Between an election and the formation of a new government, we always go through a period of governance that includes people who are about to lose their jobs. We’ve adopted the expression “lame duck” for this period, as in a lame duck session of Congress. But where did this expression originate? And I can understand
The flexibility of the English language has always been a source of fascination for me. In the past, I’ve written about the origins of words and expressions, and how word meanings change over time. Recently, I’ve found another example in an article entitled “25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites” by Judith Herman (https://getpocket.com/explore/item/25-words-that-are-their-own-opposites). It’s
Along with pets, some nice plants really brighten a homestead. You may have heard that houseplants can also improve air quality. But is it really true? Well, maybe. Some supporting evidence comes from NASA, which was wondering if living greenery could help clean the air aboard a space station. A 1989 NASA experiment found that
If you love books, be glad you live in this era. There was a time when the best available writing materials were papyrus (interlocking strips cut from reedy plants) and parchment (the hides of sheep and cattle). Since papyrus and parchment were scarce and expensive, it was not uncommon for scholars to recycle materials by scraping off
Every holiday has its own unique expressions and phrases, and Thanksgiving is no exception. This year, with its limited celebratory options, I decided to investigate two of my favorites. Why are male turkeys called gobblers? According to Merriam-Webster, Gobbler appeared in the 18th century as the nickname for a male turkey, in imitation of the bird’s
I have always known Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist who invented dynamite, and later used the wealth his work created to found the Nobel Prizes (https://www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/). What I never realized was why. It may have all started with a case of mistaken identity. In 1888, Nobel’s brother Ludvig died in France from a heart
From the “I Wish I’d Written That Department,” here is a poem for the times. Solitudeby Ella Wheeler Wilcox Laugh, and the world laughs with you;Weep, and you weep alone.For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,But has trouble enough of its own.Sing, and the hills will answer;Sigh, it is lost on the air.The
Words can come from anywhere. They especially originate from contact with other cultures and in times of stress, like wars. I experienced this firsthand during the Vietnam era, when I was stationed in Thailand and heard how many Thai words my fellow airmen were using in their everyday conversation. Since I haven’t heard any of
Since there has been so much focus on polling during this year’s election cycle, I thought it appropriate to commemorate the birthday of George Gallup, born November 18, 1901 in Jefferson, Iowa. Gallup was a pioneer of survey sampling methods and founded the Gallup public-opinion poll. This is from The Writer’s Almanac of November 18, 2020
If you have a child between four and fourteen that wonders what it’s like to be grown up, one solution is to take them to a KidZania theme park. Unlike your typical ride-oriented park, KidZania parks provide the opportunity for children to play adult roles in their own scaled-down city. The parks are completely enclosed