[jackpeterfletch]

This is fag packet math, so I'll spare any exact figures.

But if the second wave data for the UK is anything to go by, confirmed cases vs actual cases was at _least_ 5x for the first wave.

There obivously are other factors, but with increased testing that multiplier only climbs, bringing herd immunity numbers actually within reasonable grasp.

I strongly suspect there have been similar effects in the US.

[jayd16]

>This is fag packet math

Is this what they call napkin math in the UK? Back of the cigarette pack math?

[hondo77]

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-of-the-envelope_calculati...: In British English, a similar idiom is "back of a fag packet".

[dboreham]

To be consistent I think it should be "fag packet maths".

[bigbubba]

(People scribble on cigarette packages? Aren't those waxed cardboard or something? I wouldn't expect a pen to work well on those.)

[pbhjpbhj]

FWIW they almost certainly didn't write on a cigarette package in this instance ;o)

It's just the name of that type of maths because people used to use whatever small, available, piece of paper was around - so cigarette packs some time ago (you definitely could write on them with a ballpoint pen (ie un bic).

Getting tangential, napkins to me in the UK have always been cloth, and we have serviettes (a French word, meaning sheet IIRC) made of paper to wipe our mouths with.

Our language gets more and more influenced by USA "English" usage, so perhaps youth would just call it a napkin. People do say 'paper napkin' but without the qualifier it's a fancy piece of cloth [to me].

[jjgreen]

    Our language gets more and more influenced by USA "English" usage,

That's a two-way street https://notoneoffbritishisms.com/

[mikelward]

I can't decide whether to use the term cutlery (mainly UK) or silverware (mainly US). They're both inaccurate, especially when asking for plastic/disposable versions.

[PaulDavisThe1st]

https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2008/09/stem...

[pbhjpbhj]

If it includes a knife then "cutlery" seems accurate? Sometimes I'll just make a compound of the items "spoons-and-forks" (when it's pasta for tea [tea meaning evening meal where I come from]).

[bigbubba]

'Utensils' seems accurate, although imprecise.

[Izkata]

This is actually the one I've always jumped to (in the US). "Silverware" and "cutlery" have always had a fancy restaurant vibe, rather than a be a word for an everyday object.

[Buttons840]

I carry a Fisher Space Pen in my pocket with my keys. It can write on wax paper. The ink cartridges are pressurized.