On 08/03/2011 01:36 AM, Jim Henderson wrote:

> Receipts are useful for expense reports (nee required in most cases),

Agreed. In a commercial context, you want to keep track of this kind of 
thing.

> and
> yes, I do check that what I was charged is what I paid.  That's how you
> (a) avoid getting ripped off, and (b) avoid finding yourself in an
> overdraft situation.

So, what, you literally sit down and check all of the thousands of 
transactions you make, one at a time, to make sure every single one 
matches the printed recipt?

Doesn't that take an insane amount of time?

>> Why is it called a "square root"? Surely "square route" would make far
>> more sense...
>
> It seems to have grown out of the old English "Rote" (there's a citation
> circa 1425).  Etymologically it derives from the French word
> 'racine' (which translates to 'root', natch).  "radix" also is used, and
> that's latin for 'root'.

I knew it would be French! :-P

-- 
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