And opening the lid slows global warming by blocking out the sun.

Question

Acer's $2999 Aspire 9810-6829 is so huge that starting it up causes nuclear power plants to go offline. Lifting it off a table-~~if you can~~-causes tides to rise in nearby harbors. And opening the lid slows global warming by blocking out the sun.

The above lines are regarding a laptop. They are so funy, which makes me begin to love the language of English.

Here are some remarks about the red part.

1) I do not think global warming is caused by blocking out the sun, instead of by stopping the warm or CO2 escaping from the earth. Do you think so?

2) So if I modify the line, may I do like this: And opening the lid puts the earth into another period of glacier by blocking out the sun. How about your modification?

Thanks a lot.

Osee

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Acer's $2999 Aspire 9810-6829 is so huge that starting it up causes nuclear power plants to go offline. Lifting it off a table-~~if you can~~-causes tides to rise in nearby harbors. And opening the lid slows global warming by blocking out the sun.

The above lines are regarding a laptop. They are so funy, which makes me begin to love the language of English.

Here are some remarks about the red part.

1) I do not think global warming is caused by blocking out the sun, instead of by stopping the warm or CO2 escaping from the earth. Do you think so? The writer does not say that global warming is caused by blocking out the sun. Anyway, such humorous writing is not very concerned with serious science.

2) So if I modify the line, may I do like this: And opening the lid puts the earth into another period of glacier by blocking out the sun. How about your modification?

'Another period of glacier' is not an idiomatic phrase. How about 'another Ice Age'?

Humour is a tricky thing. Sometimes, one way of saying things just sounds funnier than another, for no obvious reason. I prefer the original, perhaps because it makes a ridiculous claim in a gentler way, while your version makes it in a stronger way. The original just says that it 'slows global warming', which soundes like a more modest claim even though it is actually ridiculous.

Best wishes, Clive

CalifJim · Answer

Brevity is the soul of wit!
(Not logic!)

CJ

And opening the lid slows global warming by blocking out the sun.

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