The buck stops here
QUESTION
Why is oil traded exclusively in US dollars instead of the currency of the country buying or selling it? THIS is because the dollar is the world’s reserve currency.
This situation dates back to the United Nations monetary and financial conference held at Bretton W oods, New Hampshire, in 1944. Delegates from 44 countries met from July 1-22, to create a new international monetary system.
The main goals of the meeting were to ensure a foreign exchange rate system, prevent competitive devaluations and promote economic growth. The Bretton Woods agreement saw the creation of the World Bank and established the gold-backed US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
At one time, the US’s GDP represented about half of the world’s output; the dollar was, therefore, adopted as the world’s strongest and most stable global currency. Commodities such as gold and oil were traded in the reserve currency, ensuring price stability and greatly simplifying transactions.
By the early Seventies, countries began demanding gold for the dollars they held to combat inflation. Rather than allow Fort Knox to be depleted of all its reserves, President Richard Nixon decoupled the dollar from gold. However, by that time, the dollar had already secured its place as the world’s dominant reserve currency.
John Holland, Dorchester, Dorset.
QUESTION
Is the word ‘arch’, meaning being playful or mischievous, related to the architectural feature? ARCH, as in a curved symmetrical structure spanning an opening and typically supporting the weight of a bridge, roof, or wall above it, came into English via the French arche, via the Latin arcus ‘bow’.
Arch meaning ‘chief’ or ‘principal’ has a Greek origin. It’s derived from the Greek arkhos meaning ‘chief’, thus archangel, archdeacon, archbishop. The prefix began to be used in a derogatory manner (arch-rogue, arch-knave, etc.) so that by the middle of the 17th century it had acquired its own meaning of ‘roguish’ or ‘mischievous’. Marianne Bright,
Lincoln.
QUESTION
We wrongly say the Sun goes up or down. What other scientifically incorrect expressions do we use? THE Sun does not actually go up and down, it’s the rotation of the Earth on its axis that makes it appear to rise in the east, travel across the sky and set in the west.
Tides: These actually rise and fall, it’s only the slope of the beaches that makes them appear to come in and go out. If you are on an oil rig out at sea with vertical supporting legs, then the rise and fall of the tides is obvious.
Wrought-iron gates: These are usually made of mild steel that has been welded using some sort of welding torch.
Alternatively, they may be cast so as to replicate the smooth flowing joints you used to get with wrought iron. In the past, pieces of wrought iron were welded simply by heating to red heat and hammering them together. This does not work with mild steel.
The manufacture of wrought iron ceased in the 1970s because it is more expensive than steel and it is difficult to obtain a consistent quality.
Windmills: The originals were wind-powered mills for grinding cereals so it was logical to call them windmills. However, later there were wind-powered pumps for raising water and wind-powered saws for cutting wood, but the name windmill stuck as you can’t easily tell by looking at a windmill what it is for.
Wind turbines: These are actually wind-powered alternators used to generate electricity. Presumably the name was chosen because manufacturers thought windmill sounded old fashioned.
Black ice: In winter time we are warned about the perils of skidding on black ice because it can’t be seen. In fact, the ice isn’t black, it’s clear, so you can see the black (usually) road surface through the transparent ice. Conversely ‘white ice’, usually compacted snow, is just as slippery but can be easily seen so is less dangerous.
Denis Sharp, Hailsham, East Sussex. ...(1) We say the cold comes in. This is really incorrect. The heat moves from a higher state to a lower state. So, really, we should be saying that the heat is going rather than that cold is coming. Losing heat means you will become cold. (2) We say the dark side of the Moon. There is no such thing. The Moon is in synchronous rotation in its orbit around the Earth. As a result, the hemisphere that is not visible from the Earth is described as the dark side. The Sun shines on that part as well, but we cannot see it from the Earth. (3) Shooting stars in the night sky. These are not stars but small dust particles or rock pieces that burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere and leave a trail of light. (4) When I say my weight is 53kilograms it is not really the weight but the mass (the amount of matter in my body). The weight is measured in newtons. A mass of one kilogram will exert 9.8newtons on the surface of the Earth. So, my mass won’t change whether I am on the Earth or on the Moon. But my weight on the Moon will be one-sixth of the weight on the Earth. Dr Anand Deshpande, Westhoughton, Lancs. THE word ‘quantum’ is sometimes used to express a great change or development. This is far from the truth. The smallest possible measured amount of energy an electron, for example, may absorb or emit when changing state is a quantum. One would have thought the title of the James Bond film Quantum Of Solace would have prompted wider understanding. Don Trower, Braintree, Essex.
QUESTION
What are the most poisonous plants in the average garden? THE common yew, Taxus baccata, is probably the most poisonous plant in the average garden. Gardeners who have trimmed yew hedges without protection have reported vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, dizziness, and convulsions. It can also cause blistering of the skin. Almost all the plant is poisonous.
Other common plants that produce blisters are rue (Ruta graveolens), giant hogweed, cow parsnip and ivy. The laburnum (Laburnum anagyroides) is a beautiful tree with hanging yellow flowers, but the seed and wood both contain the poisonous alkaloid cytisine, which can cause severe nausea, vomiting and respiratory problems. It is a legume, so the seeds are carried in pods not dissimilar to a pea pod, and children should be made aware of such trees. Charlotte Massiter, Dorset.