Merriam-Webster points out something I’d never noticed: In many languages, the word for night consists of the word for eight preceded by the letter N: English: N + eight = Night German: N + acht = Nacht French: N + huit = Nuit Spanish: N + ocho = Noche Italian: N + otto = Notte Portuguese: N + oito = Noite It’s a coincidence. Romance languages derive their words for eight and night from the Latin octo and noctem, and the Germanic languages get them from the Old High German ahto and the Germanic naht. In each case the similarity...
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Merriam-Webster points out something I’d never noticed: In many languages, the word for night consists of the word for eight preceded by the letter N:
English: N + eight = Night
German: N + acht = Nacht
French: N + huit = Nuit
Spanish: N + ocho = Noche
Italian: N + otto = Notte
Portuguese: N + oito = Noite
It’s a coincidence. Romance languages derive their words for eight and night from the Latin octo and noctem, and the Germanic languages get them from the Old High German ahto and the Germanic naht. In each case the similarity of the sounds is just happenstance.
In each of these pairs of nonsense words, which is funnier? quingel vs. heashes prousup vs. mestins finglam vs. cortsio witypro vs. octeste rembrob vs. sectori pranomp vs. anotain fityrud vs. tessina If you’re like most people, you’ll find the first word in each pair funnier than the second. In a 2015 study, University of Alberta psychologist Chris Westbury found that the difference is explained surprisingly well by Shannon entropy, which here measures the unlikelihood of each combination of letters: Outlandish specimens such as yuzz-a-ma-tuzz, oobleck, truffula, and sneetch, all from Dr. Seuss, seem funnier than, say, clester, which might...
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In each of these pairs of nonsense words, which is funnier?
quingel vs. heashes
prousup vs. mestins
finglam vs. cortsio
witypro vs. octeste
rembrob vs. sectori
pranomp vs. anotain
fityrud vs. tessina
If you’re like most people, you’ll find the first word in each pair funnier than the second. In a 2015 study, University of Alberta psychologist Chris Westbury found that the difference is explained surprisingly well by Shannon entropy, which here measures the unlikelihood of each combination of letters: Outlandish specimens such as yuzz-a-ma-tuzz, oobleck, truffula, and sneetch, all from Dr. Seuss, seem funnier than, say, clester, which might plausibly be a real word. (Schopenhauer had argued that humor results from the violation of expectations.)
“The results show that the bigger the difference in the entropy between the two words, the more likely the subjects were to choose the way we expected them to,” Westbury said. Indeed, the most accurate subject chose correctly 92 percent of the time. “To be able to predict with that level of accuracy is amazing. You hardly ever get that in psychology, where you get to predict what someone will choose 92 percent of the time.”
Interestingly, Westbury had to omit vulgar-sounding nonwords (whong, dongl, shart, focky, clunt) before he even got started — these were so consistently considered funny that they would have interfered with the rest of the examination.
Cut the decimal expansion of π into parcels of 10 digits: Mathematician John Conway points out that the chance is only about 1 in 40,000 that all of the digits 1234567890 will appear in any given parcel … and yet there they all are in the seventh. (Via Alfred Posamentier and Ingmar Lehmann, π: A Biography of the World’s Most Mysterious Number, 2004.)
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Cut the decimal expansion of π into parcels of 10 digits:
Mathematician John Conway points out that the chance is only about 1 in 40,000 that all of the digits 1234567890 will appear in any given parcel … and yet there they all are in the seventh.
In 1903, Gilbert Woglom of New York composed “The Tramp’s Gratitude,” a musical composition in which the names of the notes, taken successively, spell out a poem: A bad-faced, faded, aged cad Begged a feed, a bed, bedad. Bedded, fed, a café added, Bed, bag, baggage, egad, cad cabbaged. The longest English word that can be spelled with musical note names alone is CABBAGE-FACED.
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In 1903, Gilbert Woglom of New York composed “The Tramp’s Gratitude,” a musical composition in which the names of the notes, taken successively, spell out a poem:
A bad-faced, faded, aged cad
Begged a feed, a bed, bedad.
Bedded, fed, a café added,
Bed, bag, baggage, egad, cad cabbaged.
The longest English word that can be spelled with musical note names alone is CABBAGE-FACED.
In 2015, archaeologists discovered a pair of human skeletons in a cave in southern Greece, where a human settlement had flourished in the Neolithic age. The two, a man and a woman in their early 20s, had been embracing for 5,800 years. “They’re totally spooning,” anthropologist Bill Parkinson told National Geographic News. “The boy is the big spoon, and the girl is the little spoon: Their arms are draped over each other, their legs are intertwined. It’s unmistakable.” Archaeologist Anastasia Papathanasiou added, “It’s a very natural hug; it doesn’t look like they were arranged in this posture at a much...
In 2015, archaeologists discovered a pair of human skeletons in a cave in southern Greece, where a human settlement had flourished in the Neolithic age. The two, a man and a woman in their early 20s, had been embracing for 5,800 years.
“They’re totally spooning,” anthropologist Bill Parkinson told National Geographic News. “The boy is the big spoon, and the girl is the little spoon: Their arms are draped over each other, their legs are intertwined. It’s unmistakable.”
Archaeologist Anastasia Papathanasiou added, “It’s a very natural hug; it doesn’t look like they were arranged in this posture at a much later date.” How the two had met their end is unknown.
In 1855, the town of Salitpa in southern Alabama applied for a federal post office. The residents had intended to name their community after nearby Satilpa Creek, but in completing the paperwork the applicant mistakenly crossed the L instead of the T. The town has been Salitpa ever since.
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In 1855, the town of Salitpa in southern Alabama applied for a federal post office. The residents had intended to name their community after nearby Satilpa Creek, but in completing the paperwork the applicant mistakenly crossed the L instead of the T. The town has been Salitpa ever since.
“When asked by a disciple if there were one single word which could serve as a principle of conduct for life, Confucius replied, ‘Perhaps the word reciprocity will do. Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.'” — Analects
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“When asked by a disciple if there were one single word which could serve as a principle of conduct for life, Confucius replied, ‘Perhaps the word reciprocity will do. Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.'” — Analects
Annie, Betty, Carrie, Darla, and Eve all have the same birthday, but all are different ages. On their shared birthday: Darla said to Betty: “I’m 9 years older than Eve.” Eve said to Betty: “I’m 7 years older than Annie.” Annie said to Betty: “Your age is exactly 70 percent greater than mine.” Betty said to Carrie: “Eve is younger than you.” Carrie said to Darla: “The difference between our ages is 6 years.” Carrie said to Annie: “I’m 10 years older than you.” Carrie said to Annie: “Betty is younger than Darla.” Betty said to Carrie: “The difference between...
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Annie, Betty, Carrie, Darla, and Eve all have the same birthday, but all are different ages. On their shared birthday:
Darla said to Betty: “I’m 9 years older than Eve.”
Eve said to Betty: “I’m 7 years older than Annie.”
Annie said to Betty: “Your age is exactly 70 percent greater than mine.”
Betty said to Carrie: “Eve is younger than you.”
Carrie said to Darla: “The difference between our ages is 6 years.”
Carrie said to Annie: “I’m 10 years older than you.”
Carrie said to Annie: “Betty is younger than Darla.”
Betty said to Carrie: “The difference between your age and Darla’s is the same as the difference between Darla’s and Eve’s.”
Whenever one of them spoke to someone older than herself, everything she said was true, but when she spoke to someone younger, everything she said was false. How old is each person?
When Whistler’s Mother’s Picture’s frame Split, that sad morn, in two, Your tense words scorched me like a flame — You shrieked, “Ah, glue! Get glue!” O Glue! O God! there was not glue Enough in all the feet Of all the kine the wide world through To hold you to me, Sweet! — Don Marquis
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When Whistler’s Mother’s Picture’s frame
Split, that sad morn, in two,
Your tense words scorched me like a flame —
You shrieked, “Ah, glue! Get glue!”
O Glue! O God! there was not glue
Enough in all the feet
Of all the kine the wide world through
To hold you to me, Sweet!
