Sometimes people naming streets seem to have a little too much fun: In Casco, Maine, there’s a road called Uptha, as in Uptha Road. In Hemet, California, there’s a Haviture Way, and along Porters Lake, Nova Scotia, three connecting streets are named...
Brian Stark, who calls himself the States Runner, has crossed 31 states on foot. He phones from Arizona to discuss the funny ways people in different regions give directions when he’s lost. A West Virginian once told him his destination was six...
How would you feel if someone took away your smartphone? Nomophobia, the suggested moniker for that anxiety produced by the separation between one and one’s phone, was cooked up by a market research firm. Is there a better term for that awful...
Another word of the year candidate is immappacy, which is formed by analogy with “innumeracy,” and means the inability to understand maps. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Immappacy” Every year when I put together my words at the...
