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[ # ] How to pronounce mirounga angustirostris
February 5th, 2008 under Random learned stuff

Honey and I sometimes amuse ourselves with the better Google hits we get on our blogs. She gets better hits than I do, given her propensity to talk about her boobs. I get more, shall we say, esoteric, hits. Are there Celtic origins for “They Call the Wind Maria?” Someone thought that, typed it into Google and got to me. I’m the third hit on that, if you quote the song title. Short answer: I have no idea and neither does the person looking for the information if my site was their source.

Lots of hits lately on Miss Washington, her gay dads, and other related things and lots of hits on Sleep Number beds. I call things I don’t like the taste of “wangy” and I’ve used it in a post and thusly I get hits on it.

By far the thing people seek me out most for from Google is the title of this post. I’ve had dozens of hits on variations of how to pronounce mirounga angustirostris (which is the Latin name of elephant seals). It hits my blog because I referenced elephant seals (and their Latin name, as I like a semi-formal blog) in a post last winter and in a separate post said something about Brett Favre not pronouncing his name right. Both of those posts are in my “trips” category. The average time on my blog for people searching for this guidance is over eight minutes. These folks WANT to know. For all I know, it’s one person who really wants to know and keeps trying to find out.

So, in the spirit of Mardi Gras, rather than showing my boobs or throwing beads, I thought why not give something away of value? I took Latin in high school. I DO know the answer. Can I get a little help?

seals.jpg

It’s pronounced:

meer•onga ahn•goo•steer•oh•stris

or, you could just go with

ell•ee•fant seel

They’re ok either way. I’d say that I hope things go well for your candidate today, but since everyone can’t win, I’ll simply say that now you know something new and that way everyone wins.

Read the Comments

[ # 1558 ] Comment from Teresa [February 5, 2008, 11:17 pm]

Heh, you said boobs. Twice. Yer so gettin’ hits.

[ # 1562 ] Comment from WenWhit [February 6, 2008, 6:39 am]

If those seals weren’t so cute, I’d suggest they were phallic – you know, just to get you another hit or two. ;p

[ # 1565 ] Comment from treecup [February 6, 2008, 8:54 am]

not to be picky, but isn’t it ell-eh-fant seel?

[ # 1566 ] Comment from sporks [February 6, 2008, 10:02 am]

I prefer ell ee fant, but, yes, if you want to sound all sophisticated, ell eh fant works, too. As I said, they don’t care.

[ # 1567 ] Comment from weese [February 6, 2008, 10:03 am]

how do you know they don’t care?

(note to self …say boobs more often to get more hits)

[ # 1568 ] Comment from sporks [February 6, 2008, 10:05 am]

I know they don’t care because they spend a LOT of time yelling at each other. They’re too busy with intraseal conflicts to pay any attention to humans.

[ # 1580 ] Comment from Shauna [February 7, 2008, 11:24 am]

On a side note, I’ve never understood why the guy insists on “farve.” Maybe “fah-vr” doesn’t trip off the American tongue, but “fahv” shouldn’t be a problem. Lots of us can say “loov” for Louvre without resorting to difficult throat maneuvers.

[ # 1581 ] Comment from SassyFemme [February 9, 2008, 6:59 am]

What about pronouncing it ella-funt?

Thinking elephant boobs mentioned on your blog would probably bring you some very strange hits.

[ # 1589 ] Comment from Suzanne [February 12, 2008, 3:32 pm]

You make it sound like showing ones boobs doesn’t have any value!

[ # 1987 ] Pingback from sporksforall » Mapping the void [June 15, 2008, 9:52 am]

[...] feature. The numbers are depressing and what I get hits on focuses more than I want it to on elephant seals and their Latin name. The map, though, gives these nice green emphases to people in their offices or on their laptops [...]

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