Scientists have named some recently discovered species of tree frogs after characters from Star Trek. Why? Because of the boops and trills and other sounds that these frogs make. And: naming your children with the virtues you hope they’ll...
In ancient Rome, kids played games with nuts — specifically walnuts. In a Latin poem from that era, “Nux,” a walnut tree describes some of those games. Nux is Latin for “nut,” the source also of nucleus, or “kernel of a...
On our Facebook group, listeners are playfully crowdsourcing what people in different professions might punningly plant. For example, what kind of fruit tree might twins cultivate? What type of flower might be planted by a professional mime? This is...
To bark at a knot means to engage in foolish or futile activity, like a dog yapping at a knothole on a tree. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bark at a Knot” I came across an expression the other day that describes the...
A proverb on a bench in San Diego’s Balboa Park reads: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Best Time” I was walking through...
Chandler from Chesapeake, Virginia, wonder about a term her in-laws use to mean in abundance, as in “We have strawberries up the gump stump.” The expression seems to have evolved from an earlier phrase possum up a gum tree or possum up a...