The only time you’ll ever see the sun’s outer atmosphere is during a full solar eclipse, when sun itself is completely covered. That hazy ring is called the corona, from the Latin word for “crown” — just like the little crown...
A Burlington, Vermont, listener wants to settle a dispute: Can laughter be described as gregarious? This is part of a complete episode.
A highly anticipated children’s book and the epic history behind a familiar vegetable: fans of illustrator Maurice Sendak eagerly await publication of a newly discovered manuscript by the late author. And speaking of children’s...
After we discussed the Smile Belt and other “belt” regions of the United States, listeners chimed in with more, including the Potato Belt and Potato Chip Belt in Pennsylvania, and Banana Belt, a term used for the southern regions of both...
A young woman wants a family-friendly way to describe a statement that’s fraudulent or bogus, but all the words she can think of sound old-fashioned. Is there a better term than malarkey, poppycock, or rubbish? Also, listeners step up to help...
A Vermont family used to tease one of its members with the phrase “sorry, Charlie!” She’s surprised to learn that this catchphrase comes from a long-running series of TV commercials for canned tuna. This is part of a complete...