Thirty

A little change this time and, to mark this the 30th birthday of my Jonathan, some facts about the number 30.

A polygon with thirty sides is a triacontagon. Adding all the internal angles, each of 168 degrees, totals 5040 degrees.

There are thirty major and minor keys in music.

It is a Harshad number, or a number divisible by the sum of its digits. Also known as a Niven number, the term Harshad was coined by D. R. Kaprekar and comes from the Sanskrit harsa 'joy' and give 'give and thus 'to give joy', while the alternative Niven Number remembers a paper delivered by Canadian-born mathematician Ivan M. Niven in 1977.

There are thirty upright stones forming the Sarsen Circle at Stonehenge.

Cats have just 30 teeth, 16 in the upper jaw and 14 in the lower.

In binary code 11110 is thirty, in French trente, Basque Hogeita hamar, Bosnian trideset, Catalan trenta, Croatian trideset, Danish tredive, Dutch dertig, Hungarian harminc, Irish triocha, Italian trenta, Norwegian tretti, Portuguese trinta, Romanian treizeci, Slovenian trideset, Spanish treinta, Swedish trettio, and Welsh deg ar hugain.

The 30th wedding anniversary is the Pearl Anniversary. Originally only silver and gold were marked, a tradition coming from Roman times, but over the years all manner of oddities have been added.

The atomic number of zinc is 30. It is the fourth most commonly used metal - after iron, aluminium and copper - over 50% of which is used as a rust-proof coating. It has been said to help prevent the common cold, although the side effects of bad breath and nausea may be worse than the cold itself.

The 30th November is Computer Security Day. Beginning in 1988 it is when computer vulnerabilities are highlighted.

The 30th president of the United States of America was Calvin Coolidge, the 30th UK prime minister was William Lamb serving his second term from 1835 to 1841.

A recent list of the world's richest people listed Elon Musk at number 30 with a net worth of $22.8 billion.

In area the 30th largest country in the world in Egypt, but by population that ranking goes to Spain.

The 30th person in space was Richard Gordon on Gemini 11, launched 12th September 1966. Like Michael Collins before him, he was the one left in orbit around the moon when the other two went for a walk on the Apollo 12 mission.

The 30th football club to win the English title were Liverpool, the 30th FA Cup Final Nottingham Forest, and the 30th League Cup Final Nottingham Forest.

Namibia Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Namibian cities.

Windhoek has a number of explanations, although most believe it comes from the Afrikaans wind-hoek or 'wind corner'. Others point to Captain Jonker Afrikaner, who is reported to have named the place after the Winterhoek Mountains in South Africa, home to his ancestry, and suggested as there is no earlier mention of Windhoek until a letter from the captain in August 1844.

Walvis Bay is named, somewhat obviously, after the bay on which it stands. Its name comes from the Afrikaans for 'whale bay'.

Swakopmund is German for 'mouth of the Swakop'. This river name comes from the Nama word Tsoakhaub meaning 'excrement opening'. This rather undignified origin actually refers to the river in flood, when it carries all manner of rubbish to the Atlantic, dead animals were particularly noticeable. There is a second explanation, this from the San language where xwaka ob refers to 'rhinocerous river', although this does not seem likely for these pachyderms are not particularly associated with water.

Henties Bay, the name of the town as well as the bay, recalls 1929 when Major Hendrik 'Henty' Stefanus van der Merwe discovered the place while looking for water. He and his party had been hunting for rhino, he looking to claim a reward offered by a Pennsylvania museum for a complete skeleton. Having killed the beast, it was stripped of its flesh and the bones carried it to the coast where, while desperately searching for water, they discovered this valley and its fresh water. He later returned to this spot to build a hut showing the water source and it developed into a tourist destination.

Omaruru is from the local Otjiherero language, it translates as 'bitter milk' and a reminder of when cattle grazed on a native bush which resulted in their milk tasting bitter.

Otjiwarongo is also from the Otjiherero language, this translating as 'beautiful place'.

Okahandja is a third from the Otjiherero tongue, this referring to 'where two rivers flow together to form one wide one', a rather long explanation for a confluence.

Grootfontein translates as 'large spring' and reminds us of the nearby hot springs.

Mariental is named after the wife of Hermann Brandt, they headed up the first colony to settle here.

Outjo is the Otjiherero word for 'small hills'.

Gobabis had always been a region where elephants were common. This leading to it becoming a base for ivory hunters and doubling as a trading post. The name of Gobabis is said to be named by colonists who spoke of the goba bis 'the place where people quarelled'. However, it is not clear just what they were arguing about, perhaps the sense should be seen as bartering more than a disagreement. Earlier the local Khoekhoegowab word khoandabesor 'where the elephant came to lick'.

Keetmanshoop is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and the city's principal benefactor. Earlier the place had been known as Nutgoaes or 'black marsh'.

Karasburg is a reminder of the 'karst springs' found here, the waters contain a high degree of dissolved minerals from the soft limestone rocks.

Luderitz is named after Hanseat Adolf Luderitz, a merchant and founder of German South West Africa.

Oranjemund is German for 'mouth of the Orange', the river named by Colonel Robert Gordon in honour of William V of Orange. Previously it had been known as the Groote Rivier or 'great river' by the Dutch, and earlier still as the Gariep, a name which has returned to favour recently, means 'big water'.

Arandis comes from the Khoekhoegowab meaning 'the place where people cry' and is home to the world's largest uranium mine.

Usakos is from the Damara word for 'grab the heel'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Myanmar Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Myanmar's cities.

Yangon is a combination of the Burmese words yan and koun meaning 'enemies' and 'run out of', most often translated as 'end of strife'. Note during the colonial period the name of Rangoon is simply an Anglicised version of the local pronunciation.

Mandalay was originally the name of the nearby hill. Three rather different explanations have been offered for this place name. One suggests it comes from an unknown Pali word, which is not much help. At least the others have a common theme in topography, at least loosely. Perhaps this is mandala, a reference to 'circular plains', or even a name of Mandara, this a mountain mentioned in Hindu mythology.

Naypyidaw is the Burmese for 'the abode of the king' and generally accepted as 'capital'.

Taunggyi is 'huge mountain' in Burmese, a ridge with a high point named Taung-chun 'the spur'.

Mawlamyine is from Moulmein 'damaged eye' or perhaps 'one-eyed man'. This name is born of a legend, one where a Mon king had a third eye in the centre of his forehead, through this he could see events in neighbouring kingdoms. Unhappy with this advantage, one neighbouring ruler gave his daughter in marriage and she managed to destroy the all-seeing third eye.

Myitkyina is Burmese for 'near the big river'. Said river is indeed big, for the Ayeyarwady (most often seen as Irrawaddy) and is from Pali for the name of the elephant mount of Sakka, the ruler of Trayastrimsa Heaven.

Pathein is thought to come from an Old Mon name meaning 'river' or 'sea', perhaps even 'big sea'.

Pyay is Burmese for 'country', but refers to the ruins of the city some five miles away known as Sri Kstera from the Sanskrit for 'blessed place, country'.

Meiktila comes from Mithila, the name of an ancient Indian kingdom.

Taungoo is Ketumadi and translates to 'possessed of the royal standard'.

Sittwe comes from the Burmese Saite-Twey and trranslates as 'the place where the war meets'. This is a reference to when the Burmese King Bodawpaya, whose forces invaded the Mrauk U Kingdom in 1794 and fought a successful battle on land and water.

Sagaing was Zeyapura which translates as 'city of victory'.

Dawei comes from the Mon language and means 'to sit cross-legged' and a reference to Buddha's posture on the throne.

Bhamo is from the Shan language and means 'village of the potters'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.