by neufer » Sat Apr 06, 2013 1:01 pm
geckzilla wrote:
Hey, those are all last names. They could go either way! I have a hard time considering any of them masculine even though a lot of them are named after males. Talk about stereotypes. Maybe it's the men getting shafted on the crafts. I mean, if you saw one up close and personal, you'd perhaps think "She's a beauty" but would you ever think "Ah, he's so handsome!" Eh? Oh well, I guess it's pretty silly to anthropomorphize them either way.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071218175652AAotKSe wrote:
Why is a ship always named after a woman?
cliveyboyuk wrote:
I think if you look you will see that it is not correct that all or even most ships have female names. If you look at the registry of British and USA Naval ships names – most are neither male nor female. It is true however that most ships are refered to as “SHE” and while there are several explanations for this, here a couple that I have seen on the internet.
Some say during the early days of sailing every ship was always dedicated to some goddess, and as a result the ship was referred to as "she". Another theory is that the crew always thought the ship "cradled" them like their mother and as a result treated it with a great deal of respect. In most Romance languages the ship is always referred to as "she" and it is quite possible that English sailors began to adopt this practice as well. Since the American Navy is modled after the Royal Navy the tradition carried over.
Then there is the contemporary explanation:
- There is always a great deal of bustle around her.
There is usually a gang of men about her.
She has waist and stays.
It takes a lot of paint to keep her looking good.
It is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is her upkeep.
She can be all decked out.
It takes an experienced man to handle her correctly.
Without a man at the helm, she is uncontrollable.
She shows her topsides, hides her bottom.
When coming into port, she always heads for the buoys.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_Space_Observatory wrote:
<<The Herschel Space Observatory is a European Space Agency space observatory sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands (55-672 µm). It is the largest infrared space telescope ever launched, carrying a single mirror of 3.5 metres in diameter. Herschel is named after Sir William Herschel, the discoverer of the infrared spectrum and planet Uranus, and his sister and collaborator Caroline Herschel.>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Herschel wrote:
Caroline Lucretia Herschel (16 March 1750 – 9 January 1848) was a German-British astronomer and the sister of astronomer Sir William Herschel with whom she worked throughout both of their careers. Her most significant contribution to astronomy was the discovery of several comets and in particular the periodic comet 35P/Herschel-Rigollet, which bears her name. At the age of ten, Caroline was struck with typhus, which stunted her growth and she never grew past four foot three. Due to this deformation, her family assumed that she would never marry and that it was best for her to remain a house servant. Instead she became a significant astronomer in collaboration with William.
Caroline returned to Hanover in 1822 following her brother's death, but did not abandon her astronomical studies, continuing to verify and confirm William's findings and producing a catalogue of nebulae to assist her nephew John Herschel in his work. In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society presented her with their Gold Medal for this work — no woman would be awarded it again until
Vera Rubin in 1996.
In 1835, along with Mary Somerville, she was elected to honorary membership of the Royal Astronomical Society; they were the first honorary women members. In 1838 she was also elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy. In 1846, at the age of 96, she was awarded the Gold Medal for Science by the King of Prussia.
The asteroid 281 Lucretia (discovered 1888) was named after Caroline's second given name, and the crater C. Herschel on the Moon is named after her. Adrienne Rich's 1968 poem
Planetarium celebrated Caroline Herschel's life and scientific achievements.
[quote="geckzilla"]
Hey, those are all last names. They could go either way! I have a hard time considering any of them masculine even though a lot of them are named after males. Talk about stereotypes. Maybe it's the men getting shafted on the crafts. I mean, if you saw one up close and personal, you'd perhaps think "She's a beauty" but would you ever think "Ah, he's so handsome!" Eh? Oh well, I guess it's pretty silly to anthropomorphize them either way.[/quote][quote=" http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071218175652AAotKSe"]
Why is a ship always named after a woman?
[quote="cliveyboyuk"]
I think if you look you will see that it is not correct that all or even most ships have female names. If you look at the registry of British and USA Naval ships names – most are neither male nor female. It is true however that most ships are refered to as “SHE” and while there are several explanations for this, here a couple that I have seen on the internet.
Some say during the early days of sailing every ship was always dedicated to some goddess, and as a result the ship was referred to as "she". Another theory is that the crew always thought the ship "cradled" them like their mother and as a result treated it with a great deal of respect. In most Romance languages the ship is always referred to as "she" and it is quite possible that English sailors began to adopt this practice as well. Since the American Navy is modled after the Royal Navy the tradition carried over.
Then there is the contemporary explanation:
[list]There is always a great deal of bustle around her.
There is usually a gang of men about her.
She has waist and stays.
It takes a lot of paint to keep her looking good.
It is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is her upkeep.
She can be all decked out.
It takes an experienced man to handle her correctly.
Without a man at the helm, she is uncontrollable.
She shows her topsides, hides her bottom.
When coming into port, she always heads for the buoys.[/list][/quote][/quote][quote=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_Space_Observatory"]
<<The Herschel Space Observatory is a European Space Agency space observatory sensitive to the far infrared and submillimetre wavebands (55-672 µm). It is the largest infrared space telescope ever launched, carrying a single mirror of 3.5 metres in diameter. Herschel is named after Sir William Herschel, the discoverer of the infrared spectrum and planet Uranus, and his sister and collaborator Caroline Herschel.>>[/quote][quote=" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Herschel"]
[float=right][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Herschel_Caroline_1829.jpg[/img][/float]
Caroline Lucretia Herschel (16 March 1750 – 9 January 1848) was a German-British astronomer and the sister of astronomer Sir William Herschel with whom she worked throughout both of their careers. Her most significant contribution to astronomy was the discovery of several comets and in particular the periodic comet 35P/Herschel-Rigollet, which bears her name. At the age of ten, Caroline was struck with typhus, which stunted her growth and she never grew past four foot three. Due to this deformation, her family assumed that she would never marry and that it was best for her to remain a house servant. Instead she became a significant astronomer in collaboration with William.
Caroline returned to Hanover in 1822 following her brother's death, but did not abandon her astronomical studies, continuing to verify and confirm William's findings and producing a catalogue of nebulae to assist her nephew John Herschel in his work. In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society presented her with their Gold Medal for this work — no woman would be awarded it again until [url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=23000&p=143982&hilit=Vera+Rubin#p143982]Vera Rubin[/url] in 1996.
In 1835, along with Mary Somerville, she was elected to honorary membership of the Royal Astronomical Society; they were the first honorary women members. In 1838 she was also elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy. In 1846, at the age of 96, she was awarded the Gold Medal for Science by the King of Prussia.
The asteroid 281 Lucretia (discovered 1888) was named after Caroline's second given name, and the crater C. Herschel on the Moon is named after her. Adrienne Rich's 1968 poem [url=http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175906]Planetarium[/url] celebrated Caroline Herschel's life and scientific achievements.[/quote]