A new book about how animals perceive their environment reveals immense worlds beyond our own. A bee can see ultraviolet light, catfish have taste buds all over their bodies, and manatees use highly sensitive lips to examine nearby objects. Also...
Responding to our chat about tchotchkes, or “knick knacks,” a listener says they have heard such trinkets called piff-paff in England. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Piff-Paff” We got an email from Whitney Quisenberry, who was...
The word tchotchke, pronounced CHOTCH-kee, means “knickknack” or “trinket.” Also spelled chotchkie or tsatske, this word was borrowed into English from Yiddish tshatshke, and is cognate with several words that mean “trinket” or “plaything” in Slavic...

