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What do hunting and sexual desires have in common? We could point to several things, but from a linguistic point of view, we’re referring to the archaic word venery, which means both hunting (from the Latin venor) and sexual desire (from Latin veneria, referring to Venus). Strangely, terms of venery is a collective noun that means a group of animals. And, many of these animal …
WARNING: Your brain is about to experience conflict and interference, while executing a suspiciously mundane task. Do not scoff. Different-colored words will slow down your mental processing, and there’s almost nothing you can do about it—except read the rest of this article to learn more. You are at the mercy of . . . the Stroop effect! Get ready: The following is a group of words, written …
Many people might be surprised to learn that the word taser is an acronym. The (debatable) non-lethal weapon that causes temporary paralysis was invented in the 1970s by a man named Jack Cover (who worked for NASA at one point). Cover aimed to create a non-lethal weapon that could be used in situations in which firing a real gun would prove fatal, like in an airplane hijacking. …
We all know by now that Twitter raised their character limit to 280. Predictably, this change has inspired hilarious reactions online. Most users are downright gleeful they have a wee-bit more space to tweet. Others are upset, claiming this expansion will ruin Twitter by making it more like Facebook. A few grumpy tweeters have solemnly vowed to never compose a tweet that’s longer than the …
What is Groundhog Day? February 2 marks Groundhog Day. While the frost is still thick on the ground in some places of the country, spring may be on the way. Despite all of the fantastic scientific methods man uses to forecast the weather, Groundhog Day always comes down to a chunky little rodent named Punxsutawney Phil, supposedly named after King Phillip. In a small Pennsylvania town …
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