I was talking with a friend who mentioned “taking tea to India”. It made me wonder what the equivalents are around the world. “Taking coals to Newcastle” is the UK’s.

    • @cygnus@lemmy.ca
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      23 days ago

      Same, or “he could sell igloos to eskimos” to describe an especially skilled salesman.

      • Nomecks
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        23 days ago

        I’ve heard “It’s like selling ice to Eskimos” used in the context of the OP

    • @LesserAbe@lemmy.world
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      1123 days ago

      Guess we’re getting pretty far from the “things to place” idea, but there’s always “preaching to the choir”

    • Xavienth
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      522 days ago

      Seems like that should actually be quite a useful task in the Netherlands considering all the polders!

  • Zagorath
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    2523 days ago

    Coals to Newcastle works well in Australia too. (I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard that in practice though.)

      • Hegar
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        23 days ago

        Bauxite is the obvious one. Bringing bauxite to Australia. How could you forget about bauxite?

    • Australia also has a Newcastle (in New South Wales, north of Sydney). Not sure if it has/had coal mines, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. Australians using the phrase may be referring to their Newcastle, and even unaware of the English one.

      • Zagorath
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        1423 days ago

        Australia also has a Newcastle (in New South Wales, north of Sydney)

        Yes, that’s why I mentioned it. When I said “works well in Australia”, what I meant was “in theory, the same logic you used to apply it to Newcastle-upon-Tyne could be used to apply it to Newcastle, NSW”, and not that it actually is used in Australia (I know I’ve never heard it).

        Not sure if it has/had coal mines

        Not just does it, but it is in fact home to Australia’s largest coal-shipping port. In fact, Port of Newcastle is, according to Wikipedia, the world’s largest coal terminal.

      • Norgur
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        1123 days ago

        Yes and no. It’s a circular relationship. The proverb is known to have already existed in Ancient Greece. The pantheon (the version that existed before Xerxes torched the place) was apparently inhabited by tons of owls, especially it’s roof construction. Since the pantheon was a temple to Athena, people assumed Athena held Owls holy and the owl became linked to Athena, and since Athena was the goddess of wisdom, Owls became a symbol of wisdom. Since the city and her patron goddess are related by name, Athens is linked to owls as well.

        But for the meaning: It’s to be taken literally. There were many owls in Athens, so they’d not exactly need any more.

      • @cygnus@lemmy.ca
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        623 days ago

        Originally it must be, but the animal itself became associated with the city too (for example their coinage almost always had an owl on it)

      • @NeptuneOrbit@lemmy.world
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        223 days ago

        I don’t know. My coworker just said that owls are a symbol of wisdom, and Athens (historically) is the center of wisdom.

  • @theRealBassist@lemmy.world
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    1923 days ago

    I feel like the closest in the deep south is just “preaching to the choir”. A redundant task which ignores a probably better path or explaining something to someone who doesn’t need it explained to them.

  • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]
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    1723 days ago

    I think “selling ice to Eskimos” is the American equivalent. Naturally, the amerikkka version of this phrase: 1) involves an exonym that’s a bit offensive 2) kinda makes doing a pointless exercise sound like a good thing.

    • @lud@lemm.ee
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      121 days ago

      kinda makes doing a pointless exercise sound like a good thing.

      Does it really?

      To me it sounds like something that would be hard or impossible and stupid to even try. Kinda like taking coal to Newcastle is pretty stupid and you will lose money doing it.

  • @KISSmyOSFeddit@lemmy.world
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    1523 days ago

    Germany:

    • carry owls to Athens

    Regional:

    • bring beer to Munich
    • carry peat to the bog
    • carry water to the Rhine
    • drive snails to Metz
  • @SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social
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    1022 days ago

    We also use “taking coals to Newcastle” here in the Midwestern U.S. (Something about being descended from former British colonies…) But I’ve heard plenty of riffs on that idea, like, “bringing corn to Iowa.”