Significant Words About Insignificance

by Kevin Burton    You may not have heard of some of the words on today’s list from Merriam-Webster, especially the first one.    The dictionary is serving up words about insignificance. But the first offering is from my childhood days at the Ohio State School for the Blind.    I may have heard this …

Secret Languages From Around The World

by interestingfacts.com    From clandestine codes understood only by women to local argots developed in geographically isolated communities, the world is filled with enigmatic languages and jargons.     Join us on a linguistic journey as we shed light on some of the cryptic methods people have used to converse throughout history: 1-Boontling (Boonville, California, USA) …

Lennon’s 1972 Peace Overture To McCartney

by Kevin Burton    How would music history be different, had an invitation sent in 1972 been received favorably?    The acrimony surrounding the Beatles’ breakup was not as fevered as Beatlemania itself – nothing else in music has ever been – but it was white hot.    But some two years after the split, John …

Understanding What Forgiveness Is Not

by Dane Massey    (Dane Massey is the former Pastor of Mulvane Christian Church. He is now in ministry in Houston, Texas.)      Last week we talked about forgiveness. Today let’s look at what forgiveness is not.    Forgiveness is not letting the other person off the hook. It is taking them off our hook …

From Merriam-Webster: Your Cheatin’ Words

by Kevin Burton    Here’s where country music meets the dictionary, a sleazy list of words from Merriam-Webster about adultery and/or its aftermath.    The Bible doesn’t have a hierarchy of sins, at least that I can find, but I sort of do.  Marital infidelity is very close to the worst in my estimation.    …

Why The Metric System Doesn’t Measure Up

by Erin Blakemore National Geographic    What do Liberia, Myanmar, and the United States have in common? They use imperial measurements—feet, pounds, and miles—instead of meters, grams, and kilometers.      Critics call this shameful. The truth however, is more complicated: Though imperial units are commonly used in the U.S., the metric system is actually the …

Today We Help You Talk Like An Egyptian

by Dictionary Scoop    You are probably aware that the English language has Greek and Latin roots. But did you know some of the most used English words come from Ancient Egyptian?    For example, the word pharaoh is a no-brainer. As you would imagine, it is an Ancient Egyptian word meaning “Great House,” the place destined for …

“Rock Your Baby” And The Dawn Of Disco

by Kevin Burton     There would come a time, in a year or so, when you could not escape disco. But at its inception 50 years ago, you couldn’t have seen it coming.    “Disco snuck up on America like a covert operation,” wrote Alice Echols in her book “Hot Stuff, Disco and the Remaking …

Imitate Jesus By Practicing Forgiveness

by Dane Massey    (Dane Massey is the former Pastor of Mulvane Christian Church. He is now in ministry in Houston, Texas.)       The thought that seems to permeate through II Cor. 3:18 is that we are “transformed” not by keeping outward rules but by “contemplating” (musing, looking upon intently, meditating) the Lord’s glory …

The Great Depression Featured Funny Money

by Dictionary Scoop    The Great Depression, a period of economic instability that lasted from the early 1930s until the end of the decade, was one of the most challenging times in American history. Kickstarted by the Wall Street Crash of October 1929, the recession hit hard, bankrupting thousands of businesses and leaving no one …