Monday, December 11, 2006

Sharing in a Glonous History

This past weekend our good friends Morgan and Dave visited the lot of us down here in Columbus. Our many adventures led us to the Hong Kong Buffet, where we discovered chopsticks with... let's say... a creative usage of English. For your reading pleasure, I repeat it here, exactly as it is printed on the paper packaging:

"Welcome to Chinese Restaurant.
Please try your Nice Chinese Food With Chopsticks
the traditional and typical of Chinese glonous history
and cultual."

Instructions on the other side read:

"Learn how to use your chopsticks

Tuk under
and held firmly

tnurnb

Add second chcostick
hold it as you hold
a pencil

Hold tirst chopstick
in originai position
move the second
one up and down
Now you can pick
up anything:"

The colon at the end of the instructions means - we think - that we are to provide examples of our picking-up prowess. Cars? Small children? Subatomic particles? We're also assuming that the phrase "traditional and typical of Chinese glonous history and cultual" is an invitation to share in years of glorious Chinese history and culture. Please note that the word "tnurnb" (read "thumb") is floating completely apart from the instruction to "Tuk under and held firmly."

One other note... we also found these chopsticks at a Vietnamese restaurant. Does Vietnam share a similar glonous culinary history?

Oh, the food was good, too. Great, actually.

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