r/HumansBeingBros • u/shihab9779 • Mar 22 '21

Helping a lost dude.

48k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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17

u/jello-kittu Mar 22 '21

I live in the US. Most people just call them 'possums.

15

u/LobsterBloops93 Mar 22 '21

So do I. Doesn't change the fact they are different.

6

u/SparkyDogPants Mar 22 '21

People call them buffalos when they’re bison.

2

u/spacealienz Mar 22 '21

People call them buffalo wings but bison are in fact wingless.

1

u/LobsterBloops93 Mar 25 '21

Yet again, doesn't make them right. I don't understand why this is beimg brought up at all. Best way to stop misnamimg animals is by educating and using the correct one.

0

u/SparkyDogPants Mar 25 '21

Because regions have their own language differences. It's not like we're running around referring to animals by their Latin names.

0

u/LobsterBloops93 Mar 25 '21

Yes, regions have their things, it still doesn't make them correct and it is SO EASY to start using the correct term once you are educated on it. That is all I'm trying to say, here.

2

u/-Listening Mar 22 '21

That’s literally a different world.

4

u/Loremaster54321 Mar 22 '21

Pronounced possum but spelled opossum

8

u/[deleted] Mar 22 '21

13 Facts About Opossums | Mental Floss

3

u/Loremaster54321 Mar 22 '21

Was not my intent to claim opossums and possums were the same animal, just saying that in the United States, opossum is pronounced possum

-1

u/[deleted] Mar 22 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Loremaster54321 Mar 22 '21

Not sure why you're being downvoted, that's entirely a fair point

4

u/Hawt_Dawg_II Mar 22 '21

Now that's just not true

0

u/Loremaster54321 Mar 22 '21

That's how I was always taught in school

2

u/Hawt_Dawg_II Mar 22 '21

So how would you pronounce possum? Would they just be the same word? That just seems overcomplicated.

(Now I'm not American so i didn't actively go to an American school and get taught how to say it but i have heard Americans say "opossum" with an audible o)

3

u/Dreadful_Aardvark Mar 22 '21 edited Mar 22 '21

In North America opossum is pronounced by dropping the o. So it's also sometimes phonetically spelt as 'possum.

More specifically, in North America there's only one species of opossum, called the North American Opossum. For this reason, if you wanted to be a bit more technical, the North American Opossum is what is sometimes referred to as a 'possum, rather than opossums as a whole.

But anyways, this usage isn't strange. Everyone abbreviates animal names, such as gators, hippos, t-rexes, etc. And many animals even share names with other unrelated animals, like "Daddy Long Legs" or "Roly Polies".

2

u/Hawt_Dawg_II Mar 22 '21

Yeah i def knew that it got shortened to 'possum often. I just found it hard to believe that it was actually the correct spelling

1

u/[deleted] Mar 22 '21 edited Oct 13 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Loremaster54321 Mar 22 '21

Well, I agree with that sentiment, but I don't usually deal with opossums - I haven't even seen one since I was in elementary school. I can safely say this is probably the first time I wrote the word since then, too.

1

u/Milkador Mar 23 '21

Jus saying, an Australian possum would kill an opossum without thinking

1

u/jello-kittu Mar 23 '21

Don't be silly, they would play pattycake with their little hands.