#woden

One thing I always find funny is sci fi media where the spacefaring civilizations have "universal translator" devices that can decode completely foreign alien languages automatically, not just because it's pretty impossible to do that as-is, but also because how would it know not to over-translate? All words except onomatopoeia come from other languages ultimately, and that can drastically change the meaning. Like imagine the look of horror on an alien who translates "Jenny, let's have hamburgers Wednesday!" when it comes out as "Pale one, let us claim possession of the people from Hamburg, Germany, on Woden's day!" or "Spirit of the dead, allow us to eat the people of the riverbend town, upon the day of the Lord of Frenzy!"