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Fact of the Day -ARACHNOPHOBIA Did you know.... Arachnophobia is among the most common phobias, and not just among humans. Spiders can have it too, and with good reason — spiders of certain species regularly eat each other (for food, after mating, and for other reasons scientists don’t fully understand). A 2021 study found that fear of fellow arachnids is prevalent among common zebra jumping spiders (Salticus scenicus), who were observed leaping away from larger jumping spider species in recognition of the latter’s status as potential predators. Even when placed near deceased Marpissa muscosa and Phidippus audax, the spiders froze up or ran away. The same effects were found even when baby Salticus scenicus were presented with 3D models that somewhat resembled the predators. Like their adult counterparts, baby jumping spiders have extremely strong eyesight and use their keen vision to detect and avoid threats — even when those threats aren’t actually moving. When it comes to humans, acrophobia (fear of heights), aerophobia (flying), trypanophobia (needles), and social phobias like public speaking also consistently rank among the most common fears. Approximately 19 million Americans have at least one phobia, most of which emerge when a person is between the ages of 15 and 20. Exposure therapy has been shown to help reduce these fears, at least when it comes to humans — jumping spiders may not be as lucky. There’s a (mostly) vegetarian spider. There are more than 45,000 species of spiders, and all but one of them are carnivores. The sole known exception is Bagheera kiplingi, which prefers a plant-based diet — for the most part, at least. Found across Latin America, the jumping spider is named in honor of both The Jungle Book’s black panther (Bagheera) and the book’s author (Rudyard Kipling). The arachnids reside in acacia trees and dine on nutrient-rich delicacies known as Beltian bodies (tips of the leaves of certain acacia species), which they steal from the ants who protect said trees. While these nutritious nodules make up 91% of their diet in Mexico and 60% in Costa Rica, B.kiplingi will occasionally drink nectar and, much more rarely, eat ant larvae, flies, or fellow spiders. Source: Spiders can have arachnophobia.

What's the Word: PERCENTILE pronunciation: [pər-SEN-tiyl] Part of speech: noun Origin: English, 19th century Meaning: 1. Each of the 100 equal groups into which a population can be divided according to the distribution of values of a particular variable. 2. Each of the 99 intermediate values of a random variable that divide a frequency distribution into 100 groups. Examples: "Melvin was above the 95th percentile for height as a baby, and he remained taller than his classmates all the way to graduation." "She ranked between the 90th and 94th percentiles on the SAT, meaning she scored better than between 90% and 94% of other students." About Percentile Bibelot originated from the French word "bel," which means "beautiful." It developed over time to become a descriptor of the baubles, tchotchkes, and doodads you might find scattered around your house. Did you Know? While “percentage” and “percentile” sound nearly identical, they mean very different things. A percentage is a number out of 100 indicating rate or performance, in which the higher the number, the greater the rate or performance. Percentiles, on the other hand, break any group of data into 100 equally sized segments for easy comparison with other data from the same group. For example, a person who scores 85% on a 100-question test has answered 85 out of 100 questions correctly. A person who scores in the 85th percentile on a test has scored higher than 85% of other people taking the test. As a result, a person taking a very difficult test might score 85% and discover they are within the 97th percentile of test-takers, because more than 97% of other test-takers scored below 85%.

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Fact of the Day - CHINESE TAKEOUT CONTAINERS Did you know... In the U.S., plenty of Chinese restaurant fare features produce that doesn’t grow in China, such as broccoli. Thus it shouldn’t be terribly surprising that Americans also took liberties with how Chinese food is packaged. While plastic containers are utilized to hold delivery and takeout dishes in China, diners in the States prefer a folded, six-sided box with a slim wire handle. Chicago inventor Frederick Weeks Wilcox patented this “paper pail” on November 13, 1894. Borrowing from Japanese origami, Wilcox elected to make each pail from a single piece of paper. This decision eventually proved critical in the transportation of Chinese cuisine, lessening the likelihood of leaks and allowing steam from hot foods to escape through the top folds. Another probable source of inspiration was the oyster pail, a wooden bucket with a locked cover that people used to carry raw oysters in the 19th century. Shortly after 1900, the company Bloomer Brothers started mass-producing Wilcox’s design specifically for toting oysters. As Americans began taking more advantage of suburban living and consumer conveniences after World War II, Chinese food delivery became an increasingly popular dinner option, with Wilcox’s containers of leftovers soon lining refrigerator shelves. During the 1970s, a graphic designer at Bloomer Brothers’ successor, the Riegel Paper Corporation, embellished the boxes to include a pagoda and the words “Thank You” and “Enjoy” — all in red, a color that represents luck in China. The Riegel Paper Corporation evolved into Fold-Pak, the world’s top producer of takeout containers, which assembles millions of cartons per year. Composed of solid-bleached-sulfate paperboard and boasting an interior polycoating, each food carrier expands into a handy plate if you remove the wire handle. It’s very likely that fortune cookies were invented in Japan. Numerous descendants of Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the U.S. contend that their relatives created or sold fortune cookies in California between 1907 and 1914. However, Dr. Yasuko Nakamachi, a Japanese researcher who wrote her thesis on the origin of fortune cookies, has found evidence that the crispy treats were present in her home country many years prior. Fortune cookies in Japan go by several names, including tsujiura senbei (“fortune cracker”). They are mentioned in a story written in the early 1800s called “Haru no wakagusa,” known in English as “The Young Grass of Spring,” and in an illustrated storybook from 1878 called Moshiogusa Kinsei Kidan. In the book, a bakery apprentice is pictured working at a station labeled “tsujiura senbei,” grilling wafers in irons while surrounded by baskets of the finished product. This image is similar to what Nakamachi witnessed when she visited centuries-old family bakeries outside Kyoto: Cooks working over flames would dispense batter into grills containing round molds. Eventually, tiny paper fortunes were placed inside the warm cookies. Source: Chinese takeout containers were invented in America.

What's the Word: DILUVIAL pronunciation: [də-LOO-vee-əl] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, mid-17th century Meaning: 1. Relating to a flood or floods, especially the biblical flood. Examples: "The diluvial rain transformed the barren field into a temporary lake." "City planners needed to ensure nothing was built on the diluvial plains." About Diluvial Diluvial” has its roots in the Latin verb “diluere,” which means “to wash away.” “Percentile” is a word created in English out of several parts. Its basis is the expression “per cent,” which came into English in the 13th century from the Italian “per cento.” This expression is derived from the Latin “per,” meaning “for each,” and “centum,” meaning “hundred.” The addition of the suffix “-ile” indicates the division of that hundred into multiple groups of equal size. While hyperborean" came into English through Middle English and Latin, its roots are in the Greek word "huperboreos." That word can be broken down into "huper" ("beyond") and "boreas" ("north wind"). Did you Know? Beginning around the mid-17th century, geologists and archaeologists used the adjective “diluvial” to refer to a distinct geological turning point associated with Noah’s biblical flood. It acquired its modern meaning in the 1800s; an early example of modern usage is found in Caroline M. Kirkland’s essay “Forest Life,” from 1850.

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Fact of the Day - HOLE IN THE HEART Did you know.... Even if you’ve never heard of a foramen ovale, you probably had one at one point in your life. It's the name given to the small opening between the upper heart chambers that forms as a baby grows in the womb and usually closes within the first few weeks of infancy. Once a baby is born, the pressure caused by blood pumping through the heart usually closes the foramen ovale on its own. When it doesn’t close, it’s known as a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and usually has no ill effects; about 25% of the population have a PFO, most of whom don’t even know it. The heart has four chambers — two atria on top and two ventricles below — and though no one’s sure what causes patent foramen ovale, genetics are assumed to play a role. The biology of infants is wonderfully weird in other ways as well. Babies are born with nearly 100 more bones than adults — about 300, whereas grownups have 206. Many of those excess bones are actually made of cartilage and fuse together throughout childhood. “Infant” comes from a Latin word meaning “unable to speak.” We tend to think of the word “infant” as simply meaning a very young baby, with most people considering infancy to end at 1 year old. The word’s etymology is more specific, however: “Infant” comes from the Latin word infans, which means “unable to speak” or “incapable of speech.” The Latin term has been in use since at least the 14th century, with “in-” meaning “not, opposite of” and “fans” meaning “to speak.” The word used to refer to children as old as 7, but its scope has since narrowed to our current definition. Source: Humans are born with a hole in the heart.

What's the Word: PHOENIX pronunciation: [FEE-niks] Part of speech: noun Origin: Greek, pre-12th century Meaning: 1. (In classical mythology) A unique bird that lived for five or six centuries in the Arabian desert, after this time burning itself on a funeral pyre and rising from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another cycle. 2. A person or thing regarded as uniquely remarkable in some respect. Examples: "Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, she emerged from her breakup with a renewed sense of self." "I used the phoenix as personal inspiration to recover from my setback." About Phoenix As a common noun, “phoenix” refers to a mythological bird that lived for many centuries before burning and rising from the ashes into a new cycle of life. As a proper noun, “Phoenix” is the capital of Arizona, among many other geographical names. Did you Know? The original phoenix appears in ancient Greek folklore as a bird that rises from its own ashes into a new life. The name, imagery, and powers ascribed to the phoenix have shown up in countless legends across many cultures. It has even appeared in modern pop culture as a comic book character in “X-Men.”

Fact of the Day - EYE COLOR Did you know.... Rudolph’s nose may have been red, but his eyes were blue — except in the summer, when they would have been golden. That’s because reindeer eyes change color depending on the time of year, which helps them see better in different light levels. Their blue eyes are approximately 1,000 times more sensitive to light than their golden counterparts, a crucial adaptation in the dark days of winter. Only one part changes color, however: the tapetum lucidum, a mirrored layer situated behind the retina. Cats have it, too — it’s why their eyes appear to glow in the dark. This part of the reindeer retina shines a different hue depending on the season. Rudolph and his eight friends aren’t the only animals with unique eyes. Chameleons can move theirs independently of one another, giving them nearly 360-degree views of their surroundings; goats’ distinctive regular pupils give them a panoramic view of the horizon, allowing them to detect predators early; and cuttlefish pupils resemble a “W” in bright light and a circle in the darkness of deep waters — to name just a few unusual animal peepers. Maybe those critters should get songs written about them, too. Rudolph was created for a department store. Long before he made his television debut, Rudolph graced the pages of a coloring book handed out to children visiting Santa Claus at Montgomery Ward department stores. Catalog copywriter Robert L. May was commissioned to create a memorable character for those books in 1939, and his creation was wildly successful — 2.4 million copies were given out the first year alone. This was despite the fact that May’s boss initially disliked Rudolph’s red nose because it could imply that the animal had been drinking. Rudolph was a household name within a decade, with the song we all know and love (which happens to have been written by May’s brother-in-law) recorded by none other than Gene Autry in 1949. He really did go down in history. Source: Reindeer eyes change color — they’re golden in summer and blue in winter.

What's the Word: QUEENLY pronunciation: [KWEEN-lee] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Old English, 15th century Meaning: 1. Fit for or appropriate to a queen. Examples: "She was queenly and confident as she walked down the aisle." "Her queenly accent was the only hint of her childhood in London." About Queenly That “-ly” tacked onto the end of the noun “queen” turns it into an adjective. The real world doesn't have as many monarchs as fairy tales do, so you can use this royal adjective to describe anyone with queenlike qualities. Did you Know? “Queenly” can be used in different forms to represent comparisons. It means “like a queen.” “Queenlier” means “more like a queen.” “Queenliest” is the superlative form, meaning “more queenly than any other queens out there.”

Fact of the Day - POSTAL SERVICE Did you know... While postal employees pride themselves on delivering mail in rain, sleet, and snow, they can still be impeded by sloppy handwriting. That’s why the U.S. Postal Service has a team of keen-eyed employees whose job is to determine where to send letters and packages with illegible addresses. More than 730 people work at the USPS Remote Encoding Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, which was the first facility of its kind and is now the last one standing. Encoding centers peaked in 1997, when the USPS processed 19 billion pieces of difficult-to-read mail using 55 different facilities. But due to advances in computer analysis, as well as the fact that fewer people handwrite letters these days, just one facility dedicated to poor penmanship still operates today. The employees there play a pivotal role in analyzing the 3 million images of garbled addresses they receive each day. Here’s how it works: Before ever reaching the facility, mail is scanned by a computer to determine its destination. While this step is often successful on its own, sometimes the writing is so indecipherable that the address remains a mystery. When that’s the case, an image of the letter is scanned and sent to the encoding facility, where the average employee can rapidly decipher 900 pieces of mail every hour. In some cases, unintelligible letters are brought in for a last-ditch physical inspection, after which mail is either sent on its intended way, returned to sender, or (in rare cases) disposed of. There’s a floating post office with its own ZIP code. The J.W. Westcott II, a mail-carrying boat that operates on the Detroit River, is the only floating post office in the United States. Its purpose is to deliver all mail addressed to crew members aboard the many freight ships that sail down the river. The boat uses a “mail in the pail” method, in which letters or packages are put into a bucket tied to a rope and hoisted onto the vessel. The J.W. Westcott II was founded as a supply ship in 1874 and began doing mid-river mail transfers in 1895. It earned an official USPS contract in 1948 and was given its very own ZIP code, 48222 — the first nonmilitary floating ZIP code ever issued. Source: The Postal Service has a dedicated unit for deciphering bad handwriting.

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What's the Word: DRAMEDY pronunciation: [DRAH-mə-dee] Part of speech: noun Origin: English, early 20th century Meaning: 1. A movie, play, or broadcast program that combines elements of drama and comedy. Examples: "Netflix knows my tastes well and always suggests the latest dramedy." "She is known for her comedic skills, but her last project was more of a dramedy." About Dramedy Turn on your TV and you can find sitcoms and crime dramas. You know what you’re going to get. But then there are shows that blend genres. In a dramedy, you might have humorous actors playing out serious situations, or absurd realities with important consequences. However you want to blend your comedy and drama, it’s good entertainment. Did you Know? While the word “dramedy” is a 20th-century creation, the concept of a comedy-drama hybrid is nothing new. In literature, Greek philosopher Aristotle brought up the idea of a tragedy with a dual ending. Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and “The Merchant of Venice” could be called tragicomedy, and more modern playwrights, such as Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard, have specialized in the genre.

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Fact of the day - BURIED IN A CAN? Did you know.... When considering a final resting place, most people ponder the conventional options, such as a coffin or, for those who prefer cremation, an urn. Not Pringles inventor Fredric Baur, whose devotion to his innovative packaging method (which stacks his perfectly curved creations in a tall tube) was so intense that he had his ashes buried in a Pringles can. “When my dad first raised the burial idea in the 1980s, I chuckled about it,” Baur’s eldest son, Larry, told Time of his father’s wishes. But this was no joke. So after the inventor died in 2008, his children made a stop on their way to the funeral home: a Walgreens, where they had to decide which can to choose. “My siblings and I briefly debated what flavor to use,” Larry Baur added. (Sour cream and onion? Barbecue?) “But I said, ‘Look, we need to use the original.’” Baur’s ashes now rest, in the can, at his grave in a suburban section of Cincinnati, Ohio. Baur is far from the only person to choose an unconventional burial method — and many new choices have emerged across the world in recent years and decades. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s ashes were launched into space, a fitting resting place if ever there was one. Some people in Korea, meanwhile, have opted to have their ashes turned into sea-green beads that are placed in bottles or jars; the process is not unlike turning sand into glass. Those who prefer an environmentally friendly option, meanwhile, have encouraged the green burial movement, which prohibits spending eternity in nonbiodegradable containers — meaning that a Pringles container probably wouldn’t fly. Pringles aren’t technically potato chips. As far as the Food and Drug Administration is concerned, Pringles aren’t actually potato chips. Their main ingredient is dehydrated processed potato — not thin slices of fried potato, like in a typical chip — which led to a 1975 ruling by the FDA that they could only be labeled “chips” if they came with a disclaimer identifying them as “potato chips made from dried potatoes.” The company opted to market them as potato “crisps” instead. Source: Pringles inventor Fredric Baur’s ashes were buried in a Pringles can.

What's the Word: BENTO pronunciation: [BEN-toh] Part of speech: noun Origin: Japanese, late 19th century Meaning: 1. A lacquered or decorated wooden Japanese lunch box. 2. A Japanese-style packed lunch, consisting of such items as rice, vegetables, and sashimi (raw fish with condiments). Examples: "Her bento collection was quite valuable, so she didn't use them for food." "I usually order the bento lunch special on Mondays." About Bento If you’re a fan of Japanese food or culture, you’re likely familiar with bento, or a bento box. This is a Japanese word for either the lunch box itself, or the specific arrangement of rice, vegetables, and sashimi inside a bento box. The meal is traditionally packed at home and carried to work or school, but you can now find grab-and-go versions available for purchase. Did you Know? Besides the type of food, bento is unique for its tidy arrangement, with food taking up every inch of available space. Modern versions of the bento also feature decorative (and often adorable) elements. Imagine sushi that looks like a cat, and vegetables that look like a garden. The best bentos are attractive, convenient, and delicious.

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Fact of the Day - FLYTING Did you know.... Today, sharp-tongued verbal jousting primarily exists in the art form known as battle rap, in which two rappers take lyrical aim at each other with intricate (and often devastating) rhymes. During these battles, no insult — artistic or otherwise — is off-limits, and that’s a sentiment that 15th- and early 16th-century Scottish poets might have shared. Medieval Scottish men of words linguistically barbed each other in a practice known as “flyting” (based on the Old English word flītan, meaning “to quarrel”), often as entertainment for the Scottish king and his royal court. The most famous of these “battles” that still survives, known as “The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie,” featured Scottish poets William Dunbar and Walter Kennedy entertaining the court of James IV in the early 16th century. Among its many famous attributes, it’s the first recorded moment of scatalogical humor. (One of the more family-friendly examples of its insults, translated from Middle Scots, reads: “Grovel for grace, dog-face, or I shall chase you all winter; Howl and yowl, owl.”) The biting lyricism of flyting wasn’t restricted to Scotland, of course. Ancient Irish professional poets, called filid, were also known for their insults, and a form of flyting can be found in Old English literature as well as the famous Norse text the Poetic Edda (in which the trickster god Loki goes on the verbal offensive against his fellow deities). Similar art forms can be found in Japan, Nigeria, parts of the Middle East, and elsewhere. Although flyting didn’t survive the Middle Ages, its influence can be seen in works ranging from Shakespeare to James Joyce. Thankfully, the birth of the rap battle in the 1980s once again provided a much-needed venue for settling serious artistic beef — and it’s been a fixture of hip-hop culture ever since. The first major rap battle, in 1981, was a transformative moment in hip-hop. In December 1981, at the Harlem World club in New York City, hip-hop emcee Busy Bee Starski finished a set by bragging about his superior lyrical skills compared to other popular hip-hop artists at the time. Unknown to Busy Bee, one of those artists was in the crowd — another emcee named Kool Moe Dee. The dissed emcee took to the stage and dished a lyrical attack right back at Starski. His sharp, biting freestyle juxtaposed with Busy Bee’s simpler, more comedic technique sent rap in a new direction, in which emcees became more focused on serious lyricism rather than the typical party persona. Kool Moe Dee’s “battle” was recorded and became an influential mixtape that found its way onto the radio, and around the world. Source: Medieval Scotland had a practice similar to modern battle rap, called ‘flyting.’

What's the Word: POLLICITATION pronunciation: [pə-lis-ə-TAY-shən] Part of speech: noun Origin: Late Middle English, unknown Meaning: 1. The action of promising; a promise; a document conveying a promise. 2. (Also civil law) A promise not yet formally accepted, and therefore in certain cases revocable. Examples: "They formalized the agreement by signing a pollicitation." "Their contract hinged on a pollicitation." About Pollicitation Pollicitation is a more formal word for a promise — specifically, the action of promising or a document describing a promise. Did you Know? Have you ever wondered where the pinky promise, a childhood form of pollicitation, came from? Perhaps the first pinky promises were made by Japanese schoolchildren and called "yubikiri," or "finger cut-off." The unbreakable oath has since been adopted by children worldwide.

Fact of the Day - WAFFLES OR FROFFLES Did you know.... The brothers behind your favorite frozen waffles took a while to iron out the details of their signature product. Working in their parents’ basement in San Jose, California, in the early 1930s, Frank, Anthony, and Sam Dorsa first whipped up their own brand of mayonnaise. Since the base ingredient of mayonnaise is egg yolks — and the brothers took pride in using “100% fresh ranch eggs” — they christened their fledgling company “Eggo.” Despite launching the business during the Great Depression, Eggo mayonnaise sold like hotcakes, motivating the Dorsas to extend their product line. Soon, they were selling waffle batter — another egg-based product. To simplify shipping, they also whipped up a powdered mix that required only the addition of milk. When the frozen food industry took off in the 1950s, the brothers wanted to take advantage of the rush to the freezer aisle. Frank Dorsa (a trained machinist) repurposed a carousel engine into a rotating device that could anchor a series of waffle irons, each cooking a breakfast treat that was flipped by a factory employee. The machine allowed Eggo to prepare thousands of freezer-bound waffles per hour. These debuted in grocery stores in 1953 under the name Froffles, a portmanteau of “frozen” and “waffles.” Customers referred to them simply as “Eggos,” and the Froffles moniker was dropped within two years. Now a Kellogg's-owned brand, Eggo serves up waffles as well as other frozen breakfast treats, with mayonnaise — and the name Froffles — but a distant memory. Waffles helped inspire the original Nike sneaker design. When Blue Ribbon Sports — the company that became Nike — was founded in 1964 by Phil Knight and his former college track-and-field coach, Bill Bowerman, its original business model was importing Japanese sneakers to sell in Oregon and California. Yet Bowerman had been experimenting with cobblery since the 1950s, and in 1970, he challenged himself to create a light, comfortable shoe that would give his athletes the traction to run on various surfaces. One morning, as Bowerman’s wife, Barbara, used their waffle iron, he began to brainstorm, deciding that a 3D lattice pattern could cushion runners’ steps. From his in-house lab, Bowerman retrieved the chemicals that form urethane, a type of rubber. Then he poured his mixture straight onto the hot waffle maker. The waffle design that eventually resulted was patented in 1974, the year Nike began selling its rubber-soled Waffle Trainer. In 2019, a pair of Bowerman’s unworn prototypes — the Nike Waffle Racing Flat “Moon Shoe” sneakers — sold at auction for $437,500. Source: Eggo waffles were originally called Froffles.

What's the Word: CAMPANOLOGY pronunciation: [kamp-ə-NAH-lə-jee] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, mid-19th century Meaning: 1. The art or practice of bell-ringing. Examples: "We knew he played the piano, but his expertise at campanology surprised us." "The art of campanology is kept alive during the holiday season." About Campanology Campanology developed from the modern Latin "campanologia" and late Latin "campana," which both mean "bell." Did you Know? One of the most enduring December sounds is the chime of the bell ringer stationed by donation boxes. This campanology is meant to remind people to donate, but the bell ringing is also a nostalgic, wintry sound.

Fact of the day - PENGUINS Did you know.... Not unlike their human counterparts, penguin legs have a femur, tibia, fibula, and knee. But unlike ours, the knees are covered by feathers — as is the rest of the upper leg, which is why penguins’ legs look so adorably stubby. That appearance is most evident when the less-than-graceful birds are seen waddling on land, which is a more energy-efficient means of locomotion than it appears. They use 80% less energy than they would walking the way we do, as their movement relies on momentum and gravity to propel them forward rather than their own effort. Even so, penguins — which are collectively known as a “waddle” when on land and a “raft” when in water — are at their most elegant when swimming. An adult king penguin can hold its breath for 23 minutes and dive more than 1,000 feet deep in search of food. The animals spend up to 75% of their lives in water, which may help explain why they sometimes look like, well, a fish out of water when going about their business on land. Penguins give each other pebbles as a sign of affection. Most penguins live in rather barren environments, so they have to get creative when it comes to keeping their young warm. That makes pebbles especially precious as a building material for their “love nests.” Male gentoo penguins also give these desirable stones to their mates as a sign of affection. Picking an especially good pebble out of the water and carrying it a significant distance back to a shared nest is essentially the penguin equivalent of giving someone a love note or a bouquet of flowers. Source: Penguins have knees — you just can’t see them.

What's the Word: BLARNEY pronunciation: [BLAR-nee] Part of speech: noun Origin: Irish, 18th century Meaning: 1. Talk that aims to charm, pleasantly flatter, or persuade. 2. Amusing and harmless nonsense. Examples: "She relied on blarney to persuade her co-workers to share details about their lives." "The kindergarten teacher playfully asked her class if they had an actual question or just more blarney." About Blarney The word "blarney" comes from Blarney Castle and its famous stone, which is supposed to give whoever kisses it the gift of blarney, or persuasive, charming, flattering speech. Did you Know? Have you ever been told that you have the gift of gab? In Ireland, a person who manages to reach and kiss the Blarney Stone is rumored to be blessed with the gift of persuasive speech that can charm and flatter any listeners.

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Fact of the Day - WHY AT THE NORTH POLE? Did you know.... It all goes back to a prominent 19th-century political cartoonist. As children settle in for a restless night’s sleep this Christmas Eve, they’ll no doubt be picturing Santa Claus on his way from the snowy ’scapes of the North Pole to deliver them everything on their wish list. They picture Santa at the North Pole, of course, because they’ve seen him living there in numerous Christmas movies, books, and television specials, from perennial Rankin/Bass programs to more modern classics like 2003’s Elf. While it might seem a little more magical if we told you that nobody really knows why Santa lives there, there is a relatively traceable paper trail. The Enduring Influence of Thomas Nast The first known reference to Santa’s North Pole residence is in an 1866 cartoon from Harper’s Weekly. Famed political cartoonist Thomas Nast—who was also responsible for establishing the donkey and elephant as the symbols for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively—first started creating Harper’s Weekly Christmas cartoons as Union propaganda for the Civil War in January 1863. Borrowing imagery from Clement Clarke Moore’s (alleged) 1823 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” (which you’d probably recognize as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”), Nast developed the white-bearded, rosy-cheeked, all-around jolly guy that we know today, and showed him passing out gifts to Union soldiers, climbing into a chimney as a soldier’s wife prays, and more. The cartoons became so popular that Nast branched out from his source material and began inventing his own details to add to Saint Nick—like where he’s from, for example. A December 29, 1866 issue of Harper’s Weekly debuted a multi-image cartoon titled “Santa Claus and His Works,” which includes a small inscription along the circular border that reads Santa Claussville, N.P. According to The New York Times, we don’t know exactly why Nast chose the North Pole (or if it was even his own idea), but there are a few reasons it made sense for the time period. The Arctic Appeal For one, Santa Claus was already widely associated with snow because most of the publishing companies producing Christmas cards and other content were located in New England, where it actually snows around Christmas. Furthermore, the 1840s and 1850s were partly characterized by high-profile—and ill-fated, in the Franklin expedition’s case—attempts to explore the Arctic, and the public was generally interested in the mysterious, poorly-charted region. Because the Pole was unoccupied, Santa and his elves could toil the year away without interference from prying eyes; and, because it was unclaimed, Santa could remain a bastion of benevolence for every nation. Though we’ll likely never know Nast’s personal rationale behind placing Santa Claus in the North Pole, one thing’s for sure: At this point, it’s hard to imagine him living anywhere else. Source: Why Does Santa Claus Live at the North Pole?

What's the Word: MOLESKIN pronunciation: [MOHL-skin] Part of speech: noun Origin: Middle English, 17th century Meaning: 1. The skin of a mole used as fur. 2. A thick, strong cotton fabric with a shaved pile surface. Examples: "I found a vintage coat lined with moleskin in exactly my size." "I need to buy three yards of moleskin to make my new comforter." About Moleskin While "moleskin" originally referred specifically to the fur from an actual mole, it now applies to a cotton fabric with a soft nap, similar to the animal's fur. It's also used in American English to refer to the soft adhesive fabric you put in a new shoe to avoid blisters. Did you Know? Say "moleskin" and people might think you're talking about Moleskine, an Italian stationery company. It produces notebooks, sketchbooks, and various writing accessories favored by writers and creative types across the world. Despite the name, Moleskine products are not made of moleskin.

Fact of the Day - THE @ SYMBOL Did you know.... The @ symbol has been in use for centuries, since long before email made it one of the most-typed characters on Earth. The first documented use dates all the way back to a 1536 letter written by an Italian merchant, who used a looping “a” as shorthand for amphorae — a traditional unit of volume roughly equal to a standard clay amphora jar. In other contexts, medieval scribes also used the symbol to mean “at the rate of,” helping to make calculations and bookkeeping more efficient. As global trade expanded, merchants began using @ in ledgers to indicate price per unit — for example, three barrels @ five florins each. That practical function kept the symbol alive for hundreds of years, even as writing styles, currencies, and languages evolved. The average person, however, rarely encountered it outside of accounting and typewriters. That changed dramatically in 1971, when computer engineer Ray Tomlinson needed a character to separate a username from a host computer in the world’s first networked email. It had to be a symbol that was rarely used in names, yet widely understood across keyboards. He selected @, a typographic character used by developers that at the time meant “located at” — as in “user at computer.” More than five decades later, the @ symbol now helps route billions of messages daily and anchors our digital identities across email and social platforms. Not bad for a 16th-century bookkeeper’s shorthand. The @ symbol has many nicknames. Despite its universal function, there is no globally recognized name for the @ symbol. In the U.S., it’s most commonly known as the “at sign,” and in modern computing terminology, it’s called the “commercial at” (formerly “commercial ‘a’”). Across other languages, the names are far more imaginative. Several countries have nicknames related to monkeys, likely because of the symbol’s swirling tail. German speakers call it “spider monkey” (klammeraffe) or “monkey’s tail” (affenschwanz). Dutch speakers also use “monkey tail” (apestaart), and Polish speakers refer to it simply as “monkey” (małpa). Some cultures see other animals in the distinctive curves. Danish speakers have two names for the symbol: “pig’s tail” (grisehale) and “elephant’s trunk” (snabel ). In Russia, it’s called “dog” (sobachka), and in Greece it’s “duckling” (papaki). Italians call it “snail” (chiocciola), while Hungarians refer to it as “worm” (kukac). Source: The @ symbol was invented more than 400 years before email.

What's the Word: ARBORIST pronunciation: [AR-bə-rəst] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, mid-18th century Meaning: 1. A tree surgeon. Examples: "We need to call an arborist to look at the elm in the backyard." "Talk to an arborist about those dead branches before they fall on the roof." About Arborist The Latin word for tree — "arbor" — has been used to create a variety of related words. In English, "arbor" refers to a shady alcove created by trees. Arborculture is the cultivation of trees, and an arboretum is a botanical garden devoted entirely to trees. An arborist, or a tree surgeon, helps these trees grow strong and healthy. Did you Know? If you have a problem with trees, you're going to want to call an arborist. An arborist, or a tree surgeon, will be able to diagnose a fungus, pests, or whatever else is ailing your tree.

Fact of the Day - WHY "MERRY" FOR CHRISTMAS Did you know.... And why do Brits tend to stick with ‘Happy Christmas’? For well wishes on all occasions, from general holidays like Halloween and Valentine’s Day to personal milestones like anniversaries and birthdays, English speakers are happy to let happy do the heavy lifting. But for some reason, we’ve decided that Christmas deserves its own bespoke greeting. So, as Thanksgiving fades to black, the word merry shakes off the dust of its nearly year-long hibernation and emerges—along with eggnog, ugly sweaters, and jolly old St. Nick himself—into the glorious red and green glow of seasonal relevance. Which leaves the curious with one question: How exactly did merry become the go-to modifier for Christmas—and only Christmas? Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Victorians! It all began when merry arrived in Old English by way of Germanic. It essentially meant “pleasing,” but that definition expanded over the centuries to cover “festive,” “joyous,” and other celebration-related senses. The earliest known reference to merry Christmas dates back to 1534—in a letter from John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, to Henry VIII’s chief minister Thomas Cromwell. “And thus our Lord send yow a mery Christenmas, and a comfortable, to yowr heart desyer,” Fisher wrote. Happy got a slightly later start, showing up in English around the 14th century from hap, meaning “good fortune.” Happy, too, enjoyed a broadening of its definition into the territories of pleasure and celebration, and it wasn’t long before people were wishing each other happy holidays. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Happy New Year came first in the mid-16th century, and Happy Christmas was in play by the late 17th. For a while after that, merry and happy were both regularly paired with Christmas. It wasn’t until the Victorian era that merry pulled ahead in the rankings, thanks to some seminal Yuletide content. Charles Dickens peppered 1843’s A Christmas Carol with roughly 20 Merry Christmases, for example, and not a single happy Christmas. The first commercial Christmas card, which debuted that same year, featured Merry Christmas as well. The phrase also cropped up in carols, including early versions of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” favored by 19th-century British kids. As one stanza went, “I wish you a merry Christmas / And a happy new year / A pocket full of money / And a cellar full of beer.” Though not all Victorian Christmas traditions have prevailed, our modern conception of the holiday is still very much a reflection of that era—as evidenced by the fact that we’re still reading (or watching adaptations of) A Christmas Carol, sending Christmas cards, and listening to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Moreover, we’ve shored up the staying power of Merry Christmas by adding our own memorable references to the heap, from Judy Garland’s warbling “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’s iconic catchphrase, “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!” Using merry for other occasions wasn’t always unheard of; merry Thanksgiving and merry birthday continued making appearances into the 20th century. But the ever-swelling volume of Christmas culture containing merry has anchored it to the holiday in a manner that hasn’t happened with any other fête. All things considered, it’s quite an achievement that the UK has managed to avoid merry’s monopoly and keep happy Christmas on the market. Semantics just might know why. It’s a Jolly Holiday With Merry Despite their definitional overlap, merry and happy aren’t mirror images of each other. Since the 14th century, per the OED, people have used merry to mean “boisterous or cheerful due to alcohol.” Merry Christmas, therefore, might be construed as a winking way to say, “I hope your cup runneth over ... with champagne at all the best Christmas parties, that is!” You could argue that it’s vaguely sacrilegious, or at least in poor taste, to focus on booze-heavy revelry during a holiday that’s about as holy in origin as they come. And you certainly wouldn’t be the first. “We make Christmas excessively merry, only by being excessively wicked; and we celebrate the festivity of our Savior, as if we were ministering the mad orgies of Bacchus,” one observer wrote in a 1772 issue of The London Magazine: Or, Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer. “But profligacy is the characteristic of this wretched age.” And the next age, too: A North London reverend named Gordon Calthrop pointed out the debauchery often involved in a merry Christmas during an 1864 address that advocated for happy Christmases rather than simply merry ones. But his thesis was less about condemning merrymakers and more about questioning whether merriment equaled happiness. In Calthrop’s estimation, it did not. “The boisterous gaiety which many put on, is oftentimes only a mask. It covers a sad—sad face,” he said. “And if a man tries to reassure me, or to persuade himself, by extravagant demonstrations of delight, that he is exceedingly happy, I always feel disposed to take the liberty to doubt the statement. True happiness is not a noisy and boisterous, but a quiet thing." You can write it off as a personal hot take that true happiness is never expressed noisily. But Calthrop’s opinion does jibe with the connotations of the words merry and happy. The former is typically characterized by some energetic and short-lived expression of cheer: laughing, singing, dancing, clinking beer steins, etc. Happy, meanwhile, often implies a deeper-seated and less fleeting kind of contentment—not to mention its original sense regarding good fortune. This distinction could shed light on why people started wishing each other a merry Christmas and a happy New Year: as if to say, “I hope you have a really fun Christmas, and then after that I hope the new year brings you lasting pleasure and prosperity.” One Happy Royal Family Calthrop wasn’t the only 19th-century Christian who found something lacking in a really fun Christmas. Plenty of others contended that the notion of a merry Christmas was juvenile, irreligious, or just not a very accurate representation of how it feels to actually celebrate the holiday. “Merry Christmas is quite the term for the young, but it a little jars upon the ears as life goes on, and we know more of its troubles and sorrows. For myself, I confess that I much prefer the ‘Happy Christmas.’ It speaks to all of the birthday of our King,” one person wrote in an 1878 issue of a Gloucestershire parish magazine. These sentiments were evidently pervasive enough in the UK that by the early 20th century, the phrase Merry Christmas had gained a bad rap as an Americanism. “I send you of course the greetings of the season: Merry Christmas (a foolish American wish!) and a Happy New Year,” someone wrote to the editors of The Catholic Fortnightly Review in 1909. Great Britain’s Happy Christmas crusaders, like baby Jesus before them, were soon blessed with a gift from a king. During the monarchy’s first-ever Christmas Day message in 1932—written by Rudyard Kipling and broadcast over the radio to the entire empire—George V wished everyone a happy Christmas. George VI took up the happy mantle during his reign, as did Elizabeth II after him. Their Christmas Day broadcasts made it abundantly clear that Happy Christmas was high society’s holiday greeting of choice. (That said, some members of the royal family do sometimes use Merry Christmas these days.) All feelings about the merits of a merry Christmas versus a happy one aside, we can all agree that Crimbo has at least earned a hat tip for heading off merry’s descent into obsolescence. (Not to diminish the good work of the humble merry-go-round.) Source: Why Do We Only Say “Merry” for Christmas?

What's the Word: ASTROLATRY pronunciation: [ə-STRAH-lə-tree] Part of speech: noun Origin: English, late 17th century Meaning: 1. The worship of stars and other celestial objects. Examples: "My grandmother believed in astrolatry so much that she named all of her children after stars." "There's more to astrolatry than just following the phases of the moon." About Astrolatry Not astrology, but close. Where astrology looks to the stars for guidance, astrolatry takes it one step further and worships the stars. Did you Know? The "-latry" suffix comes from Greek and denotes worship of a certain thing. In addition to worshipping idols (idolatry) and stars (astrolatry), you can worship books (bibliolatry), Shakespeare (bardolatry), the sun (heliolatry), images (iconolatry), and animals (zoolatry).

Fact of the Day - CHRISTMAS ELVES Did you know..... Myths about elves predate Christmas and Christianity itself. Elves are meant to be supporting players in the story of Christmas, but in the 21st century, they’ve stolen the show. Santa’s helpers now star in hit movies, decorate our ugly holiday sweaters, and spy on us from our shelves. Unlike Santa Claus—a.k.a. St. Nicholas—elves don’t have early analogues in Christianity. So how did the industrious sprites come to be associated with Christmas? Naughty and Nice If you don’t picture tiny toymakers at the North Pole when you talk about elves, you may think of woodland creatures from European fairytales. The English word elf derives from the álfar from Ancient Norse mythology. These folkloric figures predate the Christmas characters by several hundred years. Though the álfar are often cited as history’s first elves, they varied significantly from the magical fellows we know today. They didn’t build shoes or toys while wearing pointy hats. Nordic elves weren’t even short, necessarily. The alternative name for álfar was huldufólk, or “hidden folk,” and they were believed to occupy the unseen realm between worlds. Beyond that, there wasn’t a solid set of characteristics defining the creatures across myths. The Ancient Nordic people probably pictured them looking similar to humans. Legends of human-like creatures that lived just out of sight in the shadows of our world soon spread through pre-Christian Europe. In Scotland, there were brownies—tiny beings that would either do your chores or make your house messier, depending on their mood. German kobolds similarly alternated between being helpful and impish, as did Swedish tomte. A Literary Legend In “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” the Brothers Grimm paint these stereotypically mischievous creatures in a positive light. The fairytale from 1812 follows a poor cobbler struggling to finish his work before Christmas. His business is saved by altruistic elves who visit his shop at night and make his shoes for him while he sleeps. Though Santa Claus doesn’t make an appearance, this story may be the first depiction in pop culture of elves in a workshop during the holiday season. Not long after that story’s publication came one of the most influential poems on the modern Christmas myth. The 1823 work “A Visit from St. Nicholas”—or '“Twas the Night Before Christmas”, as it’s more commonly known—helped shape the image of Santa Claus and the tradition of gift-giving on Christmas. It also refers to St. Nick as a “jolly old elf”—a line that tied the magical beings to the holiday. More than 30 years later, Little Women author Louisa May Alcott wrote a short story collection titled Christmas Elves. Though some credit her with the invention of the “Santa’s helpers” legend, this claim is impossible to prove: Christmas Elves was never published and the manuscript is lost to time, which means scholars know little about it beyond the title. A 1857 poem published in Harper’s Weekly likely did more to solidify the image of Christmas elves in pop culture. Titled “The Wonders of Santa Claus,” it tells of a team of elves “all working with all their might/To make a million of pretty things/Cakes, sugar-plums, and toys/To fill the stockings, hung up you know/By the little girls and boys.” By the early 20th century, the concept of hardworking Christmas elves was mainstream enough to be reproduced by Norman Rockwell and Walt Disney. Holiday Heavyweights To many kids today, Christmas elves are as recognizable as Santa Claus himself. They’re often dressed in fur-trimmed costumes with pointy hats and gold-buckled belts—a look popularized by Rankin/Bass’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) and recreated in Elf (2003). Buddy the Elf’s wardrobe came so close to the animated television special that the production team had to secure special legal permission to use it. Movies aren’t the only places these characters pop up. Watch enough commercials or visit enough department stores this time of year and you’re likely to spot them. These elves are more wholesome than the original creatures from ancient folklore, but they haven’t lost their mischievous nature altogether. Just ask a family whose home is at the mercy of Elf on a Shelf throughout the month of December. Source: How Did Elves Become Part of Christmas?

What's the Word: CHAMBRAY pronunciation: [SHAM-brey] Part of speech: noun Origin: American English, early 19th century Meaning: 1. A linen-finished gingham cloth with a white weft and a colored warp, producing a mottled appearance. Examples: "He wore a blue chambray shirt with pearl snap buttons." "Chambray is a popular fabric for summer fashion." About Chambray Chambray is a specific type of fabric woven with a white weft and colored warp. If you're not a weaver, this might not mean much, but it produces a slightly mottled colored fabric. Did you Know? Fans of the "Canadian tuxedo" likely have a bit of chambray in their closet. Most modern chambray is a lightweight version of denim and will complete blue-jean ensemble quite nicely.

Fact of the Day - CHOPSTICKS Did you know... By the time most people in Europe started eating with forks, chopsticks had already been around in Asia for millennia. The versatile utensil is believed to have been invented in China roughly 5,000 years ago, although it was initially little more than twigs used for cooking rather than eating (compared to human fingers, chopsticks were a much safer way to grab food from boiling water). None other than Confucius is credited with helping to make chopsticks popular as eating utensils sometime after 400 BCE. A man who espoused nonviolence, the philosopher believed that knives evoked bloodshed and the “honorable and upright man … allows no knives on his table.” (Chopsticks, then, were a more peaceful way to pick up food compared to spearing it with a knife.) Chopsticks gradually made their way beyond China’s borders and were the utensil of choice in other Asian countries such as Japan and Vietnam by 500 CE. Forks, meanwhile, slowly gained popularity throughout Europe after initially being used in their two-tined form by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians for cooking. Around the 11th century, they were introduced as eating utensils in Italy and France, after having initially been used in the Byzantine Empire — still in two-pronged form — but were widely frowned upon for centuries as unnecessarily luxurious or effeminate. Medieval Europe ate mostly with rounds of stale bread used as a platform for meat and vegetables, as well as with knives and spoons, which had been ubiquitous since ancient times. It wasn’t until around the 18th century that the use of forks — finally with three and four tines — became commonplace in much of Europe, in a slow process befitting their status as a late-to-the-party addition to the table. A small town in Japan produces 80% of the country’s chopsticks. Despite being home to just 33,000 people, the town of Obama, Japan, produces 80% of all lacquered chopsticks made in the Land of the Rising Sun. With a name meaning “little beach,” Obama — no relation to the 44th president, though the coincidence has certainly brought the city joy — is especially revered for its Wakasa-nuri chopsticks. In addition to more than a dozen layers of lacquer, each of which is a different color, the artisanal implements also feature shells, gold and silver leaves, and a special polishing technique known as migakidashi. Source: As common eating utensils, chopsticks in Asia are about 2,000 years older than the fork in Europe.

What's the Word: FICKLE pronunciation: [FIH-kəl] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Old English, 13th century Meaning: 1. Changing frequently, especially as regards one's loyalties or affections. Examples: "She was not a fickle fan — she supported the team, win or lose." "I'm just too fickle — I can't decide what I want for dinner." About Fickle In Old English, the original spelling was "fickol," with Germanic roots. The meaning of "changeable and capricious" is the modern definition and does not necessarily carry malicious intent. However, the original definition of "fickol" was "deceitful." Did you Know? The alliterative idiom "fickle fortune" can be traced back to Shakespeare. In "Romeo and Juliet," Juliet cries, "O fortune, fortune! All men call thee fickle." Fate remains a fickle friend.

Fact of the Day - DONALD DUCK Did you know.... Kalle Anka, or Donald Duck, is a big part of Sweden’s culture. Of all the Christmas traditions around the world, perhaps one of the most surprising is that every year, at just after 3:00 in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, upwards of 3 million people across Sweden (around one-third of the entire country) will routinely sit down to watch an decades-old animated holiday special starring the character “Kalle Anka”—better known outside of Sweden as Walt Disney’s Donald Duck. The animation in question is Disney’s 1958 made-for-TV anthology From All of Us to All of You. Hosted by Jiminy Cricket, the hour-long compilation features a mishmash clips and musical numbers lifted from several of Disney’s feature-length movies from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s (including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella), alongside a number of the studio’s early animated shorts, including the suitably festive 1952 short Pluto’s Christmas Tree, as well as one of Donald Duck’s more famous outings, 1947’s Clown of the Jungle. In fact, it is due to the relative popularity of Donald Duck in Sweden compared to many of Disney’s other characters that From All of Us to All of You has become known as “Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul” in Sweden—or “Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas.” To most Swedes, however, the special is known more simply as Kalle Anka, “Donald Duck.” The Popularity of Kalle Anka From All of Us to All of You was first broadcast on TV in the United States in 1958, before making its debut on Sweden’s SVT1 channel two years later. The special has been broadcast in Sweden every year since, albeit with several minor changes to the clips and songs included over the decades—changes that have not been entirely without controversy. When Ferdinand the Bull was swapped out for Disney’s take on The Ugly Duckling in 1982, for instance, there was such an outcry that the original content of the show had been altered that SVT1 was compelled to reverse the change the following year. The clips and songs have remained largely unchanged ever since, much to the delight of the millions of viewers who religiously tune in to the show every year. In fact, Kalle Anka frequently ranks among the most watched television broadcasts of the year in Sweden (if not ranking in first place overall), with a new record set as relatively recently as 1997, when just over half the population of the entire country sat down to watch it. The History Behind it But how has this decades-old, fairly long-forgotten made-for-TV Disney anthology become such a big deal in Sweden? Well, in truth, it is little more than an accident of broadcast history. At least part of the reason for Kalle Anka’s popularity in Sweden is that at the time of its television debut in 1960, Sweden’s SVT1 broadcast network was the country’s only TV channel (and would remain so for the next nine years). With little option but to tune in, a huge captive audience of Swedish people watched the hour-long special, making it popular enough to warrant a repeat broadcast the following year—and the year after that, and the year after that, and so on up to today! Television ownership has also been cited as another reason for the broadcast soon turning into an annual tradition. Relatively few Swedish households would have had television sets in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, but as those numbers increased, more households would be seeing the show for the first time. And Christmastime too was one of the very few times when Swedes could see American-produced films and shows on national television. Put all of these factors together—along with a good old dose of Disney nostalgia, and festive overindulgence—and you have the perfect recipe for a Christmas Eve afternoon comfort-watch that has entertained audiences for over sixty years. Source: How a Forgotten Disney Special Became Sweden’s Beloved Christmas Tradition

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Fact of the Day - BUBBLE GUM-FLAVORED BROCCOLI Did you know... When McDonald’s tried to add bubble gum-flavored broccoli to Happy Meals, kids weren’t lovin’ it. In 2014, the fast-food giant’s then-CEO, Donald Thompson, revealed the bizarre experiment at an event hosted by a venture capitalist firm. Under pressure to make Happy Meals healthier, the company reflected on how toothpaste and amoxicillin producers had used artificial bubblegum flavoring to make their goods more palatable to children. McDonald’s decided to try a similar tactic with the divisive cruciferous veggie. Mickey D’s food scientists did successfully make broccoli taste like bubble gum, likely by employing a combination of strawberry, banana, and cherry flavors. However, a focus group of kids was confused by the final product, which they enjoyed about as little as standard broccoli (we’re guessing it wasn’t pink). The item was never added to the McDonald’s menu. Parents who want to impress their kids with a taste bud switcheroo will have to settle on cotton candy grapes. Swallowed gum does not stay in your stomach for seven years. The old wives’ tale about gum in the gut has alarmed children for generations. It might have originated from the scientific truth that gum’s base — like corn and seeds — cannot be digested, although our bodies are able to break down sweeteners and oil derivatives present in gum. An accidentally gulped piece of Dubble Bubble won’t stick to the stomach wall or intestinal tract: Gum drifts through your digestive system within a few days. Source: McDonald’s once tried making bubble gum-flavored broccoli.

What's the Word: DEVOIR pronunciation: [də-VWAR] Part of speech: noun Origin: Middle English, 14th century Meaning: 1. A person's duty. Examples: "Harrison believes it’s his devoir to feed all the stray cats on his block." "During World War II, many Americans saw it as a devoir to grow their own vegetables in victory gardens." About Devoir “Devoir” has roots in both the Middle English “debvoir” and the Old French “deveir,” both of which are based on the Latin “dēbeō.” All of these roots mean “to owe.” Did you Know? “Devoir” developed as a word simultaneously in English and French, and in general it means the same thing in both languages: “duty” or “obligation.” However, in French, “devoir” is also a verb meaning “to have to,” and it is commonly used to describe things one must do, such as renewing a driver’s license. There is no equivalent for “homework” in French, describing work done away from school. Rather, French students do their “devoirs,” a plural noun that accentuates their duty to the work. In English, “devoir” may evoke lofty ideals of duty and service to one’s nation, community, or family. In French, “devoir” just refers to everyday tasks that everyone has to do.

Fact of the Day - BARKLESS DOG Did you know.... All dogs bark, from the deep bellow of a Great Dane to the shrill yap of a Chihuahua. But there's one exception to this rule: The basenji breed is known as the “barkless dog,” though it’s not quite silent, either. Instead of barking, basenjis make a yodel-like noise called a “baroo,” which sounds more like a howl. This inability to bark is due to the unusual shape of a basenji’s larynx, aka voice box. Basenjis have narrower ventricles than other dogs, limiting the movement of their vocal cords and resulting in this sonic oddity. Basenjis’ lack of bark makes them useful hunting dogs in their native Central Africa, leading some researchers to theorize they were selectively bred to sound this way. The lack of a loud and less conventional barking noise avoids scaring off prey, and the barooing means they sound more like a jackal or hyena than a hunting dog. While hunting, basenjis also sometimes jump up and down to catch sight of potential prey. In fact, in Swahili, the breed is called m’bwa m’kube m’bwa wamwitu, which translates to “dog that jumps up and down.” In addition to the unusual vocalizations, basenjis have a few other unique distinctions compared to their fellow dog breeds. They’re known to be quite fastidious, regularly cleaning themselves — much like housecats — so they typically lack a potent doggy odor. Also, female basenjis go into heat only once per year, compared to other breeds that average twice annually. The Norwegian lundehund has six toes on each paw. Dogs typically have 18 toes — five on each front paw and four on their hind paws. But the Norwegian lundehund averages more than any other breed, with six toes on each paw, for 24 in total. Their feet have four toes pointing forward and two that point inward, much like human thumbs. Those additional toes aren’t just for aesthetics; they help lundehunds when puffin hunting, which is the purpose for which they were originally bred. Puffins — or lunde, as they’re known in the Norwegian language — are a major source of food for Norwegian farmers, who relied on lundehunds to help hunt the birds. Not only do the extra toes provide the dogs with traction when traversing slippery rocks, but they also help them to more efficiently burrow into tight passages in search of puffin nests. Source: There’s a dog breed that doesn’t bark.

What's the Word: PHALANX pronunciation: [FEY-leynx] Part of speech: noun Origin: Greek, 16th century Meaning: 1. A group of people or things of a similar type forming a compact body. Examples: "Getting off the plane, I passed a phalanx of families waiting to be reunited with loved ones." "Every Saturday just before lunch, a phalanx of parents with strollers makes the park nearly impassable." About Phalanx “Phalanx” comes from the same term in Latin, based on the ancient Greek “φάλαγξ” (“phalanx”), meaning “battle order.” Did you Know? The first phalanx was developed by militaries in ancient Macedonia: It was a military unit in a formation of closely arrayed soldiers overlapping their shields and crossing their spears, making themselves difficult to attack. However, even by the fourth century, the Latin term had expanded beyond its military meaning to describe any group of people gathered closely together. In modern use, “phalanx” often calls back to its military roots by evoking a hostile or demanding group, or a group that is difficult to pass. For example, a film star may find herself surrounded by a phalanx of fans asking for her autograph, and a kindergarten teacher giving out ice cream may be surrounded by a phalanx of hungry children.

Fact of the Day - BEAVER DAM Did you know... While there are a few human-made objects visible from space, there’s only one known example constructed by beavers: the world’s largest beaver dam, located in the Peace-Athabasca Delta of Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park. You can’t see it from space with the naked eye, but the dam was discovered on October 2, 2007, using satellite imagery provided by Google Earth. It appears to have been built during the last five decades, as photographs taken of the same location in 1975 show limited beaver activity. Estimates put the length of the dam at more than 2,600 feet, and based on satellite imagery, it’s been measured to cover an approximate surface area of roughly 750,000 square feet. The pond created by the dam is estimated to hold nearly 2.5 million cubic feet of water. To use an analogy Canadians would surely approve of, that’s roughly the same amount of water needed to fill 1,600 standard ice hockey rinks. Given its remote location miles from any paved road or trail, accessing the dam requires a multiday trek through wetlands and forest. That inaccessibility poses such a challenge that only one known individual has ever visited the dam itself. In July 2014, adventurer Rob Mark completed the perilous trek, snapping a celebratory selfie with the beaver lodge behind him. Upon his arrival, he noted how difficult it is to grasp the dam’s enormity from up close, and how its sheer size is better appreciated with the photographs taken from space. China’s Three Gorges Dam slowed the Earth’s rotation. Depending on their enormity, it’s possible for massive infrastructure projects to impact the Earth’s rotation. One such example is China’s Three Gorges Dam, which measures 600 feet tall and 7,500 feet long and spans the Yangtze River. When filled, the dam’s reservoir is able to hold 10 trillion gallons of water. In 2005, NASA scientist Benjamin Fong Chao calculated that a completely filled reservoir would slow the Earth’s spin, increasing the length of each day by 0.06 microseconds (or 60 billionths of a second). This is caused by the redistribution of mass away from the center of Earth’s rotation, which makes the planet twirl less fluidly. As water is raised higher above sea level, it impacts the Earth’s moment of inertia and causes the planet’s rotation to slow. Source: The world’s largest beaver dam is visible from space via satellite imagery.

What's the Word: DOCTRINE pronunciation: [DAHK-trən] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, 14th century Meaning: 1. A belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group. 2. A stated principle of government policy, mainly in foreign or military affairs. Examples: "Some old-fashioned doctrines need to be updated for modern times." "Presidents are often remembered for notable policies or actions, which can be called their doctrine." About Doctrine Today you go to the doctor for medical concerns, but in the original Latin, "doctor" meant "teacher." Drawing from that, "doctrina" meant "teaching." As the word moved from Old French into Middle English, "doctrine" turned into a set of beliefs stated by a church or political party. Did you Know? The Monroe Doctrine, announced by President Monroe during his 1823 address to Congress, was a cornerstone of American foreign policy for many decades. The basic premise of it was that the United States would not interfere with European affairs, nor accept European intervention in the Americas.

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So, anyone ever check this game out? I decided to check this game out a couple or few days ago, per @Zemekis's suggestion, really to get me off of The First Descendant. I don't think my journey in the game has properly started, and it might be a while, because just as I finished up a side-quest, I discovered some "Memory Bubbles" and it looks like there's a lot in the ship. I don't even know if I can go back to this location later on, so I'm making sure I got everything. Anyway, Honkai: Star Rail is an interesting game, in the sense that it's a free-to-play turned-based RPG. Pretty much the only complaints I have with this game is that it's a live-service type of game, and most especially, it's by the ChiComs. Concerning the former issue, this game doesn't really prod you into spending IRL money for things....not that I will, which brings me to the latter issue of how this is a ChiCom game, although that itself is complicated. I don't like how China's taking over the videogame industry, but on the other hand, they're smart, and they know what gamers want, and they're not obligated by some Western neo-puritanical values, by force if necessary. In essence, China can do whatever they want. But, I fear I'm just going off from here. So, I guess my question remains....has anyone ever checked this game out? If so, how are you liking it? Me? I'm liking it, even though I've still not boarded the train.