Yes, it’s true, there’s a wild story behind the god who lends his name to Tuesday: Tiu, also sometimes spelled Tiw. Tiu’s remarkable myth even involves women with beards (more on that in a bit). But, the past 1,000 years or so have not been kind to this Germanic divinity. Who is Tuesday named for? Tuesday comes from the Old English tīwesdæg, meaning “Tiu’s day.” Tiu …
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 …
Like Pluto’s three other moons: Charon, Nix, and Hydra, it’s newest found satellites are named for figures from Greek myth: Styx and Kerberos. But how did the IAU reach this naming conclusion? How did Pluto’s moons get their names? According to their press release, “These names were backed by voters in a recently held popular contest, aimed at allowing the public to suggest names for the …
From the California dance band !!! to MIA spelling out her name in dashes, musical artists seem to love putting symbols in their names. Perhaps none more extravagant than pop star Ke$ha, who differentiates herself with a single letter substitution. Born Kesha Rose Sebert, the singer/songwriter/rapper simply exchanged the S in her first name with a $ (or dollar sign). The artist initially made the …
A demonym is any name derived from a place that helps describe people who live there. Californians are people who live in California. Frenchmen live in France. And so on. But what about the demonyms that are seemingly random? How the heck did people from the Netherlands become the Dutch, for example? Where Dutch came from Before we dig into this demonym, there are three terms …
Is “Rocket ‘88” by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats the very first rock and roll record? The question has inspired debate among musicologists for years. Another equally contentious question: Where does the term rock and roll come from?Rock is derived from the Old English roccain, related to the Old Nordic rykkja meaning, “to pull, tear, move.” The earliest recorded use of the term in literature can …
The Los Angeles Lakers‘ Ron Artest has spent the majority of his basketball career stirring up controversy with his own brand of joie de vivre. The eccentric, at times rowdy, small forward and shooting guard now graces this column for a linguistic reason. Artest plans on officially changing his name to Metta World Peace. If, as our recent post conjectures, our given names play a part …
J.J. Abram’s “Super 8,” an homage to the work of Steven Spielberg, grossed $260 million in 2011. Millions of people have seen this film, but it’s doubtful they know what the title means. Released by Eastman Kodak in 1965, Super 8 became one of the preferred film formats of the motion picture industry during the 1960s and 70s—alongside 35 mm film. The name is an …
It’s likely no surprise that around here, we delight in animals with interesting names—from zedonk to beefalo. One of the few creatures that can top the zedonk for linguistic and zoological oddness is the narwhal. If you’ve ever seen a creature that looks like a whale with a unicorn horn, you might imagine it’s been Photoshopped. But that’s not fiction—that’s a narwhal. Where did the …
For over two decades, the puzzle video game Tetris has provided countless hours of procrastination and enjoyment for players all over the globe. But now, researchers believe that Tetris might have a new purpose. They think that the game may help to prevent the flashbacks that occur in the early stages of post-traumatic stress disorder. While the research is fascinating, let’s turn our attention to
Possum and opossum are two words that many people think are synonyms or alternate spellings of the same word. While there is some truth to that, these words can actually be used to refer to different animals. In this article, we will explain exactly what a possum and an opossum is and the difference between how the words possum and opossum are used in zoology. …
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 …
