As computer programmers, graphic designers, and really nearly everyone starts to fret over AI making their jobs obsolete, it’s a good idea to remember that sometimes change is a very good thing. A quick peek through history will reveal some now-extinct jobs that were once considered normal, but today seem extraordinarily perilous, eccentric, or downright disgusting. Some of these [...]
If asked to give an example of a Native American word, the average American today would likely struggle to provide much more than “tee-pee” or maybe “moccasin,” but the United States holds a secret about Native American language, namely that over half of our states were originally named by Native Americans. From Alabama to Wyoming, the names of 26 [...]
Gone are the days of the milkman and chimney sweep, as technological advancements have sent a multitude of once-common jobs the way of the dodo. In their stead, however, are different jobs with shiny new titles like Chief Happiness Officer and Digital Overlord, names that would have baffled people just a few decades before. These unusual new job names [...]
Hawaii is known for good vibes, good waves, and a good deal of confusion over its language. It is one of the US’s few officially bilingual states, with English and Hawaiian of course being the official languages, but neither of those is the common language that actual Hawaiians and Hawaiian residents speak. The daily language is locally known as [...]
One of the core tenets of language and linguistics is that sometimes, things just don’t make sense. Anyone who has ever tried to learn a new language, whether mashing buttons on their Duolingo app or bumbling about in a foreign country, has felt that insight – “But why? That makes no sense.” Language is famous (and usually charming) for [...]
The Midwest is a BIG part of the country, and depending on who you ask, the region generally includes from North Dakota down to the bottom of Missouri, then east as far as Ohio. That means a lot of land mass and a lot of people, which is part of the reason the traditional Midwestern accent is generally considered [...]
The Rosetta Stone, now valued as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time, was once valued for something else entirely – its sturdiness as an actual stone. Centuries ago, Egyptian builders found this large slab of black basalt, ignored its now-invaluable engravings, and used it to fortify an ancient wall near the Egyptian town of Rashid (Rosetta). [...]
In the world of espionage and covert communication, sometimes the tiniest details can hold the greatest secrets. Welcome to our deep dive into the fascinating world of microdots, a pivotal tool in the history of secret communication that has shaped the history of intelligence operations. From wartime espionage to modern-day applications, we'll explore how these minuscule dots have played [...]
Raindrops. A crackling fire. Birdsong. There are certain sounds that everyone, no matter what corner of the globe they’re in, likes to hear. We share an appreciation for these sounds as part of our human experience, regardless of culture, religion, or borders. Similarly, one Harvard study proclaimed that music too is a cultural universal, in that there are certain [...]
Ask someone to do an impression of a California accent and you’re likely to get a laidback “Fersure, dude,” with perhaps a shaka hand sign thrown in for good measure. But does anyone in California actually even speak like this? Fersure, dude. Not everyone though, and the standard baseline “California accent” is quite moderate and more akin to “General [...]
