If you ask the folks over at A&E’s History about the Rosetta Stone, they’ll tell you: “The Rosetta Stone is a slab of granitoid stone featuring a written decree issued in 196 B.C. by a group of Egyptian clergy and Egypt’s ruler, Ptolemy V, attesting to his generosity and devoutness. The decree is written in three ways: hieroglyphics, which were used mainly by priests; Demotic, a somewhat simpler script used for everyday purposes; and ancient Greek.” Perhaps the important part is that the writing system on the tablet has helped researchers understand the language, even though we’re talking about a gulf of over 1,600 years between the last use of hieroglyphics and today. In the modern day, “Rosetta Stone” often refers to a language learning software or, apparently, a slang term for when you get so stoned that you start becoming incoherent. For us car people, our Rosetta Stones might be manuals written in other languages. Jason tried to get you poor readers to translate a Heinkel Kabine brochure. Jason suggested that it’s like the Rosetta Stone, but reader A. Barth had a better idea: From the pic, it resembles an Isetta stone. The pedants in the audience will say that a Kabine is not the same as an Isetta, but this was too hilarious to pass up. And despite the humor, there’s some truth to the matter. Working on an unknown vehicle can teach you so much. At the very least, you may end up learning new swear words, perhaps in new languages. Congrats on COTD, A. Barth! Thank you very much! It’s not often the opportunity arises for a car-related bad joke. 😀
