Driving next to an 18-wheeler can be a bit of a nail-biter. Especially when you see some of the truck’s wheels covered in metal spikes. What are those spikes even there for? They may look menacing, but they’re actually not there to terrify you. The main purpose of wheel spikes is to simply cover the…
The word “coffee” comes from the Turkish word kahveh, which entered into the European vernacular around 1600. Coffee beans first were first imported into Italy from North Africa & the Middle East in 1615, then into France in 1644 where the Turkish ambassador to France helped make coffee the “it” beverage in the court of…
Have you ever been told “you have a chip on your shoulder”? What does that even mean? And what kind of chip are we talking about? From what we now understand about having a chip on your shoulder, you know that it can motivate you to be better, learn from mistakes, or reach goals, even…
No one ever wants to hear their doctor say “you have pneumonia”. Because, even though it’s a highly treatable lung infection, it’s still contagious & makes you feel terrible. Plus, it’s possible that it could become potentially life-threatening. Some people attempt to minimize a pneumonia diagnosis by telling others they just have a case of…
When zebras got loose in Prince Georges County recently, the fiasco brought a great question into the light: are zebras black with white stripes, or white with black stripes? I know, it sounds a bit philosophical, but there actually is a definitive scientific answer. And it all comes down to zebra hair microbiology, where their…
When you think Thanksgiving, you usually think…turkey. Turkey is the 4th favorite meat in America, while chicken is #1. We eat both chicken meat AND chicken eggs, right? So why don’t we eat Turkey eggs? Why are turkey eggs never available at grocery stores or specialty markets? It really doesn’t have anything to do with…
Hopefully you had a big, delicious Thanksgiving this year! But did you have a hard time staying awake after lunch? Most people did, and almost everyone blames tryptophan. But is tryptophan really the main culprit? What even is tryptophan, anyway? Tryptophan is an amino acid that our bodies use to help make both vitamin B3…
With Thanksgiving less than a week away, I felt it would be helpful to answer a few “Mundane Mysteries” about preparing your turkey for the big day. With a little help from the good folks at Butterball, who handle tens of thousands of calls to its Thanksgiving hotline every year, here are the answers to…
First, let me say that I am in no way a doctor or any other type of medical professional. I’m just a wordsmith who enjoys knowing where the language we use comes from & what it all means. Please direct any actual medical questions you may have to your healthcare provider. With that said… Over…
Do you know the real difference between Memorial Day & Veterans Day? The Department of Veterans Affairs encountered enough confusion that they dedicated an entire section on their website to explain the difference between the two similar, though very different, holidays. Memorial Day & Veterans Day are observed about 6 months apart: Veterans Day every…