The instantly recognizable statues on Easter Island (887 of them), called moai, have perplexed and fascinated explorers, experts and average folks since the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen came across it in 1722. And Mr. Roggeveen is the reason it’s called Easter Island. He and his crew dropped anchor on Easter Sunday. The current inhabitants of Isla de Pascua (Spanish for “Easter Island”) call it Rapa Nui, a …
Typewriter enthusiasts around the globe felt a bit blue back in 2011 after hearing that Godrej and Boyce, one of the world’s last operational typewriter factories located in Mumbai, India, closed its doors for the last time after an impressive one-hundred-and-fourteen year run. Once regarded as an indispensable device for any writer, the typewriter has long been regarded for both its beauty and functionality. Ernest …
Catalan is a Romance language spoken primarily in the Eastern and Northeastern regions of Spain, mainly Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Isles. It is the official language of Andorra, a landlocked country located in the Eastern Pyrenees (mountains bordered by Spain and France). The Catalan language was nearly wiped out in the early 1700s only to experience a renaissance beginning in the early 20th century. What …
There are many reasons to be thankful for the benefits of modern living: antibiotics, airplanes, velcro …. Another subtle but essential item is our calendar. It may have some frustrating moments, but consider how months used to work. Take heed of Mercedonius In the days of the Roman calendar, an intercalary month was added in leap years and a few other times as well. This …
When the Spanish first began exploring the Pacific Coast of North America, they mistakenly believed that California was an island. (Some of the earliest and most fascinating maps of the state depict it as separated from the mainland.) This is considered one of the greatest, albeit short-lived, cartographic errors. Early mapmakers began labeling the “island” as California, the name of a mythical island in a book …
Tensions are high on the Korean Peninsula. The aggression by North Korea on the South has captured the world’s attention and raised a number of questions about Korea’s history, names, and geography. Prior to 1910, Korea was a kingdom. Then, from 1910 to 1945, the country was under Japanese rule. At the end of World War II, the country was divided into two occupational zones along the …
New York City goes by many names, such as the “City that Never Sleeps” and the less humble “Center of the Universe.” But the Big Apple is the most kenspeckled. There are many rumors about the history of the nickname. Did the city used to be filled with apple orchards? Does the name originate with a brothel madam named Eve? Actually, the widespread use of …
Pakistan means “land of the pure” in Urdu and Persian. It shares a suffix with Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. But, what does it mean? What does -stan mean? The suffix –stan is Persian and Urdu for “place of,” or “where one stands.” It is found in the names of seven countries: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In most of these titles, the first part of the …
Speaking in tongues, also referred to as gift of tongues or glossolalia, is a phenomenon that occurs when a person experiencing religious ecstasy or a trance utters incomprehensible sounds that they believe are a language spoken through them by a god or deity. It is believed that a person speaking in tongues is temporarily being gifted the ability to speak a language they do not …