Different names

I was binge-watching Only Connect again last night.
I got as far as Series 11. Episode 21.
The Scientists vs The String Section.
Gripping stuff.

And while there were many brilliant questions on offer, there was one which stood out for me, so I’ve elaborated upon it a little and reproduced it here.

All you’re looking for is the thing which connects these clues. The sooner you get it (correctly, of course), the more points you score.

Here we go:

Strudel (Israel)

Sleeping Cat (Finland)

Monkey’s Tail (The Netherlands)

Elephant’s Trunk (Denmark)

Snail (Italy)

Curled Alpha (Norway)

Wild A (Serbia)

 

That’s your lot, I’m afraid. If you’re still struggling (or if you’re not), the answer is down below. How quickly did you get it? Did you get it? Leave me a comment and tell me how you got on.
I’m guessing that my resident Israeli reader might have got this one sewn up. Unless she actually went for “apple pies”. Because it’s not them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The earliest yet discovered reference to this thing is a religious one; it features in a Bulgarian translation of a Greek chronicle written by Constantinos Manasses in 1345. Held today in the Vatican Apostolic Library, it features it in place of the capital letter alpha “A” in the word Amen. Why it was used in this context is still a mystery.

It first appeared on a typewriter in 1889.

And it has no official name in English.

The answer is… the @ symbol.

Well done if you got it.

Leave a Reply