Atlantica - 01.03.2001, Qupperneq 14

12 A T L A N T I C A
Hailing a taxi during the weekend in Reykjavík is like hunting a
dodo. Okay, so you’ve got a decent chance of capturing a dodo.
Seriously, if you’re in a hotel, bed and breakfast or a youth hos-
tel on a Friday or Saturday night waiting for a taxi to whiz you
downtown, pour yourself a long drink, sit back and relax.
While you wait, perhaps you might begin to wonder about the
origin of the word taxi. After all, even in non-English speaking
countries the signs on the tops of cabs almost always read
TAXI, except for those gypsy cabs in New York City.
Our friends at the Oxford English Dictionary say the word
comes from the “early 20th century: an abbreviation of taxi-
cab... (see taximeter)”. Read down the page to taximeter and it
becomes a bit more interesting: the origin is late 19th century
from the French “taximètre”, which comes from “taxe”, ‘tariff’,
from the verb “taxer” meaning to tax.
Speaking of taxes, for you Americans in the viewing audience,
if the April deadline is bringing you down, write in for the
much-talked-about Presidential tax break that was promised.
What, the cheque’s in the mail? Sure, and the taxi’s on its way.
EW
airmail
Legend states that, in 490 BC, a Greek mes-
senger named Pheidippides ran 25 miles
from Marathon to Athens to spread the news
of the dramatic Greek victory over superior
Persian invaders. Upon his arrival, Pheidippides
called out to Athenians, “Just Do It,” as he held
up a sign that later became known to millions of
consumers as the Nike swoosh.
Well, not really. Closer investigation shows that
Pheidippides was sent from Athens to Sparta, a dis-
tance of some 150 miles. What about the swoosh?
That’s still a mystery.
Regardless of what you believe, in 1896 the first mod-
ern Olympics were held in Athens after more than 1,500
years and one of the flagship events was a 25-mile race.
One year later, on Patriots’ Day, the first Boston Marathon
was run, with J. McDermott of New York crossing the
finishing line in a winning time of 2:55:10 hours.
This year marks the 105th running of the Boston Marathon,
and organisers anticipate that the April 16th race will be one of
the grandest to date with 15,000 athletes expected to qualify, plus
thousands of bandits – athletes who don’t qualify, but run anyway.
Having been a spectator at the historic event, let me tell you that the city
of Boston is the place to be on race day. Visitors from all across the globe
come to the Hub city either to compete, or take part, in the world’s longest
continually run marathon. Look closely, you might not see any Greek messengers
toiling across the 26.2 mile (42.195 km) route, but you will see plenty of Nikes. EW
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Racing in the Streets
Funny Old Word: Taxi
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