A couple of books with great opening lines: Jaws (Bookshop|Amazon) by Peter Benchley and The Knife of Never Letting Go (Bookshop|Amazon) by Patrick Ness. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Books with Great Opening Lines” You’re...
What’s the best thing to say to someone who is grieving? Choosing the right words is far less important than just showing up. Also, a family from Russia shares their recipe for something they call hot tamales, that are very un-Mexican. And: if...
Sarah in Fleming Island, Florida, is curious about the saying sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you, which suggests “it’s a dog-eat-dog world,” or “eat or be eaten,” or more gently, “you win some, you lose some.” Garson...
What’s the word for the smell of rain? It’s petrichor. For years, scientists referred to this evidence of rain as argillaceous odor because it was particularly noticeable near soil with a lot of whitish clay called argil. Then, in the early 1960s...
Heather from Sacramento, California, wonders about the phrase loaded for bear: Her husband thinks it describes someone who is thoroughly prepared and eager to do something, but her mother-in-law thinks it specifically describes someone belligerent...
Our conversation about the term bear-caught, describing someone with heatstroke, prompted Sondra in Florida to share a poem on the topic written years ago by her late husband, Bert Furbee. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bear...