This episode doubles as a pilot for a new podcast I am considering doing about my life in Brazil. Be sure to let me know what you think.
Thanks to Barely for submitting a question. I also forgot to mention in the episode that Dan on Tap called in the other day.
Milton - what a great guest! By way of thanks for the entertainment, please tell him the following:
"Milton" is a common old English surname, and more recently a first name, but it doesn't come from "Mill Town".
Surname adoption in England started in the 12th century and accelerated rapidly with the Black Death in 1348. One third of the population died, and so peasants suddenly found they weren't tied to their lord any more but could wander the land as trades people selling their labour to the highest bidder. To do so they needed to be identified by more than just their first name, as had been the custom before that date, so they took a surname as well.
It was most common to adopt the place of birth as a surname like Robin (of) Loxley, but other surnames were based on some personal characteristic, like 'Drinkwater' - a diabetic, 'Smith' - a trade, and so on.
Around the end of the 13th century, there are records of the Old English name 'Middel-tun', which derives from Old English meaning 'the middle farm', a farm between two or three other settlements.
English spelling wasn't formalised and 'Middel-tun' became contracted to 'Milton' over time. For example Shakespeare, in the mid 16th century, spelled his own name an a dozen different ways.
Mill towns, on the other hand, didn't appear until the industrial revolution of the early 18th century invented mills, and we all had surnames long before that!
On to questions. The only poisonous mammals are the platypus, the shrew, the solendon and the loris. Otters are not poisonous but do gang up in packs and attack humans, especially if they swim near otter nests. You'd have to be pretty slow to let them kill you though.
I laughed out loud at Ima and Ura Hogg - maybe their parents wanted them to leave home and marry as soon as possible?
Couriering - my suggestion is that you also find something Brazilian to take to the US. Something high value - maybe some artwork? Jewellery?
Sorry for the delay in commenting, but I suspect I have been suffering from the same thing as you: norovirus, or 'winter vomiting disease' as it is known as politely (they don't specify which end vomits). I look forward to more Brazilianisms!
Cheers,
Zeb
Posted by: Zebulon | Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Zebulon,
Wow! The quantity of your feedback is matched only by the quality! Milton and I will address your comment in its entirety in our next episode. By the way, Brazilianisms now has its own site and separate feed:
brazilianismspodcast.com
Posted by: tvindy | Friday, January 11, 2008 at 06:33 PM