In an electric car, the trunk is in the front, not the back. Automotive engineers refer to this part of the vehicle as the frunk, a portmanteau of front and trunk. For a while, the Jaguar company, which is based in the UK, instead called it the...
Charlotte in Alexandria, Virginia, has noticed a bit of National Park Service shorthand in Washington, D.C.: some attractions shrink to the first two letters of each word. Ford’s Theater becomes FOTH, Peterson House across the street is PEHO, and...
First names like “Patience,” “Hope,” and “Charity” are inspired by worthy qualities. But how about “Be-courteous” or “Hate-evil”? The Puritans sometimes gave children such names hoping that...
Poet Marianne Moore was once asked by the Ford Motor Company to help name a new car coming out in 1955. She suggested Resilient Bullet, Ford Silversword, Varsity Stroke, Pastelogram, and Utopian Turtletop. Ford settled on Edsel, leaving the other...
Is the TV show Hawaii Five-0 named for Ford Mustang 5.0 engines in police cruisers? No, and it’s correctly typed with a zero instead of the letter “O.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Hawaii Five-0”...
If you’re facing a Hobson’s choice, you don’t really have much to choose from. The phrase describes a situation in which your options are either to take what’s offered, or else take nothing at all. Martha offers some choice...