A Cincinnati, Ohio, high school mascot, the Redskins, is in dispute. What’s the origin of the word redskin, and is it a derogatory term or an homage to Native Americans? The adults seem to be arguing past each other, but maybe the students...
The Latin phrase mens sana in corpore sano, or “a healthy mind in a healthy body,” comes from one of the Satires of the ancient Roman poet Juvenal. Fast-forward to 1977, when a Japanese manufacturer of athletic footwear was looking for a...
Responding to our ongoing discussion about unexpected pronunciations for various towns, a listener notes that the names of Cairo, Georgia, and Havana, Florida, are not pronounced the way you might think. This is part of a complete episode.
Some countries have strict laws about naming babies. New Zealand authorities, for example, denied a request to name some twins Fish and Chips. • Halley’s Comet seen centuries before English astronomer Edmund Halley ever spotted it...
The former student of a Spanish teacher in Valdosta, Georgia, will soon give birth in her homeland, the Czech Republic, one of several countries that have strict naming laws. The mother-to-be would like to name her son Lisandro, but needs official...
New Zealand also has strict naming laws, but somehow the Violence, Number 16 Bus shelter, Midnight Chardonnay, and twins named Benson and Hedges all passed muster. However, the proposed names Stallion, Yeah Detroit, Sex Fruit, and Fish and Chips...