Challenge And Opportunity On Sweetest Day

by Kevin Burton    Guys, Sweetest Day is Saturday. I am posting this on a Wednesday to give you time to react and prepare appropriately, as is my wont.    Let me break it down for you in a way you can understand:    According to social.com, 36 percent of sales in the $7.9 billion …

Countries That Have Changed Their Names

by Dictionary Scoop    It is always a delicate matter when a country changes its name, as it signifies a shift not only for the geographical area but also for its inhabitants.    The very identity of a nation is affected, which is why such changes are relatively rare. But they do happen. Not many …

The Weird, Wacky Words Of The Wild West

by Dictionary Scoop    Cowboys in the Old West not only tamed the inhospitable land, but they also forged their own language.    They created unrefined similes and metaphors, broke the rules of grammar, flooded figures of speech with humor, and made a verb out of anything. In this article, we review 12 expressions we …

Facts About Languages Around The World

by Dictionary Scoop    Language is like a passport to the world; it connects us, teaches us, and sometimes leaves us scratching our heads.    With more than  7,000 languages spoken globally, the world of words is full of surprises and stories. If you are a language lover, these 13 facts about languages will keep your curiosity …

Long-Lasting Innovations From Ancient Rome

by Kevin Burton    The Wednesday before Valentine’s Day I posted a story about a cruel and unusual dating ritual that came from ancient Rome.    The cruel part was men beating women with animal skins as part of a Valentine’s Day tradition. The unusual part was the women were eager for this! It was …

Five Inventions From The Great Depression

historyfacts.com    The Great Depression began in 1929 and lasted for an entire decade, affecting nearly every aspect of daily life for people all over the world, hitting the United States especially hard.    This difficult era impacted innovation. Here are five inventions that came out of the Great Depression that are still shaping our …

Make Plans Now For National No Bra Day

by Kevin Burton    Ladies, you have a big, big day coming up Friday, I mean apart from the whole start-of-the-weekend thing. It’s National No Bra Day!    I have been annoyed with local TV stations for doing stories about job fairs, the day of the job fair, leaving me no time to plan for …

Our Democracy Could Use Another Truman

by Kevin Burton    Not sure what I expected in advance from the Harry S. Truman Museum in Independence, Missouri, but I ended up in tears.    Truman was the Vice President thrust into the presidency just 82 days into his term, following the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1945.  By then the tide …

Traditions That Shape Graduation Ceremonies

by Kevin Burton    Wanted to give a shoutout to all the 2023 high school and college graduates, but without reflecting, depressingly, on how long it has been since I became a new grad myself.    So I decided to talk tradition, rituals, why we do what we do at graduation ceremonies.    A lot …

Happy Birthday Dear Kansas, And Many More

by Kevin Burton    Today is Kansas Day kids, so just for today, the rules will be a little different.    Most notably, do not even talk to me about The Wizard of Oz today.  I’m not going to have it. I am a mild-mannered sort, but I will fight you today if you start …