Words

To get your point across, do you ever type in 72-point red type in your email? Try it sometime, it’s fun for both sides. The recipient will (hopefully) love getting such unusually large text. You, as the sender, typing out such massive letters might even notice some new aspects about typography. Say you are emailing …

Exclamation points are upside-down birthday candles Read More »

A funny tweet from my friend Marco: How often do people say these phrases? Let’s do a Google search for each phrase, and mark down the number of results. “Everybody said it couldn’t be done.” » 18,300 results “Nobody thought we’d be up here right now.” » 0 results “Everyone counted us out.”» 2,940 results …

“Everybody said it couldn’t be done.” Read More »

Have you seen this tool that makes any phrase into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo? GEEEEEEEE! Just type any words in, and MAGICALLY your words transform into the TMNT logo. It’s incredible. I love it love it love it. Here’s Super Duper Fun Potatoes. Why does this incredible tool exist? This tool came about …

Finding phrases that match the syllable stress pattern of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Read More »

This week marks the palindrome week where every day is a palindrome. (Technically, it’s not the last time in our lifetime, this will happen again on 1/20/21) 9-10-19 • 91-0-199-11-19 • 91-1-199-12-19 • 91-2-199-13-19 • 91-3-199-14-19 • 91-4-199-15-19 • 91-5-199-16-19 • 91-6-199-17-19 • 91-7-199-18-19 • 91-8-199-19-19 • 91-9-19 Let’s celebrate palindromes. The internet has lots of …

Do searches for palindrome phrases coincide with palindromic days? Read More »

The etymology of the word “fascinating” comes from witchcraft. That explains why people say “fascinating” slowly, as though one is in a spell. I looked up “fascinating” because my three-year-old asked me what that word meant. I thought that “fascinating” would be related somehow to facets. Like the facets of a diamond are fascinating. But …

The word “fascinating” comes from witchcraft Read More »

Have you ever used the interjection “BOOM!” when you think you are right, but actually you aren’t? If someone corrects your BOOM, they boomeranged you. Last weekend, I was explaining something to my three-year-old daughter. At the end of the explanation I confirmed it with a “BOOM!” But then she corrected me and gave the …

Getting a BOOM boomerang Read More »

My method of learning new words in another language: repetition This is how I’m thinking of doing it: Method #1: repetition Have Google Translate translate an English word into another language. In this case, Google translated “great” into the Estonian “suurepärane”. Here’s how it sounds on Google. Click the audio button 20 times. Enter repetition! …

Learning one new foreign language word every day for a year Read More »

Those goofy cardboard sleeves around takeout coffee cups. What are they called? Today I learned they are called a Zarf. What an wonderful word. Zarf. How in the world is it such a cool word? Is that for real? Yes, it is real. Zarf is an Arabic word for vessel. According to etymonline, the usage …

The name for coffee cup cardboard sleeves is Zarf Read More »