Once there was no dictionary.
Simon Winchester, in The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, notes that even though it surely was needed, there was no English dictionary before 1604, although inexpensive printed books had been available since 1476. Even the 1604 book was not a true dictionary, but simply a list of 3,000 “hard usuall [sic] English words” with brief, often one word synonyms.… Continue Reading
Reginald Newman, of Kirksville, MO tried a little price change at his local Wal-Mart. After putting the price tag from a $3.17 water bottle on a $500 TV, he attempted to check out. A grand jury indicted him for attempted stealing by deceit, a charge that could get him seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine (World, May 17/24, 2008).… Continue Reading
Travel, especially air travel gets very expensive very fast. Your airplane ticket pays for you, your luggage, and the plane itself to be flown through the air. Fortunately, today’s jets can carry the same size load the same distance as forty years ago on half the fuel, due to lighter hulls, more fuel-efficient engines, and improved aerodynamics. But even little things still matter.… Continue Reading
