Come Halloween, miniature ghosts, ghouls, and goblins ring your doorbell. But each of the three freaky frights has a different history and personality. Only one of them has alarming tendencies towards necrophagia.
One of the only features these staples of the supernatural share is their ghastliness. Ghosts are considered to be the souls of the dead. They CONTINUE READING »
It’s one of a kid’s favorite parts of Halloween. There’s no feeling quite like waiting for a stranger to open his or her door so you can scream the words “trick or treat.”
But why do we say it? What does it actually mean?
The practice of donning a costume and asking for treats from your neighbors dates back to the Middle Ages. But back then it wasn’t CONTINUE READING »
Halloween has its roots in two celebrations: the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday All Saint’s Day. The spooky festival’s name, however, comes from only one.
Samhain is Gaelic for “summer’s end, and marks what has loosely been labeled the “Celtic New Year.” The end of the “lighter half” of the year and the beginning of the “darker half.”
All Saint’s Day honors all of the Catholic saints. The Roman Catholic Church refers to it CONTINUE READING »
Celine Dion is now the proud momma of twin boys. We’re happy for the entertainment diva, and pleased at the excuse to explore the language of twins.
Dion’s boys are not identical twins. They’re fraternal. This means that they derived from separately fertilized ova and that they have different genetic makeup. Fraternal twins may be of the same or of the opposite sex.
While some fraternal twins resemble each other, some look as different as second CONTINUE READING »
Rap impresario Kanye West has been hard at work not only quashing rumors that he practices devil worship, but that he is part of the notorious “Illuminati.” The gossip began after the release of his new short film “Runaway,” which contains references to the elusive organization. West recently expressed confusion about the Illuminati. Is it connected to supposed devil worship? What is its basis in reality, and what does the word signify?
The Illuminati refers to several different groups, which are both CONTINUE READING »
Jane Austen is known for her clean and eloquent prose. But new scholarly work shows that the great novelist’s editor likely played a bigger role in Austen’s literary pursuits than previously thought.
(By the way, do you know what language the word “novel” comes from? Find out here.)
In fact, it seems that Austen may have been guilty of cacography, or bad CONTINUE READING »
This week thousands of Americans will scoop out the flesh of a gourd, crudely carve a haunting face into its rind, and stick a candle inside. Then the jack-o’-lanterns will proudly be displayed on porches and stoops. Who or what is this wacky tradition named after?
The British can claim ownership of the original use of the phrase “jack-o’-lantern.” In the 17th century, it referred to a night watchman, a man who literally carried a lantern.
But it was also a nickname for strange, flickering lights seen at night CONTINUE READING »
On December 21, 1817, the poet John Keats wrote a letter to his brother in which he expressed and named a quality of human existence that is tricky to articulate. Keats’ formulation has been adopted by philosophers, poets, and others ever since.
Roughly, the idea is our ability to simultaneously acknowledge the unpredictable nature of events and conduct ourselves with confidence and happiness. He called this familiar yet complex concept CONTINUE READING »
Koreans eat it with almost every meal. When the country’s first astronauts went into space, portions of this food went with them. Each year, South Koreans consume more than two million tons of it.
Now, because of abnormal fall weather, there is a shortage, driving the country into crisis. CONTINUE READING »
Little kids often get confused regarding the fact that “right” refers to a certain direction and also what is good, proper, and just. After all, “left” doesn’t mean wrong ― right?
Well, not exactly.
“Left” comes from the Old English lyft, which means “weak, idle, CONTINUE READING »
