Bottom of the News… Friday, June 12, 2009

Good morning my fellow Rotarians. Today we have a story about a Spanish teacher. She was explaining that in Spanish, unlike in English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. “House” for instance, is feminine: “la casa.” “Pencil” however, is masculine: “el lapiz.”

A student asked, “What gender is computer?”

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, men and women, and asked them to decide for themselves whether “computer” should be a masculine or feminine noun. Each group was asked to give three reasons for their recommendations.

The men’s group decided that computer should definitely be feminine “la computadora” because…

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
2. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half of your paycheck on accessories for it, and
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval.

The woman’s group however, concluded that “computer” should be masculine “el computador” because…

1. They are supposed to help you SOLVE problems, but half the time they ARE the problem;
2. In order to do anything with them, you have to first turn them on and,
3. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you would have waited a little longer you could have gotten a better model!

So, who do you think won? Men? Women? Dumb question… the women of course! And that is the Bottom of the News on this Friday, June 12, 2009!

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