A librarian opens a book and finds a mysterious invitation scribbled on the back of a business card. Another discovers a child’s letter to the Tooth Fairy, tucked into a book decades ago. What stories are left untold by these forgotten...
Why do people say They don’t geehaw to mean “They don’t get along”? Geehaw, occasionally spelled jeehaw, comes from the calls people use to drive a team of animals, such as oxen, mules, horses, or sled dogs, gee being an...
The Oldsmobile car was introduced in 1897, and shortly thereafter people began using the term oatsmobile or hay-burning oatsmobile to mean “horse.” OATS is also an acronym for Older Adult Transportation System. This is part of a complete...
A Montana farmer says his dad used to warn against catching the epizooty. In 1872, an epizootic respiratory disease among horses nearly brought the United States to a standstill. The word epizootic is modeled on the Greek word epidemic, from Greek...
The new Downton Abbey movie is a luscious treat for fans of the public-television period piece, but how accurate is the script when it comes to the vocabulary of the early 20th century? It may be jarring to hear the word swag, but it was already at...
“What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn’t a cat?” Answer: a kitten! A 1948 children’s joke book has lots of these to share with kids. Plus: an easy explanation for the difference between...