Did Shakespeare Really Invent 1,700 Words? Not Quite
Probably not, or at least nowhere near that many. Shakespeare almost certainly coined some new words, but being the first person whose use of a word survives in writing is…
Why Is Bluetooth Called Bluetooth? The Viking King Behind It
Working in IT, I pair Bluetooth devices without a second thought: headsets, keyboards, mice, phones, the speaker in every meeting room. It took me an embarrassingly long time to ask…
Are Daddy Long Legs Poisonous? The Most Venomous Spider Myth
No. The daddy long-legs spider is venomous, but not dangerously venomous to humans, and it is certainly not the most venomous spider in the world. The other half of the…
Is a Buttload a Real Unit of Measurement? Yes, Sort Of
Yes, sort of. There really was an old English unit called a butt, a large cask of wine holding roughly 477 litres. But “buttload” itself is mostly slang, and its…
The History of Nintendo: From Playing Cards to the Switch
For most of us, Nintendo means Mario, Zelda, Pokémon and the Switch. But the history of Nintendo goes back much further than video games, or even television. The company was…
What Was the Last Letter Added to the Alphabet? Meet J
The last letter added to the alphabet wasn’t Z. The answer you’ll usually find is J, the 26th and final letter of the modern English alphabet to become a letter…
Horse Statue Leg Meaning: Do the Hooves Reveal How the Rider Died?
If you have ever looked at a statue of someone on horseback and wondered why the horse has one hoof raised, two hooves raised or all four on the ground,…
What Is Echolocation? How It Works and Which Animals Use It
Imagine walking through your house with every light switched off. You know where the furniture is, but try finding your way around an unfamiliar room without touching anything and things…
Can an Apple Wake You Up Better Than Coffee? The Truth
You have probably seen the claim: skip the morning coffee and eat an apple instead, because an apple will wake you up even better. When I first wrote about this…
The Missing Letters of the Alphabet: Thorn, Wynn and More
The alphabet is one of the first things we learn as children, and its 26 letters feel as fixed as anything in the language. But English has used more letters…