Polymath (n): A person who has extensive knowledge in many different areas
Before we begin with this week’s trivia, I must say that I am very disappointed in all of you. Not a single person turned in their homework assignment! At the end of last week’s post, I mentioned that you should try to create a pangram of your own, but I didn’t get any submissions. For Read More …
In the last trivia post I made, I discussed lipograms, writing something that does not contain a specific letter (or letters). Fans of etymology will note that the word “lipogram” contains the Greek (via PIE) roots for “to leave” and “letter”. Well then, how about the opposite? If we had all the letters, that would Read More …
Hello, yes, it’s me again. I know, I know, I missed last week’s newsletter (don’t worry, you’ll get an extra later). Sometimes it’s difficult to pick a topic to write about for one of these, and so I delay a bit. After all, I know that the real reason you read these is for my Read More …
When it comes to the history of science, we owe a lot to the ancient philosophers who spent their lives debating the nature of the world around them. There were some philosophers who were on the right track, millennia before the evidence vindicated them. For example, Aristarchus of Samos is the first known author to Read More …
When I was a kid growing up, I loved watching science documentaries of all kinds. A rather popular topic was any variation on DOOM FROM THE SKIES – how we’re going to be destroyed by xyz astronomical event. It’s pretty easy to write a show around how the dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid impact Read More …
Last week I got some bananas from the grocery store with the intent of making some banana bread. Unfortunately, they were very unripe, so I have been waiting for them to get to that slightly over-ripe point where they are good for bread. It got me thinking about what else bananas are good for, which Read More …
A few days ago, as I was checking the morning news, I was stunned to discover that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away. Say what you like about the British government, and the monarchy in particular, but it’s hard to think of someone more famous than QE2. I mean, just think of how many references Read More …
On the morning of July 16, 1945, the world changed in many ways. The detonation of the world’s first atomic bomb at the Trinity Test Site in New Mexico represented the beginning of a new era in global politics. The start of the Atomic Age also heralded the beginning of the Cold War, and the Read More …
When I was a child, my grandmother had a house in Santa Barbara. The house was close to a large grove of Eucalyptus trees that we would go walking in. One day when we got back to the house, I discovered something rather disconcerting. There was a small insect stuck to my chest drinking my Read More …
A few weeks ago, one of my friends brought by a board game from his childhood. It was the 1977 “Destroy Death StarTM Game” released almost concurrently with A New Hope. This game was published by the toy company Kenner Products, which had the master license to produce all the toys and games based on Read More …
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