23 February 2007

It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong place.

I think there can be little doubt that alphabets are much better suited than any other writing system to providing the concept behind small, precisely shaped, pieces of spaghetti. The alphabet system really does seem to lend itself to dishes such as Alphabet Spaghetti or Alphabet Soup in a way that must be the envy of all other writing systems. I doubt even the most ardent fan of Chinese characters would imagine that 'Chinese character spaghetti' would be particularly feasible, either as a commercial venture or as a gastronomic delicacy.

- James Essinger, Spell Bound: The Improbable Story of English Spelling

1 comment:

Mary Bennet said...

I don't know about that. You could probably get a short novel in a bowl with Chinese, Japanese or Korean characters.

And budding Indiana Joneses would adore hieroglyphic noodle soup.