The Danish word for TAX is SKAT.
Language
In a Word
disbosom
v. to reveal or confess
Sweet and Bubbly
In 2005, archivist George Redmonds discovered something surprising among English birth records of the 14th century: a girl named Diot Coke.
She was born in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1379. Researchers at Britain’s National Archives believe that her first name is a diminutive of Dionisia and her last name a variation of Cook.
She might have done worse. Popular girls’ names of the time included Godelena, Helwise, Idony, and Avice.
Misc
- To frustrate eavesdroppers, Herbert Hoover and his wife used to converse in Chinese.
- Asteroids 30439, 30440, 30441, and 30444 are named Moe, Larry, Curly, and Shemp.
- COMMITTEES = COST ME TIME
- 15618 = 1 + 56 – 1 × 8
- How is it that time passes but space doesn’t?
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary gives no pronunciation for YHWH.
In a Word
treen
adj. made of wood
Constellation
German astronomer Karl Reinmuth discovered and named more than 400 asteroids. Among them are these eight:
1227 Geranium
1228 Scabiosa
1229 Tilia
1230 Riceia
1231 Auricula
1232 Cortusa
1233 Kobresia
1234 Elyna
Their initials spell G. STRACKE, for Gustav Stracke, a fellow astronomer who had asked that no planet be named after him. In this way Reinmuth could honor his colleague without contradicting his wish.
In a Word
oblectation
n. delight, pleasure, enjoyment
adlubescence
n. pleasure or delight
deliciate
v. to delight oneself
Good Enough
Ixonia, Wisconsin, was named at random.
Unable to agree on a name for the town, the residents printed the alphabet on slips of paper, and a girl named Mary Piper drew letters successively until a name was formed.
The town was christened Ixonia on Jan. 21, 1846, and it remains the only Ixonia in the United States.
Double Play
This Latin sentence consists entirely of repeated syllables:
Te tero, Roma, manu nuda, date tela, latete.
“It is you I destroy, Rome, with bare hands, give up weapons, hide yourself.”
See Repeat Performance.
Misc
- Colombia is the only South American country that borders both the Atlantic and the Pacific.
- GRAVITATIONAL LENS = STELLAR NAVIGATION
- 28671 = (2 / 8)-6 × 7 – 1
- Can a man released from prison be called a freeee?
- “Nature uses as little as possible of anything.” — Johannes Kepler
Sergei Prokofiev died on the same day that Joseph Stalin’s death was announced. Moscow was so thronged with mourners that three days passed before the composer’s body could be removed for a funeral service.
(Thanks, Alina.)