Cathy from San Antonio, Texas, notes that many Spanish words come from the Nahuatl language, including the words for “tomato,” “sweet potato,” and “avocado,” which are tomate, camote, and aguacate, respectively. The Nahuatl élotl, meaning “a cob of...
What kind of tomato really smells? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Oh, No, Martha’s Punning Again” Grant, what kind of tomato really smells? A to-may-toe. Because it’s on your feet and your feet are stinky. I don’t know. I don’t...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a fresh-picked puzzle about familiar fruits. For example, if you cherish someone, what fruit-inspired phrase about one’s eye comes to mind? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Fresh Fruit Puzzler” You are...
A haiku from artist Alan Nakagawa’s collection of poems about social distance celebrates the kind of companionship that plants provide. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Plant Haiku” Here’s another pandemic related haiku collected...
Sarah from Dallas called us years ago to talk about the word preheat. Now newly married, she and her Russian husband have a friendly dispute over this question: “What is a sandwich?” We gingerly wade into the longstanding cultural debate. This is...
The word pizza derives from an Italian term at least a thousand years old for a type of savory flat bread. The type of pie we now think of as pizza, with tomato sauce, has been around since the 15th century, when tomatoes were first brought back to...
