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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread Speaking of antecedents: #160999 07/16/06 11:17 AM Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 3,467 Marion NC TEd Remington OP Carpal Tunnel OP TEd Remington Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 3,467 Marion NC This was a recent headline about a very rare lobster captured recently: The chances of catching one of these is at least one in 50 million It would have taken SO little to make this correct! ARGH TEd Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Speaking of antecedents: #161000 07/17/06 02:37 PM Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 557 Dallas, TX M Myridon addict Myridon addict M Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 557 Dallas, TX Free Republic says in both the lead and the story "say the odds or finding a half-and-half lobster are 1 in 50 million to 100 million." While looking for the story, it seems that another one was caught in Nova Scotia the week before that was not only 2 colors but 2 sexes. The other statistical problem is that they mean that 1 in 50 to 100 million lobsters are half-and-half colored. The odds of someone finding one would vary depend on how many lobsters he catches. The odds of my catching a lobster of even one color are 0. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Speaking of antecedents: #161001 07/17/06 03:08 PM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 B belMarduk Carpal Tunnel belMarduk Carpal Tunnel B Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 2,891 >>The odds of my catching a lobster of even one color are 0. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Speaking of antecedents: #161002 07/17/06 03:30 PM Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 3,467 Marion NC TEd Remington OP Carpal Tunnel OP TEd Remington Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 3,467 Marion NC I was talking about the sentence itself. Let me put it another way. The chances of my letting you buy me a drink are at least one in 50 million. Actually the chances are much closer to 50 million in 50 million. The headline could have been made technically correct in one of two ways: The odds of catching such a lobster are at least 50 million to one. OR The chances of catching such a lobster are one in at least 50 million. As written, the sentence says the chances are at least one in 50 million, implying that they may well be greater than one in 50 million, perhaps even 10 in 50 million or 1000 in 50 million, but the at least modifies the one and not the 50 million. TEd Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: Speaking of antecedents: #161003 07/17/06 03:38 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel AnnaStrophic Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 6,511 lower upstate New York Yep. And the subject-verb agreement in the original sentence is wrong, too. [/prescriptivist] Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter subject verb agreement #161004 07/18/06 01:25 AM Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 3,467 Marion NC TEd Remington OP Carpal Tunnel OP TEd Remington Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jul 2000 Posts: 3,467 Marion NC That may have been my typo TEd Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,913 Posts229,316 Members9,182 Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011 Newest Members Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV 9,182 Registered Users Who's Online Now 0 members (), 693 guests, and 1 robot. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 30 A C Bowden 13 ddrinnan 1 LukeJavan8 1 Top Posters wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 tsuwm 10,542 wofahulicodoc 10,533 LukeJavan8 9,916 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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