On Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:38:42 -0400, clare at snyder dot ontario dot
canada wrote:

On Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:59:58 -0500, Richard J Kinch
wrote:

Ed Huntress writes:

Ah, my memory let me down. It was naptha that he told me was "white
gas," not Stoddard Solvent.

Naptha is a brand name for soap. Naphtha is the petroleum product.

If you say so. However, "Petroleum Naptha" is how it is referred to by
the Canadean Environment ministries, the Ontario Energy Board, and
Imperial oil. Among many other credible sources. In the USA Naphtha IS
the standard spelling (The Yanks leave letters out for just about
everything else, but throw in the duperfluous "H" to make naptha into
naphtha. Now they want to screw up NAFTA too - which they stuffed
down the throats of the rest of North America because it suited them.
Now that it looks like Canada and Mexico are winning, (which they MAY,
or may NOT) they are talking about changing it again

Seriously - nothing against our good neighbours to the south.

What, we're trying to change it to NAPHTA? It would probably be
NAPHTER but we wouldn't want to offend the gangsta minority.

I don't know if Canada is winning yet, but Mexico sure is! Funny how
illegal aliens drift north ...perhaps the Mexicans will eventually end
up in Canada like our draft-dodgers did a generation ago? Hope
springs eternal...

We seem to be following Canada's example in becoming increasingly
bilingual -- with English as a second language. "If you speak only
English, press 1 and your call will be transferred to Bangalore.
Welcome to 911, your call is very important to us."

A bit further south it might be something like,
"If y'll don't speak 'murrican, go to hell! If this is an emergency,
deal with it cuz Bubba's kinda busy raht now, hooo-eeee!"