Katie in the Northwoods of Wisconsin knows jonard as the shame that follows having brought trouble on yourself, not merely an embarrassing accident. It’s connected with Jonah and joner, dialect words for a jinx, a pest, or someone who brings bad...
One participant in our online discussion about overshadowing quoted National Geographicphotographer Joel Sartore on the topic. “Sometimes,” Sartore has observed, “you just have to pet the whale.” In other words, don’t...
After a whale dies, it may float up to the ocean’s surface to be scavenged by seabirds and sharks. Eventually, though, the carcass starts slowly sinking, and once the body reaches the ocean floor, it’s known as a whale fall. This is part...
Natalia from Portland, Oregon, remembers that before taking off on a Sunday drive, her grandfather would announce to everyone We’re off in a cloud of whale dust! This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “We’re Off in a...
Pam in Eureka, California, says that when her mother and grandmother would enter a particularly dark room, they’d remark that it was dark as the inside of a goat. Mark Twain used the phrase dark as the inside of a cow in his book Roughing It...
Among whale-watchers, the term flying pickle is used to refer to a newborn baby humpback whale breaching the surface. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Flying Pickles Roam the Seas” *music* Grant, do you know what a...