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 …
Category Archives: history
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 …
Continue reading “Long-Lasting Innovations From Ancient Rome”
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 …
Continue reading “Five Inventions From The Great Depression”
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 …
Continue reading “Traditions That Shape Graduation Ceremonies”
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 …
Continue reading “Happy Birthday Dear Kansas, And Many More”
Up All Night And Original Thinking
by Kevin Burton I’m sitting in the dark, on the couch my mom gave us. I hear the sound of a train in the distance. There is romance, poetry in the sound. I’m in the Man Cave and it couldn’t be mancavier. Two smallish beacons of light accompany the night without interrupting …
A Magic Carpet Ride To New Orleans
by Kevin Burton While at the Quiet Knight bar in Chicago, Steve Goodman saw fellow singer/songwriter Arlo Guthrie, and asked to be allowed to play a song for him, according to a story on Wikipedia. “Guthrie grudgingly agreed, on the condition that if Goodman bought him a beer, Guthrie would listen to him play …
Page 7 