Wrapping up 2016 with words from the past year and some newsy limericks. Bigly and Brexit were on lots of lips this year, as well as an increasingly popular Danish word that means “cozy.” Also, Quiz Guy John Chaneski sums up the year in...
Unfortunately, one word of the year candidate for 2016 is Zika, the name of the mosquito-borne virus linked to devastating birth defects. This is part of a complete episode.
Vaccines take their name from vaccinia, the virus that caused cowpox. It was the original ingredient used to vaccinate people against smallpox. Stefan Riedel, a pathologist at the Baylor University Medical Center, offers a detailed history of the...
Pickle, baboon, cupcake, snorkel, pumpkin, Kalamazoo—let’s face it, some words are just plain funny. But what makes some words funnier than others? Martha and Grant consider this question with an assist from Neil Simon’s play (and movie)...
infectobesity n.— «Catching “being fat” by means of this virus has been called Infectobesity by Professor Nikhil Dhurandhar, a professor at Louisiana State University. What virus is this exactly? It’s called Adenovirus-36...
adulticiding n.— «The Memphis and Shelby County Health Department will begin spraying for mosquitoes June 22. The practice, known as adulticiding, is designed to prevent potential outbreaks of the west nile virus.» —“Mosquito...