The Magic Of Cinema ... ?
As a guy, it's my inalienable right to incessantly quote movies (or TV shows, or song lyrics) to the point that for the folks who don't get the reference, it's guaranteed to raise an eyebrow. I remember that my buddy Matt and I during our college trip to Europe continually repeated this line:
Hey! They've got cheesecake!
Recognize it? OF COURSE YOU DON'T. It was from a play he'd been in that year in college, the name of which I am not entirely sure I ever knew. But it made us laugh.
Most of my favorite movies are eminently quotable, which makes the site Bad Translator extremely fun. I found this from my friend A.J. Mass's site Mass Confusion, which you should add to your reading list stat.
And then, of course, I wasted some time.
The site essentially takes the text you input (regrettably, with a maximum of 250 characters) and puts it through as many web-based translation services as possible, converting it back into English each time. The result is, as might be expected, a terrible mess that bears little resemblance to the original.
For instance, remember when Kevin Costner said this?
"Hit churches, hotels, bed and head baseball and women's feet."
Of course you don't. That's because the original quote, from Bull Durham, went like this:
"You hit white balls for batting practice, the ballparks are like cathedrals, the hotels all have room service, and the women all have long legs and brains. "
Want to have some more fun? Here are some more quotes, with the original source below the fold. See if you can even guess one -- in fact, I'd bet my life NOBODY can. This translator is just that bad!
"Eyiumyeo leader, for instance, my bad if you're interested in hiring you to speak with a love for animals in the circus, Abraham Cahan low."
"Table or support the first year of the world. I am pleased with the progress of program activities. The total cost of treatment."
Dresses & Grace, some ... In the near future. 2 pilot to attack the former dolores services - as Expanding expert 10,000 meters."
In order, these are the original quotes from above:
"Let me tell you why I suck as a sales man. Let's say I go into a guy's office, let's say he's even remotely interested in buying something. Well then I get all excited. I'm like Jojo the idiot circus boy with a pretty new pet. " -- Tommy from Tommy Boy
Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. -- Agent Smith from The Matrix
The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. -- Carl Spackler, Caddyshack
Enjoy the madness.