September 5: Are You “Quidding” Me?

1.
Are You Quidding me?
Touching down in London, I was faced with the quirkier side of British life: their peculiar use of the word “pound.” Being an American, pounds to me meant sweaty workouts at the gym or perhaps the weight of that extra suitcase I shouldn’t have packed. 

In the United Kingdom, the pound isn’t about bulging biceps; it’s the go-to currency for anything from buying a cup of tea to securing a place in a double-decker bus tour. The Brits adore their pounds, and it’s the cornerstone of their financial jigsaw puzzle.

Fine. I can get used to pounds, but what really tickled my funny bone was the use of the term, “quid.” On my first day in England, my British friend casually mentioned there is a “thirty quid fine” for inadvertently driving in the bus lane. My mind instantly conjured an image of thirty sea creatures boasting ten limbs.

Too embarrassed to ask what he meant by “quid,” I later researched the term through Google University. As it turns out, the UK police force does not require sea creatures as a form of payment. Rather, quid is just another name for pounds. Just as Americans call their dollars “bucks” all the time, the British use “quid” as slang. It’s as common as tea and crumpets. 

If I can decipher the difference between a “pound” of fish and a “quid” in my pocket, I’m pretty sure I can handle anything else this island has in store for me. Cheers to pounds and quids, and let the British currency comedy continue!

2.
Exploring Oxford, United Kingdom:
For most students, getting into Oxford is like trying to find a needle in a haystack while blindfolded and on a unicycle.

Why? Well, check out this list of influential giants associated with Oxford: Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Oscar Wilde, and T.S. Eliot.

Not surprisingly, some of the most world-changing innovations have been developed by Oxford students and gradates over the years. Here a few notable examples:

• Penicillin: Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, revolutionizing medicine and saving countless lives with the development of antibiotics.
• The World Wide Web: Tim Berners-Lee, a computer scientist and Oxford alumnus, invented the World Wide Web in 1989, changing the way the world communicates and accesses information.
• Hubble Space Telescope: The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, was named after Edwin Hubble. It has provided breathtaking images and invaluable data about distant galaxies, nebulae, and other celestial objects, greatly advancing our understanding of the cosmos.
• The Mini Cooper: The iconic Mini Cooper car was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis, who studied engineering at Oxford.
• The Rubik’s Cube: Ernő Rubik, the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube, obtained his Ph.D. in architecture from Oxford.
• MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): Sir Peter Mansfield made significant contributions to the development of MRI technology, which has revolutionized medical imaging.
• The Geiger Counter: Hans Geiger, co-invented the Geiger-Muller counter, a crucial device for measuring radiation.
• Carbon Dating: Developed by Willard Libby, carbon dating has been essential in archaeology and geology for dating organic materials.
• The Oxford English Dictionary (OED): While not an invention in the traditional sense, the creation of the OED was a monumental project in language research.

If you get a chance to explore Oxford campus (which I’d highly recommend), you’ll be rewarded with a delightful blend of grand architecture set amidst serene, lush gardens. With inspiring views at every corner, it’s no surprise that students studying in this environment excel.