Chernobyl

[Debo]

Inside Chernobyl's Mega Tomb - BBC 4 8pm.

Excellent, you really need to see this program.

[DRT]

Thanks for the heads-up - downloading now

 

[Thalestris24]

I've always thought it ironic that Chernobyl translates to 'Wormwood'....

[SilverAstro]

It is complicated ! The town/area of Chernobyl is named after the local name for artemisia vulgaris, common in those parts and we usually know it as mugwort. Our wormwood, and that of Van Gogh and chums, is artemisia absinthum (Absinthe), but yes, it is all rather close to Wormwood the Star in Revelations !

 

[Thalestris24]

`Mugwort' isn't at all ironic!

[SilverAstro]

58 minutes ago, Thalestris24 said:

`Mugwort' isn't at all ironic!

Oh I dunno, perhaps the "mug" bit is ? when thinking of the ops. who removed the safeties to enable the tests

But they were not the first to experience a hydrogen explosion, before the Japanese, I think the honour goes to Canada back in the '50s ? About the time of our bigie pile fire (of the carbon moderator) whilst making plutonium in Cumberland.

 

[Thalestris24]

Anyway, seems like A vulgaris is the bitter one = biblical wormwood? 

ps got this from Wikipedia (Wormwood (Bible)):

A number of Bible scholars consider the term Wormwood to be a purely symbolic representation of the bitterness that will fill the earth during troubled times, noting that the plant for which Wormwood is named, Artemisia absinthium, or Mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, is a known Biblical metaphor for things that are unpalatably bitter.^[8][9] The Ukrainian language word for "wormwood" is чорнобиль or "chornobyl", the Ukrainian name of the town of Chernobyl.^[10] The Ukrainian word used in translating Revelation is полин or "polin".

[SilverAstro]

I dont watch 'tubes, they generally take forever to say very little and mostly contain ummms and arrrrs and cameras pointing the wrong way while they try to be budding martin scorseses. So I'll take your word for it !

But yes, as I said, it's complicated. You do a nice summary, it all depends if you take (herbal) (botanical) English or Biblical errrr King James whatever whatsit

[Thalestris24]

4 minutes ago, SilverAstro said:

I dont watch 'tubes, they generally take forever to say very little and mostly contain ummms and arrrrs and cameras pointing the wrong way while they try to be budding martin scorseses. So I'll take your word for it !

But yes, as I said, it's complicated. You do a nice summary, it all depends if you take (herbal) (botanical) English or Biblical errrr King James whatever whatsit

Well, the irony, I thought, was with Chernobyl = wormwood = the biblical wormwood (not that I'm religious in any way but it's a good yarn in places!

[SilverAstro]

2 minutes ago, Thalestris24 said:

 it's a good yarn in places!

Yep, it kept us out of mischief for a wee while

I dont think I was disputing the irony, just that it was complicated ! 

[Tim]

Ask a horticulturist who knows a little koine 

Artemesia absinthium takes it's name from the Greek word "Absinthe" and the Greek goddess Artemis (Roman Diana).  In true Greek tragedy style, in 350BC Artemesia II pined to death for her dead husband, who was also her brother, regularly drinking his ashes. It's better than Eastenders

In fact, the biblical reference mentioned refers to a star called Absinthe (Wormwood), so it has REALLY REALLY REALLY tenuous links to astronomy too

Thanks guys for keeping the thread on track and not getting involved in any kind of religious debate.  I think we are done here really, so will close the thread to prevent it being resurrected in years to come by anyone who does want to stir things up