I think Russian is an awesome language.

In fact, I've been wanting to learn it for quite some time. So at Borders today I didn't pass up the chance to leaf through Russian for Dummies. Granted, I didn't retain much of it, except for this incredibly useful phrase: S lyogkim parom! or literally, Congratulations on a light steam!

Let me explain "incredibly useful," all facetious undertones aside. The phrase is used in Russian culture toward anyone who leaves a shower, sauna, or any place where you can, let's say, clean yourself. (This is where you brainstorm innumerable volumes of applications for this.) I think we need a phrase like this in English. I'm thinking perhaps of a national commercial hygiene initiative, in which a charismatic, well-to-do spokesperson bestows his congratulations on all for their impeccable cleaning habits. (Think Walt Frasier meets Cinema of Russia.) It would inspire national morale, boost the economy, and promote cleanliness in an otherwise repulsive population.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Cool junk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.