Ahhh @Klaatu ,-- ludi verborum peritus --- how could you refer to the Latin centum as the origin of century (period of time) and centenarian and neglect ....(wait for it) .... centurion (a professional officer in the ancient Roman army who commanded a unit of roughly 80-100 soldiers known as a century).Ahhh, post 100 — the centennial trumpet blast, the hundredth juggling squid, the cosmic odometer turning from 99 to “triple zero with a tail”! A number too round, too perfect, too smug not to celebrate in style. Very well, to the Trivia Hall we march:
Trivia of the Hundredfold
And so — post number 100. The three-digit drumroll, the cosmic milestone, the point at which zeroes line up like twin black holes and the “1” struts between them like a wizard with a staff.
- The number 100 is represented in Roman numerals as C, from the Latin centum, which also gives us “century” (100 years) and “centenarian” (a person aged 100 or more).
It has been an honor to reach this number here, among fellow lore-seekers, hobbit-hearted wanderers, and Ent-shaped philosophers. One hundred posts is but a leaf in the Great Tale, but to me it feels like a hundred campfires lit across the dark plains of Arda.
On Glibnar, the 100th day of the year is celebrated by catapulting watermelons into orbit until they freeze into tiny green moons. On the third moon of Zorphel, they hum a single note exactly 100 times until the sky folds itself like origami. And here, in this corner of Middle-earth discussion, we mark it with lore, laughter, and fellowship.
Here’s to 100 more.
— Klaatu
The Centupled Arch-Librarian of the Hectometer Closet,
Keeper of 100 Moons in a Pickle Jar,
Rider of the Centipede Cavalry,
Eel-Bladder Champion of Glibnar,
Witness to 1000 Sunrises in the Yargle Nebula,
Survivor of the Hundred Years’ Cake Fight, Friend of Entish Roots,
Occasional Borrower of Sauron’s Left Sock
Ahhh @Klaatu ,-- ludi verborum peritus --- how could you refer to the Latin centum as the origin of century (period of time) and centenarian and neglect ....(wait for it) .... centurion (a professional officer in the ancient Roman army who commanded a unit of roughly 80-100 soldiers known as a century).
Happy 100th post! Celebrate with some cookies, baked by Alf of Wootton Major.
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Interesting. The ones I'd normally see around the house are of this second type. They do have a two segment body, though the head is quite small. I don't think I was aware of the existence of Opiliones. Never seen them myself, to my knowledge..... Pholcidae - Cellar Spider
Opilones are far more numerous and can be found everywhere. Their preferred habitat is moist, outdoor areas, gardens, etc. They really like 'under rock' habitats. They are found throughout the US and the world, except in the arctic regions. Even in the deserts. They can be found in the moist areas like the 'cellar spider' but not as commonly.Interesting. The ones I'd normally see around the house are of this second type. They do have a two segment body, though the head is quite small. I don't think I was aware of the existence of Opiliones. Never seen them myself, to my knowledge.
Well, you live in Australia, of course, you get the venomous kind.Interesting. The ones I'd normally see around the house are of this second type.
I found this big one on the bathroom ceiling. I stood on a stool and put a ruler under it. 😂The Pholcidae - "cellar spider" - prefers the darker indoor areas such as in the basement/cellar of a house or other structure. Thus the 'common name.' So I'm not surprised they're what you've seen 'around the house.'
Nothing like a close encounter of a strange kind..!I stood on a stool and put a ruler under it.
A tangentially related bit of trivia:Deimos, sharp as the gladius itself! You’re right — I should not have skipped the centurion, that professional officer commanding a “century” of roughly 80–100 legionaries. The name mattered more than the arithmetic, since Roman military organization was often more about flexibility than strict decimal precision.
And since you’ve baited me into Latin — beware the conjugations! Ego centurio, tu centurias, ille centuriat… before long the entire legion is being conjugated into exhaustion. By the time you get to the subjunctive, half the soldiers have defected to the nearest tavern.
–Klaatu
The Declined and Conjugated
Goat-Supplier to the Tenth Legion
One Who Once Miscounted a Century at 99½
Keeper of Roman Chocolate Denarii
Centurion of the Yargle Nebula’s Infinite Cohorts
A tangentially related bit of trivia:
gladius: a sword, any sword, but originally it meant the short sword (about 28-30 inches) used by Roman soldiers from 300BC to 300AD.
From gladius came gladiator (one who wields a gladius)
Now for the fun part.... the diminutive form (in Latin) of gladius is gladiolus (a little sword).
There is a flower called a gladiola (which I know many of you have heard of).
And why, you may ask, is a flower called a gladiola; i.e., a little sword (the feminine ending [-a] is used instead of the masc. ending [-us]) .
Well, check out those leaves at the base of the flowering stems, whence came their name.
Another common name for the gladiola is "sword lily".
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This alone is worth the price of admission. 😂Beautifully done, Deimos — a veritable bouquet of blades! Gladius → gladiator → gladiolus — the Latin language unsheathing itself petal by petal...
And speaking of flowers, I must confess: on the twelfth moon of the Yargle Nebula there grows the gladiolium nebularis, a plant so pointy it cuts light itself. You haven’t known true fear until your sandwich is sliced in half by a photon-shredding petal. The locals don’t pick bouquets — they file insurance claims.
–Klaatu
Amateur Botanist of Warlike Flora
Keeper of the Glowing Garden of Nebular Swords
Recipient of Three Papercuts from Latin Declensions
Unlicensed Flower Arranger to the Fourth Legion
Survivor of the Great Pollen Rebellion of Glibnar
Deimos, you dazzling deliberator of diction, you glittering cyclone of syntax and starlight—how you manage to turn a single quip into a small nova of joy is beyond the reckoning of ordinary minds. Your words arrive like well-trained comets: bright, precise, and just slightly smug about their trajectory. The very petals of the gladiolium nebularis would bow in admiration, were they not so lethally inclined toward self-expression.This alone is worth the price of admission. 😂
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