Victory Day (Russia)

Victory Day is a national public holiday in the Russian Federation. It celebrates the defeat of Nazism and the end of World War II on European soil. On this day, people remember the 27 million Russian civilians and soldiers who perished during the war. Each year on May 9, people crowd Moscow’s Red Square for solemn rites of remembrance—one minute of silence and cannon or gun salutes—as well as traditional musical and dance performances. Veterans may attend wearing their uniforms and medals. Many leave flowers at memorials and graves. TV stations often air films about World War II. Discuss

Q Scores

It stands to reason that people are more likely to watch TV shows starring their favorite actors and buy products sold by their favorite brands. To determine who and which these are, marketers turn to the Q score—a measure that uses opinion polls to quantify popularity. Since it tracks likability rather than just recognizability or viewership, the Q score is often touted as more valuable than other popularity measurements. What was Albert Einstein’s Q score in 2000, 45 years after his death? Discuss

trade name

trade name – A name with the status of a trademark. More…

trademark – A name, symbol, or other depiction identifying a product. The first trademarks were stamps and symbols used by ancient cultures to indicate who had made goods; a trade name is the name of the maker, not the product, but has the status of a trademark. More…

Ping-Pong – A trade name for table tennis, invented as an echoic term for the sound of the ball. More…

Sheetrock, drywall, wall board – Sheetrock is a trade name for drywall or wall board—pre-hardened plaster of Paris (gypsum) sold in large sheets and used as a wall surface in building construction. More…

The Amygdalae

Nestled deep within the human brain are two almond-shaped masses of gray matter known as amygdalae. They are part of the limbic system, a group of interconnected brain structures associated with olfaction, emotion, motivation, behavior, and various autonomic functions. Though small, the amygdalae play a key role in our experience of anxiety, distress, and fear as well as the formation and storage of memories of emotional experiences. What might having enlarged amygdalae indicate about a person? Discuss

wedding

epithalamium – A poem written to celebrate a wedding. More…

confetti – It is the plural of Italian confetto, “small sweet,” as it was originally real or imitation bon-bons thrown during a carnival or after a wedding. More…

morganatic – A survival of an ancient Germanic marriage custom, a gift on the morning after the wedding from husband to wife called morgangeba, “morning” and “give”; it now describes a marriage between people of different social status, especially a man of superior rank and woman of inferior rank. More…

nuptial – From Latin nuptiae, “wedding,” from nubere, “to marry.” More…