Please, please, people. Let's put the 'awe' back in 'awesome'
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0:01 - 0:04How many times have you used
the word "awesome" today? -
0:04 - 0:08Once? Twice? Seventeen times?
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0:08 - 0:10Do you remember what you were describing
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0:10 - 0:11when you used the word?
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0:11 - 0:14No, I didn't think so, because
it's come down to this, people: -
0:14 - 0:16You're using the word incorrectly,
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0:16 - 0:18and tonight I hope to show you
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0:18 - 0:22how to put the "awe" back in "awesome."
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0:22 - 0:24Recently, I was dining at an outdoor cafe,
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0:24 - 0:26and the server came up to our table,
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0:26 - 0:28and asked us if we had dined there before,
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0:28 - 0:30and I said, "Yes, yes, we have."
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0:30 - 0:33And she said, "Awesome."
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0:33 - 0:35And I thought, "Really?
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0:35 - 0:37Awesome or just merely good
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0:37 - 0:42that we decided to visit your restaurant again?"
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0:42 - 0:44The other day, one of my coworkers asked me
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0:44 - 0:47if I could save that file as a PDF,
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0:47 - 0:51and I said, "Well, of course," and he said, "Awesome."
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0:51 - 0:57Seriously, can saving anything as a PDF
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0:57 - 1:00be awesome?
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1:00 - 1:03Sadly, the frequent overuse of the word "awesome"
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1:03 - 1:07has now replaced words like "great" and "thank you."
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1:07 - 1:11So Webster's dictionary defines the word "awesome"
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1:11 - 1:16as fear mingled with admiration or reverence,
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1:16 - 1:19a feeling produced by something majestic.
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1:19 - 1:21Now, with that in mind,
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1:21 - 1:24was your Quiznos sandwich awesome?
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1:24 - 1:27How about that parking space? Was that awesome?
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1:27 - 1:29Or that game the other day? Was that awesome?
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1:29 - 1:31The answer is no, no and no.
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1:31 - 1:33A sandwich can be delicious,
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1:33 - 1:35that parking space can be nearby,
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1:35 - 1:38and that game can be a blowout,
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1:38 - 1:42but not everything can be awesome.
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1:42 - 1:44(Laughter)
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1:44 - 1:46So when you use the word "awesome"
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1:46 - 1:49to describe the most mundane of things,
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1:49 - 1:52you're taking away the very power of the word.
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1:52 - 1:54This author says, "Snowy days
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1:54 - 1:59or finding money in your pants is awesome."
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1:59 - 1:59(Laughter)
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1:59 - 2:01Um, no, it is not,
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2:01 - 2:08and we need to raise the bar for this poor schmuck.
(Laughter) -
2:08 - 2:11So in other words, if you have
everything, you value nothing. -
2:11 - 2:14It's a lot like drinking from a firehose
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2:14 - 2:18like this jackass right here.
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2:18 - 2:20There's no dynamic, there's no highs or lows,
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2:20 - 2:22if everything is awesome.
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2:22 - 2:24Ladies and gentlemen, here are 10 things
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2:24 - 2:26that are truly awesome.
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2:26 - 2:29Imagine, if you will, having to schlep
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2:29 - 2:30everything on your back.
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2:30 - 2:32Wouldn't this be easier for me
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2:32 - 2:34if I could roll this home?
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2:34 - 2:37Yes, so I think I'll invent the wheel.
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2:37 - 2:39The wheel, ladies and gentlemen.
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2:39 - 2:42Is the wheel awesome? Say it with me.
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2:42 - 2:46Yes, the wheel is awesome!
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2:46 - 2:48The Great Pyramids were the tallest
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2:48 - 2:49man-made structure in the world
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2:49 - 2:52for 4,000 years.
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2:52 - 2:55Pharaoh had his slaves move millions of blocks
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2:55 - 2:59just to this site to erect a big freaking headstone.
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2:59 - 3:01Were the Great Pyramids awesome?
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3:01 - 3:03Yes, the pyramids were awesome.
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3:03 - 3:05The Grand Canyon. Come on.
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3:05 - 3:08It's almost 80 million years old.
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3:08 - 3:10Is the Grand Canyon awesome?
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3:10 - 3:12Yes, the Grand Canyon is.
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3:12 - 3:16Louis Daguerre invented photography in 1829,
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3:16 - 3:18and earlier today,
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3:18 - 3:20when you whipped out your smartphone
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3:20 - 3:23and you took a shot of your awesome sandwich,
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3:23 - 3:24and you know who you are —
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3:24 - 3:27(Laughter) —
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3:27 - 3:29wasn't that easier than exposing the image
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3:29 - 3:31to copper plates coated with iodized silver?
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3:31 - 3:34I mean, come on. Is photography awesome?
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3:34 - 3:35Yes, photography is awesome.
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3:35 - 3:38D-Day, June 6, 1944,
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3:38 - 3:40the Allied invasion of Normandy,
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3:40 - 3:44the largest amphibious invasion in world history.
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3:44 - 3:47Was D-Day awesome? Yes, it was awesome.
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3:47 - 3:50Did you eat food today? Did you eat?
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3:50 - 3:52Then you can thank the honeybee, that's the one,
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3:52 - 3:55because if crops aren't pollinated, we can't grow food,
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3:55 - 3:57and then we're all going to die.
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3:57 - 3:58It's just like that.
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3:58 - 4:01But it's not like a flower can just get up
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4:01 - 4:03and have sex with another flower,
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4:03 - 4:05although that would be awesome.
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4:05 - 4:08(Laughter)
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4:08 - 4:11Bees are awesome. Are you kidding me?
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4:11 - 4:15Landing on the moon! Come on!
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4:15 - 4:18Apollo 11. Are you kidding me?
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4:18 - 4:21Sixty-six years after the Wright Brothers
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4:21 - 4:24took off from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,
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4:24 - 4:27Neil Armstrong was 240,000 miles away.
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4:27 - 4:29That's like from here to the moon.
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4:29 - 4:31(Laughter)
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4:31 - 4:34That's one small step for a man,
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4:34 - 4:36one giant leap for awesome!
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4:36 - 4:38You're damn right, it was.
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4:38 - 4:42Woodstock, 1969: Rolling Stone Magazine said
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4:42 - 4:45this changed the history of rock and roll.
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4:45 - 4:48Tickets were only 24 dollars back then.
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4:48 - 4:51You can't even buy a freaking t-shirt for that now.
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4:51 - 4:54Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
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4:54 - 4:57was the most iconic.
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4:57 - 4:59Was Woodstock awesome? Yes, it was awesome.
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4:59 - 5:02Sharks! They're at the top of the food chain.
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5:02 - 5:04Sharks have multiple rows of teeth
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5:04 - 5:06that grow in their jaw
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5:06 - 5:09and they move forward like a conveyor belt.
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5:09 - 5:13Some sharks can lose 30,000 teeth in their lifetime.
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5:13 - 5:15Does awesome inspire fear?
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5:15 - 5:19Oh, hell yeah, sharks are awesome!
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5:19 - 5:22The Internet was born in 1982
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5:22 - 5:26and it instantly took over global communication,
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5:26 - 5:28and later tonight, when all these PowerPoints
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5:28 - 5:30are uplifted to the Internet
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5:30 - 5:33so that a guy in Siberia can get drunk
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5:33 - 5:36and watch this crap,
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5:36 - 5:38the Internet is awesome.
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5:38 - 5:41And finally, finally some of you can't wait
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5:41 - 5:44to come up and tell me how
awesome my PowerPoint was. -
5:44 - 5:46I will save you the time.
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5:46 - 5:48It was not awesome, but it was true,
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5:48 - 5:50and I hope it was entertaining,
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5:50 - 5:53and out of all the audiences I've ever had,
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5:53 - 5:56y'all are the most recent. Thank you and good night.
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5:56 - 6:00(Applause)
- Title:
- Please, please, people. Let's put the 'awe' back in 'awesome'
- Speaker:
- Jill Shargaa
- Description:
-
Which of the following is awesome: your lunch or the Great Pyramid of Giza? Comedian Jill Shargaa sounds a hilarious call for us to save the word "awesome" for things that truly inspire awe.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 06:13
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Please, please, people. Let's put the 'awe' back in 'awesome' | ||
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Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Please, please, people. Let's put the 'awe' back in 'awesome' | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Please, please, people. Let's put the 'awe' back in 'awesome' | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Please, please, people. Let's put the 'awe' back in 'awesome' | ||
Madeleine Aronson edited English subtitles for Please, please, people. Let's put the 'awe' back in 'awesome' | ||
Madeleine Aronson edited English subtitles for Please, please, people. Let's put the 'awe' back in 'awesome' |