IS SNL GOING DOWNHILL?

Although SNL is a vaunted and much-loved institution for many, it’s drawn mixed reviews in recent months, leaving many to wonder what its future has in store. We’ve gathered a few Grape writers to share their thoughts.

“The Store Norske Leksikon (SNL for short) is a Norwegian encyclopedia that has both (old) print versions, and an online (free) version. This week, I ventured into the world wide web to see what SNL has to offer.

I figured I’d start with an easy word: hello. Everyone knows about the word hello. The first result that SNL gave me was “Hello, Dolly!” While this wasn’t what I was expecting, I was still pleasantly surprised. I’m a huge fan of old musicals, and this made me feel like SNL cared about me personally.

Next, I decided to go to the homepage and see what they were offering people there. I found an entry about Pål Grøt. Who was Pål Grøt, you ask? Why, he was a Norwegian rose painter, wood carver, and carpenter! Many mugs and beer bowls that he made have been preserved. Why didn’t he make cups instead of bowls for beer? I don’t know, SNL didn’t tell me that.

It was about this point that I was starting to real ize the shortcomings that SNL has. For one, it’s in Norwegian. I don’t know any Norwegian. I had to Google Translate everything if I wanted to under stand it, and we all know how bad that can be.

I decided to abandon Google Translate. While I couldn’t understand any word that didn’t look at least slightly like English, there were still nice pic tures to look at. From those, I could at least figure out what the entry was about, even if I wasn’t learn ing anything. I went down a rabbit hole about biol ogy.

Also, the layout is quite nice. All information is clear, as long as you know Norwegian. Their little bird logo thing is cute too.

In conclusion, SNL, helpful if you know Norwe gian, bad if you don’t. And now, as a present, here’s some fun words I found and translated:

Ekteskapsformidleren - the marriage broker

Samsvarsbøying - compliance inflection

Skiskyting - biathlon made of skiing and shooting

Tuberkelbakterie - tubercle bacteria

Publikumsvennlige - public friendly”

- Ellen Efstathiou

“The level of excitement I had for writing this may be mildly concerning. In middle school I had a hyperfixation on logistical information relating to airports. I have looked at the “airlines and des tinations” section of the Wikipedia pages of termi nals more than the average closeted teen looks at the “personal life” section of celebrities. The images earn solid marks. The interior is giving dentist’s of fice. #waiting-room-core. The SNL website is sexy enough, with ooh-inducing terms like “comment/ request” and “city emergency management.” What kind of emergency? The cute little thundercloud emoji might provide some hints, a kawaiification of natural disaster. It’s compelling, methinks.”

- Zach Terrillion, on the Shawnee Regional Air port (Federal Location Identifier-SNL)

“I’ve heard a lot of people say that they’re going to stop watching SNL, but I think that’s a fool’s errand—there’s literally nowhere better to keep up to date on the happenings of U.K. ice hockey than in the Scottish National League. Yeah, there’s been a lot of recent turnover, but that’s to be expected in such a high-stress environment, and it’s hard to deny that they’ve got some real talent going for them right now. The Aberdeen Lynx remain a clear favorite for league champion, but their recent loss at the hands of the Kirkcaldy Kestrels could throw everything into question. Though currently sixth in the league, the Kestrels themselves have a couple of wild cards up their sleeves, including 18-year-old wunderkind Innes Gallacher. He’s definitely going to be someone to watch for the next couple of years, and if the Kestrels are in an upswing, it could upset the entire league ranking. That’s not even getting into the Paisley Pirates’ recent double-header, which could easily put them above both the Edinburgh Capitals and the Dundee Comets. All that to say: if you think this season of SNL is boring, you aren’t paying attention.

If you’re instead referring to the other SNL (the Scottish National League of table tennis), I can acknowledge that they’ve had a rough year. Founder and leader Chris Dangerfield recently sold the rights to the league to Steve Pound, “an individual who has a long history with table tennis,” and critics have been left wondering where the league will go next. What will become of the youth brackets, the action shots, the judging committee hand-selected by the Board of Table Tennis Scotland? SNL might have an uncertain future, but it also boasts a long history of perseverance, courage and table tennis. Give it a little time, and it’ll once again reassert its place as a beloved national institution.”

- Isabel Hardwig, unprompted