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Originally Posted by buddha1too
@ Soupe du jour...Two things that were very rare when I was living in Europe: air conditioning & automatic transmissions on cars. I think the reason for both was the high energy costs. I'm not sure whether both are rarities now, though.
Speaking of Europe, I was strolling down memory lane the other day. My partner was teasing me because I like the sound of bagpipes (I'm Scottish), so I was making fun of her because the Poles like Polka. Here's some comedy from the 1980s, if you need a laugh:
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That was a cute video. Nice to see John Candy, too. And did you know that the polka is actually originally a Czech dance (Bohemia to be specific)? Though very popular in Poland and German-speaking countries, it's incorrect that Polish came up with it. Every Czech teenager learns to polka. Dance is a mandatory class in at least one year at school. Right now I am in Bohemia. We had lunch in the beautiful UNESCO center of the town of Telč.
Hubby said there are two theories about the etymology of the word "polka". The first is that it comes from půlka, meaning "half of something", relating to the dance rhythm/speed, with ů pronounced like the oo in English "pool". The second is actually "Pretty Polish girl" (spelled "polka") based on a popular feminist movement back then, that may have inspired the creation of the dance. Nowadays, it is spelled "polka", in Czech, pronounced about the same as in English.
Air-conditioning is still uncommon in Czech houses, but manual transmission still reigns, except that most rental cars are automatic. Luckily I've been driving manual for the last 35 years. But our one car that's currently being sent to us from the US is automatic.