General / Off-Topic Could Scotland house European spaceport?

[Thespen Tombs]

Worth a look

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25679000

 

[Geraldine]

While Scotland (for such a small place) has lots of empty space in the north of the country, any spaceport (as the existing airports do) would have to also contend with the (sometimes) wild weather there is here. So that might effect the decision making process too. Still, it would be a cool thing to see if they did build it.

 

[Philip Coutts]

As the master race of the world of course we should have a spaceport, we probably* invented space after all. Then we can open up the worlds first deep fried everything restaurant.

* Probably not factually correct in anyway.

On a serious note the weather up North could well be a n issue it does get pretty wild up there. It would be cool to have such a thing in Scotland as it would be handy for when I want to nip up into orbit. Although the chances of me having the spare cash to do this are nil.

 

[deMangler]

There is a lot of coal up there to use as fuel as well. You could buy some coal powered orbital rocketry tech off the welsh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBrjdQIH8uw

 

[Oss133]

There is an extensive list of things the Scots invented, but more interesting is the list of things that do not originally come from Scotland.

Scotland is named after the Scoti, who were Irish. Scots is actually a dialect of Irish (1). Kilts were also invented by the Irish though the word ‘kilt’ itself is Danish(2). The bagpipes were invented in Asia(3).

Haggis was invented in ancient Rome. Hogmanay is a French invention and a French word(4). Porridge was invented in ancient China. Whisky was invented in Italy(5).Clan tartans were invented by the English (6).

The telephone was invented by Antonio Meucci, an Italian-American, from whom Alexander Graham Bell outrageously stole the patent application and copied it.

The steam engine was invented in ancient Egypt by a Greek(6).

John Logie Baird was beaten to the invention of television by Philo T Farnsworth, an American.

Penicillin was known to the Bedouins of north Africa for thousands of years and the French got there well before Sir Alexander Fleming discovered it by accident.

FOOTNOTES

(1)The Scoti, a Celtic tribe from Ireland, arrived in what the Romans called Caledonia in the fifth or sixth century AD. By the 11th century they dominated the whole of mainland Scotland.

(3)From kilte op, ‘tuck up’.

(3)Probably. But definitely not in Scotland.

(4)In Norman French the word is hoguinané , from Old French aguillanneuf meaning the ‘last day of the year’, and a gift given on it accompanied by the cry ‘Aguillanneuf!’. It is possible that the word comes from aiguille à l’an neuf (‘pointer to the New Year’) though it has been suggested that the first part may derive from au gui (making it: ‘to the mistletoe at the New Year’).

(5)The Chinese were in fact the first to discover whisky, but it was first (independently) invented in Europe by the Italians in the 12th Century.

(6) The elaborate system of clan tartans is a complete myth stemming from the early nineteenth century. The word tartan, or tertaine (probably from the French meaning ‘silk stuff’) is mentioned vaguely in the 15th and 16th centuries, but the earliest known visual representation of tartan dates from 1660. The painting (in the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh) is supposed to be of a Campbell chieftain, but the pattern of small cross-checks on his clothes bears no resemblance to the Campbell or to any other known tartan. Paintings from the 18th Century sometimes show Highland gentlemen in tartan but in hotch-potches of any old mixtures they fancied. All Highland dress, including what tartan there was, was banned after the English crushed the Scots after the 1745 rebellion. The garrison regiments started designing their own (now suddenly uncharacteristically vivid tartans) as an affectation, particularly to make a special show for the state visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822. Queen Victoria encouraged the trend, which became something of a craze for the Victorians. The Scottish Tartans Society was founded in 1963.

 

[Sir.Tj]

There is an extensive list of things the Scots invented, but more interesting is the list of things that do not originally come from Scotland.

But they can always lay claim to inventing.

Susan Boils

Although I'm not too sure how I feel about that...

 

[Nagual]

There is an extensive list of things the Scots invented, but more interesting is the list of things that do not originally come from Scotland.

As far as I've understood tartan and whatnot, was it was generally used in bits. Almost like a badge, on your hat, scarf, belt or whatever you liked. It was in no way so overt as it is today. The creation of the Kilt uniform as we know have certain was created for us, so the Royals weren't offended by our crass and unkempt look. Plaids been about for much much longer though, although it may have been quite expensive comparably when compared to regular clothing and so not common plaid.