Science journalist Laura Spinney’s new book Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global (Bookshop|Amazon) shows how lots of languages as diverse as Hindi, Italian, and English all stem from a single prehistoric ancestral tongue. A basic word for the number “three,” for example, is similar across several languages. For example, English three is cognate with Spanish tres, French trois, Russian tri, and Albanian tre, to name just a few. Similarly, the name Slav may have meant “the famous people.” In early Middle Ages, after the Franks took Slavs captive, the name Slav became sclavus in the language of the Holy Roman Empire, Latin. It went on to become esclave in French, and then when the Normans moved into Britain, it morphed into English slave. But that original idea of slav meaning “fame” or “glory” lives on today in the Polish name Stanislaw, “he who’s achieved fame,” and Slava Ukraini, “Glory to Ukraine.” This is part of a complete episode.
Knitters are creating temperature blankets, also known as weather blankets, by assigning colors to daily temperatures and stitching them into finished pieces. Makers involved in The Tempestry Project extend the practice by representing the weather...
Nikki in Charlotte, North Carolina, shares the story of a man who casually told passersby You dropped your pocket, prompting them to check for something that wasn’t there in the first place. That silly saying reminds her of playing pool and trying...
