Think about your last extended conversation with a stranger. Did that conversation feel too long? Too short? Or did it end exactly when you wanted it to? Two new studies by a Harvard psychologist found that conversations rarely stop when both...
When does a word’s past make it too sensitive to use in the present? In contra dancing, there’s a particular move that dancers traditionally call a gypsy. But there’s a growing recognition that many people find the term gypsy offensive. A group of...
In the game of appending -ing to a movie title to change its plot, the movies Strangers on a Train and Network both become films about corporate life. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Strangers on a Training” We were talking...
Before William Golding named his novel Lord of the Flies, based on a reference to Beelzebub, the book’s working title was Strangers From Within. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Strangers From Within” Grant, here’s another quiz...
It’s the Up Goer Five Challenge! Try to describe something complex using only the thousand most common words in English. It’s a useful mental exercise that’s harder than you might think. Also, if you want to make a room dark, you might turn off the...
Remember the classic films Dogumentary and $3000? Those were their working titles, before they became Best In Show and Pretty Woman. We look at how movie titles evolve and change. Also, is Spanglish a real language? And balaclavas, teaching your...