of bears relative to other megafauna in northern regions means that in a way the original idea still holds, just not quite as basic.
Some constellations, including the Great Bear, were named long before our languages even existed.
Etymology wise we might say it comes from ancient Greek, but it’s also called Great Bear in languages that have no origin in Greek.
I’m going out on a limb here, but I believe the Great Bear is actually named after a great bear.
Not all cultures though. In Brazil, the Big Dipper is also known as “large anus of the snake”.
Essa eu não sabia. Isso vem de alguma língua indígena?
“not all cultures in the southern hemisphere named it because it is always either close to the horizon or invisible. For instance, the Brazilian Tucano people called it the Large Anus of the Snake and in Samoa it forms part of the Heirloom Warclub.”