Word Challenge

What do you think are the one hundred most common words in the English language?

Take the challenge.

Hint: Think small....

(Found via BuzzFeed)

History of Sorts...

Welcome to today's United States of America, where 'history' is simply voting to debate—not pass, but merely debate—a life-saving measure that fulfills, in part, government's duty to that measure vis-à-vis its citizens.

Let's hope true history is made soon....

Oxford U. Press: Word of the Year 2009

Apparently, the Oxford University Press keeps track of new word usage across the anglophone world and this is what they came up with as word of the year 2009:

UNFRIEND - v. to remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook.

A more complete list can be found on their blog page.  Notable mentions include a lot of new twitter and Obama neologisms, as well as 'teabagger' and 'birther'.

Tube-Inspired Highway System

Ever wonder what the U.S. highway system would look if it were represented on a map like a subway system?

Look no further.

(Found via ThinkProgress; image source)

The Last Ten Borrowed Years In Seven Minutes

Borrowed because the world was supposed to end in 2000, remember?

(Found on The Daily Dish)

Sarah 'Pinocchio' Palin

Her mendaciousness summarized.

The Only (So-Called) Democracy in the Middle East

Israel is now inviting students at universities to report 'subversive' (i.e. non-Zionist) professors.

Good job!

Balkan Demographics

The Economist analyzes demographics in the Balkans. Population seems to be declining all across the board, although it is expected that by 2050 the population of Albania will have increased. I don't know if I agree with that, but they know best... sorta....

London in Color in 1927

(Source: boingboing)

'Lou Dobbs' Arrested

The Onion reports that Luis Miguel Salvador Aguila Dominguez has been arrested and deported for having lived in the United States illegally under the name Lou Dobbs.

"Mr. Dominguez did not come quietly, but in the end he came," said Sam Whitlock of the U.S. Border Patrol, who was injured during the arrest. "He pulled a knife on me, like they will, and swore a bunch in Spanish and spit on us when we finally managed to grab him by the serape and throw him against a wall. But the important thing is that he's now back where he belongs."

Tchaikovsky's Voice

For real... a recording of Tchaikovsky's voice from 1890. Anton Rubinstein is featured in it, too, among other figures of the time.

Translated dialogue:
A. Rubinstein: What a wonderful thing [the phonograph].
J. Block: Finally.
E. Lawrowskaja: A disgusting...how he dares slyly to name me.
W. Safonov: (Sings a scale incorrectly).
P. Tchaikovsky: This trill could be better.
E. Lawrowskaja: (sings).
P. Tchaikovsky: Block is good, but Edison is even better.
E. Lawrowskaja: (sings) A-o, a-o.
W. Safonow: (In German) Peter Jurgenson in Moscow.
P. Tchaikovsky: Who just spoke? It seems to have been Safonow. (Whistles)

(Source: boingboing)

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