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That's interesting, you don't often see this kind of word in english; more so in other languages. In a way you could say the word is adscititious to the language in and of itself

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Fall Anime 2024 AniChart | MAL Chart | AniDB Chart Finally narrowed down my listing somewhat after taking a more in-depth look into PVs, source material, the people behind the series, etc. This season is truly the season of sequels. Oh my. Sequels: Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Season 3 Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict Blue Exorcist: Beyond the Snow Saga Dragon Ball Daima Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V KamiErabi GOD.app Season 2 Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 3 Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Disturbance Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Season 2 Shangri-La Frontier Season 2 Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse Season 2 Continuing: Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest New Series Potentially Watching: Dandadan Orb: On the Movements of the Earth The Do-Over Damsel Conquers The Dragon Emperor Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror Some of the returning shows I'm a little iffy on because past seasons were kind of on the fence as to whether I should continue them or drop, but I guess I'm willing to give them a shot again. This includes Arifureta, KamiErabi, Shangri-La, and Gun Gale Online. Seirei Gensouki is listed under sequels but I've yet to watch the first season despite it being on my list since it originally aired. So perhaps I'll try to make some time to watch that soon and then we'll see if it's something I want to continue with or not. Seven Deadly Sins I'm multiple seasons behind on now and it remains to be seen if I'll continue watching it after the point where the original story ends and the new cast of characters take over. That may end up being my stopping point, but we'll see how I feel about things at that point and I'll try giving the new cast a shot... It's just history showcases that changes like this rarely turn out good. And while ReZero Season 2 was a huge let down after the first seasons highs... I'm going into season 3 hopeful that it may improve things. It's suspected to be at least 3 cours long so we'll see. Meanwhile I've yet to watch Season 4 of DanMachi so I've got some catching up to do on that front as well. It's clear to me that there is no way I'm going to be able to watch all of these during the season so plenty will end up on my backlog... but it is what it is.

What's the Word: ADSCITITIOUS pronunciation: [ad-sih-TISH-əs] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, 17th century Meaning: 1. Forming an addition or supplement; not integral or intrinsic. Examples: "When the dense fog stranded hundreds of travelers, the resort struggled to feed the adscititious crowd." "The Sunday papers used to come with more than a half-dozen adscititious magazines and promotional flyers." About Adscititious “Adscititious” is based on the Latin “adscitus,” meaning “admitted.” Did you Know? The word “adscititious” has a two-part definition: “forming an addition or supplement” and also “not integral.” While both parts make up the definition, they can be at odds with each other — something that is not integral can be seen as unneeded. However, supplements are usually helpful additions, and sometimes even necessary. Consider the nutritional supplement folic acid. This might fit both sides of the definition of adscititious; it’s not integral to most adult diets, but it’s extremely important to supplement as a prenatal vitamin.

The last episode of season one of HoriMiya. It was such a a sweet episode. The whole series was wonderful, but I love how it came to a beautiful ending of Izumi proposing to Kyoko. It was in a tasteful innocent way, and not some cheesy over the top way.

Huniepop is free on both steam and gog today, for its 10th anniversary: https://store.steampowered.com/app/339800/HuniePop/ https://www.gog.com/en/game/huniepop

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! What's the Word: EPHEMERA pronunciation: [ih-FEM-ər-ə] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, 14th century Meaning: 1. Things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time. 2. Items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity. Examples: "Realizing many of his belongings were basically ephemera, Greg donated them to charity before he moved." "When Sara is at the fair, she’d rather eat decadent foods than win ephemera on the midway." About Ephemera “Ephemera” is taken directly from the Latin, where it was borrowed from the ancient Greek “ἐφήμερᾰ” (“ephḗmera”), meaning “short lived” or “living for a day.” Did you Know? In the world of collectibles, “ephemera” refers to a broad category of items that were never intended to last a long time or have any particular value. This category includes things such as old periodicals, receipts, tickets, and product packaging, as well as outdated maps and documents that are now obsolete. All of these items were intended to exist for a very short period of time, but to modern collectors, ephemera from years ago provides a clear picture of life in the past.

Kondo shared more info about the Trails in the Sky Remake. Saying the voice cast for Sky Remake is still undecided. So remains to be seen if we'll get the same cast from the recent games or brand new casting. Also confirmed that the game will feature new details that debuted in later entries of the series post-Sky that'll help cohesion and worldbuilding. So it's not a 1 for 1 remake. They're going to be adding stuff to make it better fit with later entries by including various additional details. Physical editions of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter in the West were confirmed. Limited Run Games will handle the collector’s launch with a standard release made available via Amazon.

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https://www.gog.com/en/game/the_whispered_world_special_edition The Whispered World: Special Edition is currently free on GOG.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/bus-simulator-21 Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/lego-star-wars-the-skywalker-saga Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is currently free on Epic Games Store.

Batman Arkham Asylum and Sonic x Shadow Generations. I'm not a gamer so these are officicially my first ever games I've spent money on.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/beholder-8c3b4c Beholder is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://freebies.indiegala.com/jumping-knight Jumping Knight is currently free on IndieGala. https://store.steampowered.com/app/552990/World_of_Warships/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/3254520/World_of_Warships__7th_Anniversary_Gift/ World of Warships — 7th Anniversary Gift DLC is currently free on Steam. The base game is free to play.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/220/HalfLife_2/ Half-Life 2 currently free on Steam.

https://www.gog.com/en/game/diggles_the_myth_of_fenris#Diggles-The-Myth-of-Fenris Diggles: The Myth of Fenris is currently free on GOG.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/castlevania-anniversary-collection-a61f94 Castlevania Anniversary Collection is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/snakebird-complete-e6f0ae Snakebird Complete is currently free on Epic Games Store. https://freebies.indiegala.com/wheres-my-helmet Where's My Helmet? is currently free on IndieGala.

Will continue the season 02 ongoing breakdown of skipped, altered, and original content for the new anime below. Season 02 Episode 01 : Chapters 58-60, few pages of 62. Episode 02 : Chapters 60 (three pages), 61-63, a page of 64. Episode 03 : Chapters 64-66. Episode 04 : Chapters 67-69, half a page of 70. Episode 05 : Chapters 70-71. Episode 06 : Chapters 72-73. Episode 07 : Chapters 74-75, a few pages of 76. Episode 08 : Chapters 76-78. Episode 09 : Chapters 79-80, 81 (all but 2 pages). Episode 10 : 25th Anniversary's Extra Chapter, Chapter 81 (2 pages). Episode 11 : Chapters 82-84. Episode 12 : Chapters 85-87.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/585690/Minimalism/ Minimalism is currently free on Steam.

Fact of the Day - SUN SHADES Did you know.... Do they really reduce that hot box effect in cars, or are they all just part of some big marketing scheme. Whether you’re going to the beach or the park for a picnic this summer, chances are that you’re going to need to park your car ahead of all that fun in the sun. But the sun that you’re enjoying is the same sun that’s also increasing the temperature inside your vehicle. So when you return, it’s hot, sticky, and humid inside. You can even burn yourself if you’re not too careful. In fact, the interior can rise in temperature up to 200°F, depending on the day’s weather. That’s as hot as an oven. Why does the temperature in your car get so hot on the inside, even if the temperature is cooler outside? If you’ve ever wondered how that happens, and whether or not sun shades actually keep cars cool, keep reading on for more insights below. The “Greenhouse Effect” in Cars: Is It a Myth in the Summer? Sunlight has a broad spectrum of light wavelengths, including ultraviolet, visible, and infrared. When sunlight enters a parked car, specific wavelengths are able to pass through, such as visible light, while others, like ultraviolet and infrared, are trapped inside. These wavelengths become trapped because of the thick glass of the windshield, windows, and rear window. It’s the same reason why a greenhouse is warmer on the inside compared to the temperature of the air outside. The sunlight is trapped inside and absorbed by the seats, dashboard, steering wheel, and other surfaces. This can increase the wear and tear on your car’s interior, though, which can lower its resale value over time. Can Sun Shades Help? Yes, sun shades (also known as sun visors) have been shown to significantly reduce temperatures in vehicles by up to 25 percent, compared to not using them at all. It’s also an inexpensive solution, with sun shades available for around $10 to $30, depending on size, on online retailers like Amazon and Walmart. But overall, sun shades can provide some peace of mind, especially if you’re worried about leaving a window cracked open while you’re away, but there are a few more specific tips and tricks that may be helpful, which we'll break down below. How To Make Cars Cooler in the Summer The easiest and most cost-effective way to prevent your motor vehicle from heating up come summer is to crack a window open about one to two inches after you park. With this simple move alone, you could reduce temperatures by up to 30 degrees, as it offers a means of escape for those ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths from the sun. Before you exit the car, consider turning the steering wheel 180 degrees, so the top half of the wheel won’t be in direct sunlight. When you return, the top half will be cooler to the touch. Additionally, you can use beach blankets to cover your seats, keeping them out of the sun. However, one of the best ways to keep cool when parked is to use a trusty sun shade over the windshield. This can help to block most sunlight from entering. As the shades are made from reflective materials, such as mylar or aluminum foil, and feature layers of nylon or polyester for insulation and durability, they prevent sunlight from being absorbed into your vehicle’s interior. Source: Do Sun Shades Actually Keep Cars Cool During Summer?

What's the Word: LIMPET pronunciation: [LIM-pət] Part of speech: noun Origin: Middle English, pre-12th century Meaning: 1. A marine mollusk that has a shallow conical shell and a broad muscular foot, found clinging tightly to rocks. 2. Used in comparisons to refer to people and things that cling tightly. Examples: "The limpet’s shell looked like an umbrella from the top view." "Aaron’s friends called his new puppy a limpet." About Limpet This word stems from the Middle English “lempet,” an alteration of the Old English “lempedu,” meaning “lamprey,” an ancient lineage of jawless fish. It originates from the Medieval Latin “lampreda.” Did you Know? In 2015, engineers in the United Kingdom found that limpets’ teeth are made of the toughest biological material ever tested — a mineral-protein amalgamation used to scrape food off rocks, often leading to the ingestion of rock particles in the process. The team of engineers found the limpet teeth were stronger than all of the strongest human-made materials. This discovery could help improve human-made composites used to build cars, boats, aircraft, and human dental fillings.

Fact of the Day - FIREFIGHTERS IN ANTARCTICA Did you know.... While you might imagine Antarctica as primarily a land of ice and seabirds, the human presence on the continent has meant that it's occasionally home to something a little, well, warmer. The Antarctic Fire Department — the only full-time, professional fire department on the southernmost continent — serves the U.S.-run McMurdo Station, the largest research station in Antarctica. (Other stations have part-time fire brigades.) The population at McMurdo can grow to more than 1,000 people in the summer season, between October and March, as scientists arrive to study phenomena such as melting glaciers and migrating penguins. McMurdo’s infrastructure includes around 85 buildings with amenities such as dormitory housing, three bars, yoga classes, and hiking trails. The Antarctic Fire Department also serves the U.S.-run Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and the U.S. Air Force Airfields, and the firefighters pride themselves on responding to any incident at these sites within two minutes. The Antarctic Fire Department staffs nearly 55 specially-trained firefighters, who are based at either McMurdo Station or the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Dispatchers field about 350 emergency calls yearly, mostly involving small fires, odor complaints, and hazardous materials. One routine duty is spraying every incoming flight with a deicing foam that also stops engine fires and dripping oil. Firefighters must be ready to battle the continent’s fierce winds, which encourage flames, and use fire engines with pumps that continually cycle water throughout the custom fire trucks to prevent the liquid from freezing. Individual deployments last between three and 13 months — a long time to be away from family, friends, and fresh produce — and each shift lasts 24 hours. It can be grueling, but for those seeking adventure and camaraderie, few things beat putting your survival skills to the test in one of the harshest, and most exquisite, settings on Earth. Women were nominated to lead Chicago’s and Los Angeles’ fire departments for the first time in 2021 and 2022. On May 14, 2021, then-Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot selected Annette Nance-Holt to be the city’s first fire commissioner, the top post in the roughly 2,550-person Chicago Fire Department. The City Council approved Nance-Holt’s nomination the following month, making her the first woman — and woman of color — to oversee the city’s fire department in its 162-year history. “As fire commissioner, I intend to show the next generation of young Black women that they too can achieve any and everything they set their minds and hearts to,” said Nance-Holt, who has served the department for more than three decades. Then, on January 18, 2022, then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti chose Kristin Crowley as his pick to helm the local fire department. Crowley had previously been part of the 3,435-member Los Angeles Fire Department for 22 years. She took the oath of office on March 25, 2022, becoming the first female fire chief since the department was founded in 1886. Overall, however, women still make up less than 10% of the U.S. fire service. Source: There are firefighters in Antarctica.

What's the Word: LAYETTE pronunciation: [lay-ET] Part of speech: noun Origin: French, mid-19th century Meaning: 1. A set of clothing, linens, and sometimes toiletries, for a newborn. Examples: "John and Sarah carefully put together a layette for their newborn niece." "Blankets, onesies, and other useful items were packed as layettes to send to maternity centers." About Layette “Layette” is a derivative of the Old French word “laie,” meaning “drawer.” Did you Know? “Layette” typically refers to a full set of clothes for a newborn baby. In the 1920s, expectant mothers and their friends and family would often knit matching layette sets for a newborn baby. The sets would include a knitted blanket, booties, a hat, and a sweater. This tradition of knitting a set of clothes for a newborn baby, or creating a set of clothes and toiletries for a baby, continues today.

What's the Word: ATTORNMENT pronunciation: [ə-TURN-mənt] Part of speech: noun Origin: French, 15th century Meaning: 1. The formal transference of something to someone else. Examples: "When another management company took over our apartment building, all tenants signed updated leases reflecting the attornment to the new landlord." "Roy hired a broker to handle the attornment of his company shares into real-estate investments." About Attornment “Attornment” comes from the French “atorner,” meaning “to turn.” Did you Know? On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong was transferred from the domain of the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China. At that point, Hong Kong had been a British colony for 156 years, but in 1898, the U.K. leased Hong Kong Territory for 99 years. At the end of that lease, the attornment of Hong Kong into Chinese power occurred. However, this transfer was not total. Rather than becoming a whole part of China, Hong Kong will retain its currency, legal system, legislative system, and capitalist economy until 2047, 50 years after the original attornment was carried out.

Fact of the Day - THEY DON'T LIKE CHEESE? Did you know... Despite the stereotype we’ve seen perpetuated in cartoons, the idea that mice go wild for cheese isn’t quite accurate. While mice may nibble on cheese if it’s the only available food source, they strongly prefer sugary and carbohydrate-rich options such as seeds, grains, fruits, chocolate, and especially peanut butter. In fact, a mouse’s strong sense of smell actually causes them to be repelled by some stinky cheeses. Soft cheeses also pose a choking hazard for mice due to the critter’s lack of a natural gag reflex. The reason behind this myth is hard to pinpoint, but one theory relates to how cheese was stored prior to refrigeration. Cheese was usually kept out of the sun in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place (such as a cave or pantry) and generally wasn’t tightly sealed. In an interview with Scientific American, psychologist David Holmes suggested mice may have nibbled on the exposed cheese while searching for other food, leading to their reputation as cheese-fiends. The belief that mice prefer cheese isn’t a recent stereotype, but rather one that dates back millennia. The Roman philosopher Seneca, who lived in the first century CE, once wrote, “‘Mouse’ is a syllable. Now a mouse eats its cheese; therefore, a syllable eats cheese,” suggesting mice were associated with cheese as far back as ancient Rome. Shakespeare later connected mice with cheese in plays such as King Lear and Troilus and Cressida, long before Hanna-Barbera drilled it home with Tom and Jerry in the 20th century. Cheese is one of the world’s most frequently stolen food items. According to a 2011 study conducted by the Center for Retail Research, 4% of the world’s cheese ends up stolen, making it the most frequently pillaged food item. But these aren’t just single packages of cheese taken from supermarkets; there have been multiple large-scale criminal operations responsible for tens of thousands of dollars in cheese thefts, as higher-end cheeses can often fetch a pretty penny on the black market. One notable heist took place in 1998, when £30,000 (around $90,000 today) of award-winning cheddar was lifted from a British farm. In 2022, a Dutch cheese farm lost 161 wheels of cheese valued at $23,000. Perhaps the costliest cheese robbery of all time took place in October 2024, when a U.K.-based cheese purveyor was robbed of £300,000 (roughly $397,000 today) of award-winning cheddar by a still-unknown individual posing as a wholesale buyer. Source: Mice don’t particularly like cheese.

What's the Word: OSMOSE pronunciation: [ahz-MOZ] Part of speech: verb Origin: English, 19th century Meaning: 1. Pass by or as if by osmosis. Examples: "When the good cherries are in season, news of their arrival osmoses through the neighborhood." "I don’t follow the news because I know the big stories will osmose their way to me eventually." About Osmose “Osmose” is a back-formation, created out of the word “osmosis.” “Osmosis” itself is from the Greek “ὠσμός” (“ōsmós”), meaning “push.” Did you Know? Osmosis, the process by which water and other solvents pass through membranes, was first documented in the mid-1700s by French scientists, and by the 1800s, the word had moved into English. While this was an exciting new scientific idea, the notion that one thing could pass into another simply through contact with it made a great metaphor for the way knowledge moves among people. By 1900, “osmosis” was being used to describe the state of absorbing ideas and knowledge we don’t notice ourselves taking in. Within a few decades, the verb “osmose” had been created to describe the action of absorbing ideas in that way.

What's the Word: SUPERJACENT pronunciation: [soo-pər-JEY-sənt] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, 16th century Meaning: 1. (Technical) Lying over or above something else; overlying. Examples: "I spread a superjacent layer of topsoil in the garden to protect my seedlings." "You can find the seasonal items on the superjacent shelf." About Superjacent “Superjacent” is a loanword from Latin, formed by joining the prefix “super-” (meaning “over”) with “jacere,” meaning “to lie.” Did you Know? The earth we stand on is not simply composed of soil. Encircling Earth’s crust is an appropriately named layer called “bedrock,” and superjacent to that is another layer called “parent rock.” Above these layers of rock are three more superjacent layers that make up what most people think of as “earth” or “ground.” These include two types of soil: subsoil, which sits upon the rock layer, and topsoil, which sits above subsoil. Superjacent to all of these is what’s known as “humus,” or “the organic layer,” a dark dirt made up of decaying leaf litter and other decomposing matter, making it the most nutrient-rich part of all the soil layers.

Fact of the Day - ACTUALLY PINK Did you know.... The Addams Family was filmed in black and white, and it’s difficult to imagine it any other way — not only because it premiered in 1964, when color television was still something of a novelty, but because the aesthetic perfectly suits the show’s gothic vibes. It was hardly dour on set, however, as the iconic living room where most of the action takes place was actually pink. A resurfaced photo of the set shows just how garish many of the colors were — including bright pink walls and rugs — which in hindsight makes perfect sense: As long as nothing looked out of place in the final black-and-white rendering, its real-life hue didn’t make much of a difference. Several of the set’s props were repurposed from another MGM production, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, which was released a few short months prior to The Addams Family. The characters of the latter made their first appearances in a series of single-panel New Yorker comics by series creator Charles Addams, the first of which debuted in 1938. None of the characters had names in the original comic, however. Most of them, including Morticia and Wednesday, received their monikers when Addams licensed a doll collection based on the cartoon in 1962. And speaking of names, Wednesday’s middle name is — naturally — Friday. Lurch and Thing were played by the same actor. In addition to his roles in Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie, Ted Cassidy is best known for his performance as Lurch in The Addams Family. He reprised his role as the hulking butler in several iterations of the franchise, including the 1973 animated series and the 1977 television movie Halloween With the New Addams Family, as well as in episodes of the 1960s Batman TV series and The New Scooby-Doo Movies. But Lurch wasn’t his only contribution to the show, as the disembodied hand known as Thing belonged to Cassidy as well — something many fans didn’t realize at the time, as the character is credited as “Itself” in the credits. Cassidy had a separate contract for playing Thing and portrayed the character with his right hand, though he occasionally switched to his left to see if anyone would notice. Audiences probably didn’t, just as they likely couldn’t tell when assistant director Jack Voglin portrayed Thing in scenes featuring both of Cassidy’s characters. Source: The living room set of the “Addams Family” TV show was actually pink.

It's a little crazy that bicycles and planes were created within a century of each other, bikes having been invented a couple of decades prior to the brothers birth. Though not as impressive as the rate of advancement later in the 20th century.

Fact of the Day - SPAGHETTO Did you know... If you go into an Italian restaurant and order spaghetto, chances are you’ll leave hungry. That’s because “spaghetto” refers to just a lone pasta strand; it’s the singular form of the plural “spaghetti.” Other beloved Italian foods share this same grammatical distinction — one cannoli is actually a “cannolo,” and it's a single cheese-filled “raviolo” or “panino” sandwich. Though this may seem strange given that these plural terms are so ingrained in the English lexicon, Italian language rules state that a word ending in -i means it’s plural, whereas an -o or -a suffix (depending on whether it’s a masculine or feminine term) denotes singularity. (Similarly, “paparazzo” is the singular form of the plural “paparazzi.”) As for the term for the beloved pasta dish itself, “spaghetti” was inspired by the Italian word “spago,” which means “twine” or “string.” Despite pasta’s deep association with Italy, it’s far from an Italian invention. Though its precise origins are somewhat obscure, Arab traders are thought to have introduced pasta to Sicily sometime in the eighth or ninth centuries. Even pasta sauce isn’t originally Italian: Tomatoes were brought to Europe in the 16th century by explorers from the New World, with the first tomato sauce recipe appearing in a 1692 Italian cookbook written by chef Antonio Latini. More than 300 years later, spaghetti is a perennially popular dish, even if most of us haven't always known what to call it. Thomas Jefferson helped popularize pasta in the United States. Around the time he served as U.S. minister to France (1784–1789), future President Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The best macaroni in Italy is made with a particular sort of flour called Semola, in Naples.” Jefferson even tasked his secretary and diplomat William Short with tracking down a machine for making “maccaroni,” a term he used to describe pasta in general. Jefferson was known for offering pasta to his dinner guests during his presidency, and even had his own written recipe for an early form of mac and cheese that survives to this day. He was also known for serving White House visitors other European delicacies of the time, such as macaroons and ice cream. Though Jefferson was the famous face often connected to pasta’s growing popularity, his Black, enslaved cooks were the ones truly responsible for crafting the delicious dishes – among them James Hemings, Peter Hemings, Edith Hern Fossett, and Frances Gillette Hern. Source: The name for a single spaghetti noodle is “spaghetto.”

Fact of the Day - BODY TEMPERATURE Did you know.... In 1851, German physician Carl Wunderlich conducted a thorough experiment to determine the average human body temperature. In the city of Leipzig, Wunderlich stuck a foot-long thermometer inside 25,000 different human armpits, and discovered temperatures ranging from 97.2 to 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The average of those temperatures was the well-known 98.6 degrees — aka the number you hoped to convincingly exceed when you were too “sick” to go to school as a kid. For more than a century, physicians as well as parents have stuck with that number, but in the past few decades, experts have started questioning if 98.6 degrees is really the benchmark for a healthy internal human temperature. For one thing, many factors can impact a person’s temperature. The time of day, where the temperature was taken (skin, mouth, etc.), if the person ate recently, their age, their height, and their weight can all impact the mercury. Furthermore, Wunderlich’s equipment and calibrations might not pass scientific scrutiny today. Plus, some experts think humans are getting a little colder, possibly because of our overall healthier lives. Access to anti-inflammatory medication, better care for infections, and even better dental care may help keep our body temperatures lower than those of our 19th-century ancestors. In 1992, the first study to question Wunderlich’s findings found a baseline body temperature closer to 98.2 degrees. A 2023 study refined that further and arrived at around 97.9 degrees (though oral measurements were as low as 97.5). However, the truth is that body temperature is not a one-size-fits-all situation. For the best results, try to determine your own baseline body temperature and work with that. We’re sure Wunderlich won’t mind. Technically, humans can hibernate. Many mammals — from the humble ground squirrel to the majestic grizzly — practice some form of hibernation, slowing down certain bodily functions to survive winters. Naturally, that raises a question: “Humans are mammals. Can we hibernate?” While the answer is slightly more complicated than it is for a pint-sized rodent, the answer is yes … with caveats. The main component of hibernation is lowering body temperature. When this occurs, the body kicks into a low metabolic rate that resembles a state of torpor, a kind of extreme sluggishness in which animals require little to no food. Because most of our calories are burned up trying to keep our bodies warm, de-prioritizing that requirement would essentially send humans into hibernation — but this is where it gets tricky for Homo sapiens. First, humans don’t store food in our bodies like bears do, so we’d still need to be fed intravenously, and second, sedatives would be needed to keep us from shivering (and burning energy). In other words, it would be a medically induced hibernation, but hibernation nonetheless. A NASA project from 2014 looked into the possibility of achieving this kind of hibernation for long-duration space travel, and while the findings weren’t put into practice, there were no red flags suggesting a biological impossibility. Today, NASA continues its deep sleep work by gathering data on the hibernating prowess of Arctic ground squirrels. Source: The average body temperature is not 98.6 degrees.

What's the Word: RUBESCENT pronunciation: [roo-BES-ənt] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, 18th century Meaning: 1. Reddening; blushing. Examples: "My fair skin means I turn rubescent at the slightest hint of embarrassment." "Sugar maple leaves turn rubescent in the fall." About Rubescent “Rubescent” is based on the Latin “rubescens,” meaning “I am reddening.” Did you Know? Blushing, the experience of rubescent skin, is something many people experience with embarrassment, although there are many emotions that can cause flushed cheeks. There is no concrete explanation of the relationship between embarrassment and rubescent skin, but scientists believe blushing may be an involuntary demonstration to others during awkward moments — making it a sort of physiological apology. Others believe embarrassment triggers the fight-flight-freeze response, meaning a person who freezes still gets the adrenaline and raised heart rate they would have needed for fight or flight, and this is visible on their rubescent face.

Fact of the Day - MUSCLE FACTS Did you know.... The human body is a complex network of bones, sinews, tendons, organs, and muscles all working together to propel us through our daily lives, but it’s the latter member of this biological lineup that literally does much of the heavy lifting. More than 600 muscles spread across three muscle groups — skeletal, smooth (found in the walls of some organs), and cardiac — make up the human body, and this intricate system accounts for up to 40% of your total body mass. With such a complicated system keeping you moving (it takes the coordination of more than 200 muscles just to walk, for example), the human muscular system is a treasure trove of head-scratching and awe-inspiring facts. Here are five facts that will make you better appreciate what your hundreds of muscles do for you every day. They Provide Humans With a “Sixth Sense” You’re familiar with the body’s five senses (taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing) but there’s a little-known sixth sense provided by receptors in your muscles, tendons, and skin known as “proprioception.” The information sent by those receptors, once processed by the cerebellum, allows your brain to interpret the position of your body in space. Impairment of this sense can affect even the most physically fit among us. During the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), U.S. gymnast Simone Biles famously experienced a condition known as the “twisties,” which is essentially a temporary impairment of a type of proprioception known as “air awareness” — basically your brain and body have a slight communication breakdown that results in the body no longer accurately sensing its position while airborne. Luckily, most of us don’t require gymnast-level attunement to our proprioceptors in our daily lives, but it goes to show how our muscles do much more than just physically move us from place to place. Your Strongest Muscle Is the Masseter People often say the tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body, but that’s actually incorrect in more ways than one. First off, the tongue isn’t one muscle but a collection of eight muscles, each with an important role for talking, eating, and anchoring to the skeleton. And while it’s true a healthy tongue rarely shows signs of fatigue, its strength by volume is dwarfed by that of the masseter, known more commonly as the jaw muscle. Working in coordination with other muscles located in the jaw, the masseter can deliver up to 200 pounds of force on the molars. While the gluteus maximus (aka your butt) is the largest muscle and the heart is by far the hardest working, no muscle singlehandedly delivers as much power as the masseter. Your Muscles Shiver To Warm Your Body Although mammals are often referred to as “warm-blooded,” muscles actually provide up to 85% of the warmth in your body, because every time a muscle contracts, it produces heat. When your body gets cold, the brain’s hypothalamus first reduces blood flow to the skin while blood returning from your limbs enters deep veins. This helps entrap heat in the body for longer. But when this doesn’t quite do the trick, the brain then sends random signals to your skeletal muscles, causing them to contract and produce more heat to help warm your body — what we experience as shivering. Human Eye Muscles Make 100,000 Movements a Day When you think of muscles, you may picture the elegant pulley system that is the bicep/tricep duo or maybe your heart, the primary muscle that makes life possible. However, there are many other hard-working muscles that fly more under the radar, and chief among them are the six muscles (per eye) required for human vision. These muscles make approximately three coordinated movements per second, which comes to about 100,000 such movements total per day. So why isn’t our vision blurred due to all that constant movement? Well, it turns out our brains anticipate where we’re going to look and ignore the blurry movement it takes to move our eyes in those directions. People have long marveled at the ingenuity of the human eye, but it’s the surrounding muscles that truly enable us to take in the world around us. Your Body Contains a Few Muscles That Don’t Do Anything Human bodies are still an evolutionary work in progress, and this can be seen in the many vestigial (aka nonfunctional) muscles left over from our primate past. One example, the pyramidalis muscle in the abdomen, is believed to contract the thin band of connective tissue that runs down the front of your abdomen (known as the linea alba), but it’s no longer needed for that function — in fact, some people don’t have this muscle at all. Another vestigial muscle is the palmaris longus, which stretches from the wrist to the elbow and is suspected to have aided our ancestors in their grip strength. Around 10% of people don’t have this muscle in either arm. And then there are the auricular muscles, which theoretically aid in the physical movement of our ears by changing the shape of the pinna, the ear’s visible outer portion. Our ancestors stopped using these muscles for that function millions of years ago, although 2025 research shows these muscles may still be handy when trying to distinguish competing sounds. Source: These Muscle Facts Are a Serious Flex

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Fact of the Day - OREGON TRAIL DISEASES Did you know... Spoiler alert: They’re still around. These are five words familiar to anyone who has attempted to caulk a wagon and ford rivers en route to the Willamette Valley. Oregon Trail not only taught generations of kids about Western migration in 19th-century America, it also introduced them to various strange-sounding diseases. Let’s catch up with some of those diseases and find out if they’re just as nasty today. Cholera Then: One of the biggest killers on the actual Oregon Trail, cholera is an intestinal infection caused by ingesting the bacteria Vibrio cholerae. Spread through contaminated food or water, the pathogen releases an enterotoxin that effectively floods the intestines with excess water. This leads to continual watery diarrhea, causing severe dehydration and often death. Now: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cholera remains a global pandemic. Today, we have vaccines for the disease, and symptoms can be treated with a regimen of fluids and electrolytes, as well as antibiotics. The best defense remains stringent sanitation regulations, a luxury afforded primarily to industrialized countries. Between October 23 and November 25, 2024, nearly 29,000 new cholera cases were recorded worldwide. Diphtheria Then: Caused by a toxin produced by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, diphtheria is an airborne bacterial disease. It usually shows up first in the nose and throat, but can also surface as skin lesions. A gray, fibrous material grows over airways, causing difficulty breathing and sometimes uncontrollable drooling, as well as a deep cough and chills. Diphtheria was most common on the Oregon Trail during the winter months. Now: Routine childhood immunizations have nearly erased diphtheria in the U.S. In 2023, there were nearly 25,000 cases of diphtheria worldwide. The disease is rarely fatal if a person is vaccinated and receives treatment. Dysentery Then: Dysentery (a.k.a. shigellosis) is caused by Shigella bacteria and results in bloody diarrhea, which can lead to severe dehydration and death. Like cholera, dysentery spreads via contaminated water and food, but it was not as widespread on the trails as cholera. Dysentery was a bigger problem on Civil War battlefields. Now: Dysentery is still a major threat to the developing world. Not only is there no effective vaccine; recent strains are increasingly resistant to antibiotics—the only proven line of defense in tandem with fluids. Measles Then: Highly contagious measles ravaged the United States in the 19th century. Complications from measles, like bronchitis and pneumonia, made the disease life-threatening. Measles spreads through contaminated droplets when people cough, sneeze, wipe their nose and then touch anything. It causes nasty rashes, fever, and conjunctivitis. Now: A vaccine was discovered in the mid-20th century, virtually eradicating measles from the developed world. It is now part of the trifecta inoculation MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) that most American children receive in infancy and again at age 6. There were 285 reported cases of measles in the U.S. in 2024. (Most of the people who got measles were unvaccinated and got the disease while traveling; measles then spread among unvaccinated members of the community when the travelers returned home.) Measles is still a problem around the world: According to the World Health Organization, there were more than 100,000 measles deaths in 2023, “mostly among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of 5 years.” WHO estimates that “Measles vaccination averted more than 60 million deaths between 2000 and 2023.” Typhoid Fever Then: Oregon Trail pioneers contracted typhoid like many other diseases—from contaminated water. The disease, caused by Salmonella serotype Typhi, spreads when an infected person sheds the bacteria in their stool. The major symptom is high fever, followed by weakness and loss of appetite. In the warmer months, typhoid was a real killer. Now: Globally, there are around 9 million cases of typhoid fever and 100,000 deaths caused by the disease annually. There is a vaccine, and the disease can be treated with antibiotics (though it, like dysentery, is becoming resistant to antibiotics). People in the U.S. might pick it up when traveling in developing countries, so it’s key to check on your vaccination status and avoid any tap water or food cooked in unclean water when traveling. Source: Where Are They Now? Diseases That Killed You in ‘Oregon Trail’

Fact of the Day - ORDER DYNOMITE Did you know... Throughout more than a century of publication, the Sears catalog was a go-to source for American shoppers seeking out standard home goods. But in addition to those traditional products, the catalog also offered some curious items for sale, including live chickens, 14-room mail-order houses, and even highly explosive dynamite. A 1902 edition of the catalog advertised dynamite as a tool for removing tree stumps, claiming it to be “far superior to any other agent.” The company also offered more powerful varieties that could be used for blasting into hard rock and even underwater. Sears sold dynamite for as little as 13 cents a pound — less than $5 today — along with all of the electric fuses, connecting wires, and blasting machines required for operation. There were no prerequisites for purchasing this dynamite, despite the obvious safety risks associated with amateur use. Instead, Sears promised to “mail a booklet giving full information” to “those who are not familiar with handling dynamite,” hoping buyers would carefully follow the instructions. The dynamite could be found in the catalog’s “sporting goods” section, just a few pages away from comparatively mundane products such as baseball uniforms and hammocks. Dynamite and other more unusual items were phased out as Sears largely trended toward selling housewares. In future editions of the catalog, Sears noted that “to conform with the insurance laws,” it had been “forced to omit carbide from [its] stock,” which prevented it from selling explosives and combustibles. The traditional Sears catalog was discontinued in 1993. Dynamite was invented by the namesake of the Nobel Prize. Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist whose legacy consists of two major achievements: inventing dynamite and establishing the Nobel Prize. In 1862, Nobel opened a factory to produce nitroglycerin — an explosive liquid compound used in blasting mines. But the product was infamously unstable, and Nobel’s factory exploded in 1864. He spent the following years researching safer alternatives, and in 1867, he invented a more stable product by mixing nitroglycerin with kieselguhr (a porous rock). Nobel named this new compound dynamite — taken from the Greek dynamis, meaning “power” — and it earned him both global recognition as well as a staggering fortune. After Nobel’s death in 1896, many wondered what would happen to his vast wealth. To the surprise of many, including his family, Nobel’s will mandated the money be used to establish a series of new international awards honoring annual achievement in topics including science, literature, and peace. After years of debated legal claims, the inaugural Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. Source: You could once order dynamite through the Sears catalog.

What's the Word: LARGESSE pronunciation: [lahr-JESS] Part of speech: noun Origin: Old French, 13th century Meaning: 1. Generosity in bestowing money or gifts upon others. Examples: "I traveled to Europe when I was a student thanks to my uncle’s largesse." "The town completely renovated its community center and arena through the largesse of an anonymous donor." About Largesse “Largesse” is based on an Old French word, which was based on the Latin “largus,” meaning “abundant.” Did you Know? Some celebrities, such as Oprah Winfrey, are so committed to giving to others and building philanthropic causes that they’re almost better known for their largesse than for their work as entertainers. Singer Rihanna is emblematic of this kind of generosity: She has given millions to fund climate-change research as well as to education and health care for people living in poverty. However, other celebrities are known for a more personal kind of largesse, stories of which spread as internet legends. For example, Keanu Reeves has made a name for himself as a nice guy who’s friendly to those who encounter him in person and quick to help out struggling individuals. (He also donated roughly 70% of his pay from “The Matrix” to cancer research.)

What's the Word: OBTUND pronunciation: [ob-TUHND] Part of speech: verb Origin: Latin, 15th century Meaning: 1. Dull the sensitivity of; blunt; deaden. Examples: "Katherine bought a new shovel each winter and used it on the ice until she had obtunded it." "I was pleased to discover children’s aspirin obtunds the pain from canker sores." About Obtund “Obtund” is based on the Latin “obtundere,” which means “to dull.” It is based on the roots “ob-” (meaning “against”) and “tundere” (meaning “to beat”). Did you Know? “Obtund” means “to blunt” or “to render dull.” This meaning is built right into its Latin roots “ob-” and “tundere,” meaning “to beat against.” To obtund, originally, meant to blunt a physical object by repetitious force, the same way a shovel becomes dull the more often the digger collides with buried rocks. Today, “obtund” is often used in medical contexts, in which it describes not dulling tools but dulling sensitivity. For example, a topical anesthetic is used to obtund areas of skin or tissue that might otherwise be more sensitive.

Fact of the Day - UP THE WAZOO? Did you know.... Poking around how ‘wazoo’ became a euphemism for ‘butt.’ When a person has problems that threaten to overwhelm them, it is an unhelpful friend or observer who says they have issues “up the wazoo.” Or they might use the alternative phrase out the wazoo. In either case, wazoo is functioning as a slang term for the butt, and the poor soul who’s being talked about has a dilemma or some kind of surplus that is either up their posterior or coming out of it. Crass? Certainly. But also quite descriptive. So where did this charming colloquialism come from? Let’s start with wazoo. According to the Oxford English Dictionary—which remains an authority on words both pleasant and profane—wazoo’s origins are hard to pin down. The word might come from the French word oiseau, or “bird,” via Louisiana Creole. Another possibility is that it stemmed from the word razoo meaning “raspberry,” but not in the edible sense: Razoo was late-1800s slang for giving someone raspberries, or showing them contempt. Another theory is that wazoo may be related to kazoo and its variant, gazoo, which both entered the lexicon in the 19th century to describe the buzzing instrument. In the 1960s, all three words gained traction as slang for the butt or anus, perhaps because it, too, also makes unpleasant noise. Wazoo in particular first saw print in this context in 1961, when a University of California, Berkeley, campus humor newspaper suggested readers “run it up yer ol’ wazoo.” And in Francis Pollini’s 1965 novel Glover, a character mentions a place featuring “Blokes, Blokes, up the goddamn gazoo and out.” Pollini was using the phrase like we use up the wazoo today—implying (usually unpleasant) excess or abundance. It’s unclear when exactly people started invoking wazoo itself in the same way, but it happened at least as early as 1978: That year, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser observed that Wally Amos (of Famous Amos cookie fame) was “up his wazoo in kazoos” as a result of handing them out at a baseball game. By the 1980s, up the wazoo in the posterior sense had begun to proliferate across published works. The OED’s first citation appeared in New York’s Syracuse Herald-Journal in 1981 (“There comes a time in performing when you just do it. You can have theory up the wazoo”), while Green’s Dictionary of Slang cites the 1983 book Gardens of Stone: “I got paperwork up the wazoo.” Eventually, up the wazoo and out the wazoo eclipsed their kazoo and gazoo counterparts—and even other wazoo phrases, including pain in the wazoo. Per the OED, both of the former phrases mean “in great quantities, in abundance, to excess,” but Green’s has a slightly different definitions: Out the wazoo simply means “to excess,” while up the wazoo has a more negative connotation, meaning “full up, as much as one can handle, to excess; all over the place.” So if one has an issue up the wazoo, it means the problem has gotten out of hand. If a situation has been described as going out the wazoo, then the excess isn’t necessarily a problem. One could have money out the wazoo with no complaints. Bills up the wazoo, however, would be a different story. In all instances, a writer or speaker is able to communicate a crude meaning without running afoul of manners or editorial guidelines, which may help explain how the word wazoo caught on in the first place. Even The Wall Street Journal was an early champion: One 1971 article stated that golf “is quite safe, the greatest risk being the possibility of a long drive plunking some poor fellow in the wazoo.” But wazoo has not been the sole purview of the anus. According to Green’s, wazoo was used in print as a euphemism for the vagina as early as 1962. For some, wazoo is simply synonymous with an orifice, and apparently there was a time when any one of them would do. Source: Why Do We Say “Up the Wazoo”?

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What's the Word: SCRUTATOR pronunciation: [skroo-TAY-ter] Part of speech: noun Origin: Latin, 16th century Meaning: 1. A person who scrutinizes or investigates. Examples: "Detective Sherlock Holmes is one of literature’s most famous scrutators." "After the fire in our house, the insurance company sent a scrutator to explore its causes." About Scrutator “Scrutator” is taken from the Latin “scrūtātor,” meaning “searcher” or “examiner.” Did you Know? From Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes to Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander, fictional scrutators have brought readers along as they investigate, ask questions, and explore various mysteries. TV and movie scrutators have pulled audiences even deeper into their worlds. For example, “Law and Order” detectives Lennie Briscoe and his partner Rey Curtis spent years entertaining viewers as they interviewed witnesses and suspects in nearly every type of business or organization in New York City, from garbage dumps to Wall Street offices to fish markets to day care centers.

What's the Word: ALABASTRINE pronunciation: [al-ə-BAS-trin] Part of speech: adjective Origin: French, 16th century Meaning: 1. Made of or resembling alabaster, in particular in being white or smooth. Examples: "The chandelier was made of an alabastrine glass that gently diffused the lights." "The landscape designer commissioned an alabastrine statue to contrast against the red rose bushes." About Alabastrine “Alabastrine” is taken from the French “alabastrin,” which is based on the Latin “alabastrinus,” both meaning “made of alabaster.” Did you Know? Alabaster, a mineral, is known for its distinctive color (or lack thereof): It is creamy white, but translucent enough to refract light so that it appears to glow from within. To compare a substance or color to alabaster, call it “alabastrine.” For example, creamy translucent marble could be described as alabastrine, in the same way a pale, smooth gourd might be alabastrine. And in the era of black-and-white films, Greta Garbo and Veronica Lake were known for their alabastrine complexions.

Fact of the Day - EVERGREEN TREES Did you know... There’s quite a long history behind the most iconic Christmas decoration. Many people look forward to bringing home a traditional tree for Christmas. There’s nothing like picking out the biggest evergreen from the farm, decorating it, and waiting for the day to open presents. The trees are a ubiquitous part of the holiday season, but how did the tradition start? Pagan solstice celebrations, German influences, and Queen Victoria’s reputation are the primary reasons the custom became mainstream. Believe it or not, evergreens initially had nothing to do with Christianity—although religion was involved. According to History, many ancient cultures viewed the sun as a god whose strength ebbed and flowed throughout the year. When the winter solstice (the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere) arrived on December 21 or 22, it was a sign that the sun god was about to regain his strength. They brought greenery indoors to mark the sun’s return and evoke the lusher, warmer times soon to come. People from many parts of the world, including Egypt, Rome, and northern Europe, celebrated the winter solstice in this way. As Texas A&M University history professor Troy Bickham wrote on the school’s blog, many Europeans continued to practice the pagan winter solstice traditions even as Christmas gained popularity. However, the Christmas tree as we know it today didn’t rise to prominence until the 16th century. In their effort to distance themselves from the Catholic church, Protestant leaders in Germany promoted the Christmas tree to replace images of the nativity, also known as the birth of Jesus. German religious reformer Martin Luther is said to have been the first to decorate a tree for Christmas by adding lit candles. The earliest European settlers in North America considered Christmas, and the evergreen tradition, sacrilegious. Puritan colonists in Massachusetts even fined people who were caught celebrating the holiday. As German people migrated to the soon-to-be United States in the 18th century, they brought their Christmas traditions with them, and Christmas trees gained popularity accordingly. Queen Victoria is largely responsible for solidifying the Christmas tree's place in popular culture. The queen’s mother and husband hailed from Germany and influenced the royal holiday celebrations, which included the decorating of a large evergreen tree and placing gifts underneath its boughs. The Christmas tree custom became widespread in England after an 1848 issue of the London Illustrated News showed the queen and her family decorating one. America’s middle class, in turn, deeply admired Victorian culture at the time and adopted the trend. Today, 25 to 30 million Christmas trees are sold annually in the U.S. Source: How Did Evergreen Trees Become a Christmas Symbol?

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What's the Word: CONGRUOUS pronunciation: [kahNG-roo-us] Part of speech: adjective Origin: Latin, 16th century Meaning: 1. In agreement or harmony. Examples: "The noise from the hotel bar was congruous with its reputation as an all-night party spot." "City officials paired a redesign of the park with a congruous set of new community programs." About Congruous “Congruous” is based directly on the Latin “congruous,” meaning “coinciding with.” Did you Know? Though “incongruous” is a somewhat common word, “congruous,” on which it's based, is lesser known. “Congruent” is a geometric term meaning “identical in form,” while “congruous” applies to things being in harmony, but not exactly the same. For example, a theater’s lighting setup is often designed to be congruous with its sound system in order to deliver a cohesive experience.

Fact of the Day - WHY FIDO? Did you know.... It’s rare to meet a dog that’s actually named Fido these days. “Fido” is a name that has become synonymous with all things dog. There’s FidoTV, a channel devoted to dog content. Nickelodeon once held the “Fido Awards” to honor impressive canines. Even the dog-like Pokémon is named “Fidough.” In fact, Fido has become such a cliché name that people have generally stopped using it, instead opting for more popular pooch names like Luna, Bella, Max, and Charlie. But, at one point, Fido was a common enough name to lead to this ongoing association with dogs. The name is a spin on the Latin word fidus, which means “faithful,” so it’s a fitting moniker for humankind’s best friend. A Presidential Pet President Abraham Lincoln often gets credit for popularizing the name. While he did have a significant role, Lincoln’s famous Fido wasn’t the first. There’s evidence of canines with the name going back to the mid-18th century. And in 1845, Fido or the Faithful Friend was a widespread children’s book about a boy and his pet dog. Lincoln’s Fido came into his life in 1855. This Fido was a mutt with long ears, a short tail, and yellow fur—or “‘yaller,” as Lincoln called it. Matthew Algeo’s book Abe & Fido: Lincoln's Love of Animals and the Touching Story of His Favorite Canine Companion cites a forensic veterinarian who used photographs to speculate the dog was “predominantly Labrador retriever.” Abraham Lincoln’s dog Fido, photographed in 1860 It’s unknown how the Lincolns got Fido, but Algeo notes that it was uncommon to purchase dogs at the time, so Fido was likely a stray. Not every member of the Lincoln family felt the same level of affection for him: Mary Lincoln and Bob, the eldest son, weren’t dog lovers. But Abe and his younger sons, Willie and Tad, were Fido’s biggest fans. Abe Lincoln and Fido were staples in Springfield, Illinois; community members got to know them both thanks to their frequent walks around town. The dog apparently enjoyed chasing his tail and jumping on people. He also had a favorite couch: a 7-foot-long sofa custom-made for Lincoln’s tall body. During peaceful times, Fido would lie on it. And during stressful times—which for the pup meant thunderstorms or loud community parties involving fireworks and cannons—he hid under it. The American public was introduced to Fido when Lincoln ran for president. Campaign managers propped up the pet to make their candidate seem more accessible. But when Lincoln was elected in 1861, it marked the beginning of the end of Fido’s time with the family. He was skittish around commotion and had a rambunctious side, so Mary and Abe decided the dog couldn’t join them in the White House. Instead, he was left with the Roll family, their longtime friends. As a parting gift, Fido got to keep his favorite oversized sofa. Tragically, the animal was stabbed in the chest by a local in 1866—just one year after his former owner’s assassination. A Friend ’Til the End Another Fido emerged on the scene decades later; he, too, shares credit for the name’s ubiquity. This Fido was a stray dog living in Borgo San Lorenzo, Italy, during World War II. As strays sometimes do, he “adopted” a human friend—in this case, a factory worker named Carlo Soriano—and accompanied him on his daily commute to and from the bus stop. Soriano died in 1943 when his workplace was bombed in the war. Fido showed up at the bus stop for the next 13–14 years (depending on the source), waiting for his friend. This story was covered in Time magazine and a handful of newspapers. This Fido still gets cited as an example of canine loyalty, which helps keep the name in the lexicon. Even if there are fewer Fidos on the scene today, the term is alive and well to refer to dogkind. And who knows? Maybe some American president and bus stop enthusiasts will revive it sometime in the future. Source: Why Do We Call Dogs Fido?

A month earlier than I expected. NISA usually likes March. This gives me hope that Kai will actually be a late 2025 release.

Late response because I was on vacation. I've been so out of touch with anime lately I've missed a LOT of stuff, but I take one look at this and see a bunch of titles here I'm excited to see. Uzumaki I have high hopes for, and most of the stuff on the sequels list are series I enjoyed watching.

Fact of the Day - GHOST STORIES Did you know... We dive into the psychology behind why people are drawn to such terrifying tales. Gathering around a campfire to share bone-chilling ghost stories is a classic camping ritual. These tales can induce nightmares, but some people can’t get enough of them. What is it about scary ghost stories that has captivated humanity for thousands of years? Why We Love Ghost Stories There are several possible reasons why people tell ghost stories. One explanation is that our fear of the unknown makes these tales appealing. We don’t understand much about death and the afterlife, making supernatural stories terrifying yet intriguing. And when made to be sinister antagonists, ghosts become more menacing and, thus, more fascinating. Various versions of spirits appear in cultures throughout the world, but the idea of a being that haunts someone or somewhere is a particularly Western concept. According to anthropologist Carie Hersh, these scary depictions of ghosts may reflect society’s discomfort and trauma surrounding conversations about death. “We tend to have a lot of rituals around death, and some of that is to enact a sense of control over this ultimately unknowable transition,” she told Northeastern Global News in 2023. As existential psychologist Clay Routledge explained to the John Templeton Foundation in 2022, believing in the supernatural can also soothe our anxieties about mortality. Although becoming a wandering spirit may not sound appealing, some may view ghost stories as explanations of what can happen after death; they answer existential questions and offer possibilities about a phenomenon that isn’t widely understood. The Science Behind Our Fascination with Horror Many of us want stimulation from horror, whether we’re reading Stephen King novels or watching Wes Craven movies. As Haiyang Yang and Kuangjie Zhang wrote for the Harvard Business Review, seeing or anticipating something scary can stimulate people negatively (with fear or anxiety) or positively (through excitement or joy). Horror provides both sensations simultaneously, with the most frightening moment unleashing the most pleasure. Fear can also cause adrenaline rushes—people experience boosts in energy and sensations in the “fight or flight” mindset, which might leave them wanting more. The concept of a “protective frame” can also be applied to people’s ability to enjoy horror. The protective frame can be divided into three categories: the safety frame, detachment, and a sense of control. The safety frame is about understanding that an entity in a story or movie cannot harm us, while detachment refers to the skill of mentally disconnecting oneself from the moment of horror because one knows it’s not real. The last category applies to controlling the scary things you’re exposed to—it’s easier to enjoy something terrifying if you’re managing the situation and are sure you can overcome it. This psychological concept prevents people from allowing fear to take over and reminds them that it’s temporary. As a result, they can be OK with—or perhaps even enjoy—seeing terrifying things. Those without protective frames feel as though they are in danger when witnessing something scary and don’t want to experience the discomfort again. Source: Why Do We Tell Scary Ghost Stories?

Fact of the Day - LINGUINE VS. GETTUCCINE VS. SPAGHETTI Did you know.... The type of long noodle you use actually does make a difference. Standing in the pasta aisle can be a surefire way to experience a decision-paralysis episode. There are hundreds of varieties, and to the untrained eye, it can feel a bit like choosing between “dusty rose” and “rose gold” paint swatches. It can even be tough to distinguish the difference between three of the classics: linguine, fettuccine, and spaghetti. Below, we break down what sets these noodles apart, and why the distinction can make a big difference in your dish. Linguine Linguine, which means “little tongues” in Italian, is a long, flat noodle. Wider than spaghetti but narrower than fettuccine, it has a smooth, flat surface that pairs well with light, delicate sauces like pesto. It doesn’t overpower the ingredients it’s often paired with, which makes it a solid choice for dishes where you want your sauce to shine. Fettuccine Fettuccine’s name—which translates to “little ribbons”—tells us a lot about its shape. The pasta is broad and generally 1/4-inch thick; it’s about twice as wide as linguine. The wide, flat shape makes fettuccine a great vessel for heavier sauces, especially creamy ones like Alfredo or a meaty bolognese. Spaghetti Even if you aren’t familiar with linguine or fettuccine, spaghetti is a noodle you’ve certainly seen before. Spaghetti is the most popular pasta shape (and it’s also one of the easiest to industrially manufacture). Unlike fettuccine and linguine, this pasta is not flat, and is instead cylindrical. Its long, thin shape is perfect for twirling around on your fork. Because it lacks the thickness of broader shapes like fettuccine, spaghetti is best paired with lighter sauces like marinara, carbonara, or even a simple combination of garlic and olive oil. How to Choose the Right Pasta Shape Choosing between the three above pasta types boils down to the kind of dish you want to create, as the shape will affect the desired outcome. If you’re making a lighter sauce or looking for something to pair with veggies or seafood, consider linguine. But if you want a heavy, hearty sauce, then fettuccine will be a better choice. And if you’re looking for some classic Italian American comfort food, then you can’t go wrong with spaghetti and meatballs. Source: Linguine vs. Fettuccine vs. Spaghetti: What’s the Difference?

Iwakura, Lain (Serial Experiments Lain)