Month: February 2022

Satanic Ritual Abuse

In the 1980s, allegations of physical and sexual abuse linked to occult or satanic rituals caused a panic in the US. These claims of satanic ritual abuse typically came from children in daycare centers, but nearly all instances were later discredited when the coercive methods used to generate testimony came to light. These included asking children leading questions and “uncovering” unconscious mental traumas in therapy. What were some of the outlandish claims children were pressured to make? Discuss

ignorant

ignore, ignorant – Ignore and ignorant are from Latin i-, “not,” and gno-, “know.” More…

nescient – Can mean “ignorant” or “agnostic,” coming from Latin ne, “not,” and scire, “know.” More…

nice, nicety – Nice first meant “foolish, ignorant,” derived from Latin nescius, “ignorant”; nicety first meant “stupidity.” More…

rude – Derives from Latin rudis, “uncultivated,” and first meant “uneducated, ignorant.” More…

Japan National Foundation Day (660 BCE)

The Japanese holiday known as Kenkoku Kinen-no-Hi, or National Foundation Day, commemorates the accession to the throne of Jimmu Tenno, the legendary first human emperor of Japan—believed to be a direct descendant of the gods—and founder of the imperial dynasty. In 1872, when the holiday was originally proclaimed, it was called Empire Day. It only came to be known as National Foundation Day when it was brought back in 1966 after having been abandoned for about two decades for what reason? Discuss

Iran Victory Day of the Iranian Revolution

Few world events during the late 20th century were as pivotal as the Iranian Revolution of 1979. On February 1, 1979, Ayatolla Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran to claim power after spending 15 years in exile. To memorialize the historic moment, a helicopter drops flowers on the ayatollah’s tomb, in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery south of the capital city of Tehran. For the next 10 days, people attend film screenings, music performances, and exhibitions inspired by the revolution. The celebration on February 11 usually entails a mass rally and military parade in Tehran. Discuss

Farouk I of Egypt (1920)

Farouk ascended Egypt’s throne in 1936, as the country was transitioning from British rule to total independence. His administration was plagued by internal rivalries, but it was his alienation of the military, especially after its loss to Israel in 1948, that brought about his downfall. A 1952 coup led by officer Gamal Abdel Nasser forced Farouk to abdicate. He was briefly succeeded by his infant son, after which Egypt became a republic. What furniture style did the profligate king popularize? Discuss

"Colorless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously"

If you think the sentence “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously” makes no sense, you’re right. Linguist Noam Chomsky devised it because it had likely never been spoken before and was grammatically correct but nonsensical. He thus challenged popular structuralism, arguing that linguists should study native speakers’ unconscious knowledge of their language, not the language they actually produce. What were the results of a contest in which participants tried to make Chomsky’s sentence meaningful? Discuss

shop

chippy – A shop that sells fish and chips can be called a chippy. More…

odditorium – A shop for oddities or oddments (broken parts or parts of once-complete sets). More…

shop, store – At first, shop designated a small retail establishment and store was applied only to a large establishment; now the differences are blurred. More…

stationer – A bookseller who had a regular “station” or shop at a university, unlike most booksellers, who were itinerant vendors. More…