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September 20
Some things seem important at the time, and they might even be remembered, but long-term their effects don’t seem particularly significant. This is the day, for example, that Agnes of Poitou met with Andrew I of Hungary in 1058 (!) to negotiate the border of Burgenland. Agnes was a queen in something vaguely resembling Germany, Continue reading
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Pigs!
From Piglet to Wilbur to Babe to Animal Farm, pigs play a certain minor (or possibly mid-range) role as characters in English writing. Pigs have been domesticated for many centuries, and they’ve entered the language as well. The thing is, most pig-related words and idioms don’t seem particularly kind to the pigs. The word “hogwash,” Continue reading
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Wile (not E. Coyote)
When you’re musing, daydreaming, or generally relaxing in an aimless sort of way, you might say that you’re “whiling away the time”. But you might instead say — and back in the day you might have been more likely to say — you’re “WILING away the time.” “While” began to be used as a verb Continue reading
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Born today: William Sellers
We don’t usually notice the fairly mundane objects around us that are absolutely essential — to the point that hardly anything would function without them — but seem to be just “available” and ubiquitous. Like nuts and bolts. They’re not branded (okay, some are), and although there are some variations, it’s very easy to find Continue reading
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September 19
Ahoy me hearties, ’tis International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Arrr! Her keel was laid down in the year 1995, it was, when crewmates Cap’n Slappy ’n Ol’ Chumbucket were granted the boon of an idea by ol’ Davy Jones himself. T’was June the 6th when they had the idea, but they fixed the day Continue reading
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Ooglification
About 35 years ago there was a professor of linguistics at Drew University: Roger Wescott, who happened upon the slang word “oogly” (or at least said he did; not a whole lot of other people seem to have heard of it). “Oogly,” Wescott explained, was a form of “ugly,” and it was used to mean Continue reading
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September 18
Corn is quite the important grain. It’s “maize,” really, and it came from southern Mexico, where it was cultivated over 10,000 years ago. Even the word “maize” comes from what the indigenous Taino called it: “mahiz.” It’s called “corn” in English because the word already existed, meaning a small, hard particle like a grain of Continue reading
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Hare’s Spoiled Trick
Beaver was sitting in his library reading a story when there was a knock on his door. It was Hare. “Oh, hello Hare,” said Beaver, “I was just…” “You were reading a story in your library,” said Hare. “I know.” “You do?” “Yes, and then there was a knock on your door and you got Continue reading
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Born today: Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
We’re in the middle of a boom in rocketry; sending satellites and people into orbit — and potentially beyond — is no longer just a thing that huge governments can do; there are lots of entities and organizations involved now. The whole endeavor can be traced back to the founders of modern rocketry. One of Continue reading
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Sophisticated
Word of the day: sophisticated “Sophisticated” means refined, cultured, and even complicated. A “sophisticate” is a person who embodies those qualities. But all this is only recently, in etymological terms. “Sophisticate” meaning a person dates only from the 1920s, and even “sophisticated” was used in our modern sense — and applied to people — starting Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.
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peterharbeson@me.com