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Word of the day: MUCK-SPOUT (19th century) - someone who swears too much
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A quote from US President Richard Nixon unearthed in 1997 said that had rap existed when he was young, he might have chosen to become a rapper instead of entering politics.
(Image: Nancy Wong; CC BY-SA.)
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"A vital ingredient of success is not knowing that what you're attempting can't be done." TERRY PRATCHETT
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Paris, Texas has an Eiffel Tower with a cowboy hat on it.
(Image: Adavyd; CC BY-SA.)
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Word of the Day: IRRITAINMENT — an extremely annoying media spectacle that you can’t stop watching.
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Near the Norwegian village of Grense Jakobselv, the border between Norway and Russia runs in the river Jakobselva. The Norwegian bank of the river has a sign that says ‘No peeing towards Russia’.
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In his 1828 dictionary, Noah Webster wrote that ‘the domestic cat needs no description. It is a deceitful animal, and when enraged, extremely spiteful’.
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There’s a village in Montenegro that holds both the World Championships of Laziness (lying on a mattress for the longest time), and a slow bicycle race where the winner is the last to finish.
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‘Alphabet fatigue’ is a phenomenon whereby a dictionary team becomes less and less thorough as they move through the letters of the alphabet. For instance, the first edition of ‘Encyclopedia Britannica’ had three volumes: A-B, C-L, and M-Z. (h/t @MerriamWebster)
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In 1910, Lilian Bland flew Ireland’s first biplane and became the first woman in the world to design, build, and fly her own plane. She was cautious about the attempt and called the plane ‘Mayfly’, explaining: ‘It may fly, it may not’.
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Eight out of ten of all the languages humans have ever spoken are now extinct.
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There is an object hurtling through the Milky Way known as The Accident – it is neither star nor planet, but a very old, cold brown dwarf.
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The first woman to circumnavigate the globe was the botanist Jeanne Baret, who disguised herself as a male valet on de Bougainville’s expedition of 1766-69.
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Salamanders can count to three (but no further).
Image: Camazine
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Last year scientists discovered an explosion, 390 million light years away, which was the equivalent of ‘setting off 20 billion, billion megaton TNT explosions every thousandth of a second for the entire 240 million years.’
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The centre of the galaxy tastes of raspberries.
(Image: ESO/Y. Beletsky; CC BY.)
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Dogs can tell when you're intentionally not giving them treats.
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Some female hummingbirds masquerade as males to avoid harassment.
(Image: Kathy & sam; CC BY.)
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Word of the day: ATTACHIANT(E) (French neologism) - someone you can't live with but can't live without.
It is a combination of "attachant" (endearing) and "chiant" (incredibly annoying).
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Word of the day: ANTE-JENTACULAR - occurring before breakfast
For instance, your elf is not at her best at anything ANTE-JENTACULAR.
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In 2019, the founder of the Apostrophe Protection Society brought the organization to a "full stop".
He declared that their work was futile - “We, and our many supporters worldwide, have done our best but the ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won!”
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Word of the day: MOLROWING - the practice of socializing with a disreputable woman
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In 1961, Dr. Leonid Rogozov was working in Antarctica when he developed appendicitis. As he was the only medical professional on site, he had to perform his own appendectomy.
Most doctors who winter over on Antarctica are now required to have their appendix removed beforehand.
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"It is not true that the English invented cricket as a way of making all other human endeavours look interesting and lively... I don't wish to denigrate a sport that is enjoyed by millions, some of them awake and facing the right way, but it is an odd game." BILL BRYSON
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Phrase of the Day: EPISTEMIC TRESPASSING — judging matters outside one’s field of expertise.
@qikipedia
A Quite Interesting Twitter feed from the team behind the BBC TV show QI.
linktr.ee/TheQIElves