Comments on: it’s beginning to look a lot like…

By: Mandy

Mandy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:55:37 +0000

Grew up in Waterloo Ontario, and it was a remote. Live in Vancouver with my Manitoba born husband and it is a remote. I *have* heard converter, but really, it’s a remote.

By: Carmen

Carmen — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:50:40 +0000

I’m Canadian, born & raised, and I’ve never heard anyone call it the converter. Maybe you’re hanging out with some strange folks? I call it the remote.

By: Kristabella

Kristabella — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:29:26 +0000

Canadians are weird. We call it the remote. My Aunt calls it the “buttons” and my roommate from college called it a “motey”.

By: Tali

Tali — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:22:49 +0000

Changer.

I’m pretty sure that one’s really Canadian.

By: zeghsy

zeghsy — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:29:30 +0000

it’s a clicker. the noise it’s SUPPOSED to make is “bloop”. mine doesn’t. it’s not tivo. i’ve complained. hmph.

By: Jamy

Jamy — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:23:31 +0000

I’m from Canada. Its a remote, and only a remote. Converter…whats that…meh.

By: LAVENDULA

LAVENDULA — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:51:47 +0000

clicker

By: Nenette

Nenette — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:07:09 +0000

remote, clicker, changer, and even sometimes “the tv thingy”…

“converter” will get you mocked in this all-too-Canadian household.

By: agentninety9

agentninety9 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:22:55 +0000

Ok, after reading your comments I just feel old. Thanks for that.

I don’t know that ‘converter’ is innately Canadian; but it is a relic of a word that just won’t go away. Converters convert the signal being received so I think it’s a throwback to when cable was first introduced. You had to have a cable converter box. In the 70′s we had these big brown caveman versions of today’s remotes that went along with said converter box. Like Tracy said, you could sit your ass on the couch and not have to get up to change the channel. They were connected to the TV with a big long wire which someone inevitably tripped over or the cat chewed on it. They had big buttons or a slider to change the channel. Here – this is what they looked like http://bit.ly/70sRule . We called it a converter in our house, but I knew some that called it a clicker; the buttons made a big clicking sound when pressed.

I seriously doubt anyone under 30 has ever heard of a converter because the battery operated type started surfacing in the 80’s; took me years to start calling it a remote.
.-= agentninety9´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday =-.

By: Loralee

Loralee — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:23:58 +0000

Dude! It looks like we are going to be moving at exactly the same time and arriving in the same condition at BlogHer. Only, I will not be shopping so the homeless (and fatass due to the 20 baby pounds I haven’t lost) will endure the whole trip for moi.

Le sigh.
.-= Loralee´s last blog ..In which my husband gets the last word. Dammit. =-.