Re: Da Mellon's boat still for sale

On Mon, 05 May 2008 06:41:28 +0200, lonchamp <floncham@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

>Martin a écrit :
>> On Sun, 04 May 2008 23:36:15 +0200, lonchamp <floncham@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
>> 
>>> Martin a écrit :
>>>
>>>> The liftoff
>>>> ... toc decollage ...
>>>    top décollage
>> 
>> OK why "top"?
>
>onomatopoeia used to pinpoint a precise moment of time (since 1859).
>"Au 4ème top, il sera 6 h" (at the 4th top, it'll be 6), as used on the 
>speaking clock and on French long-wave radio to broadcast time signal 
>every hour to ****ps at sea (3 short pips and a longer one)

Why isn't it pronounced to rhyme with trop? 
The countdown is just a performance to give the impression that a set of
computers aren't controlling the whole thing.
-- 

Martin