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The names Honda and Toyota derive from Japanese words for different kinds of rice field.

The longest palindrome in the Oxford English Dictionary is ‘tattarrattat’. James Joyce used it in Ulysses: ‘I knew his tattarrattat at the door.’

Each of us is surrounded by bacteria that are released from our bodies; everyone’s personal microbial cloud is unique.

An animal the size of an elephant could evolve to an animal the size of a sheep in 100,000 generations, but for an animal the size of a sheep to evolve to the size of an elephant would take 1.6 million generations.

The ancient Greeks had no word for religion.

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Pier [Noun.]

• A raised platform built from the shore out over water, supported on piles; used to secure, or provide access to shipping; a jetty.
• A similar structure, especially at a seaside resort, used to provide entertainment.

Which is wrong. Say rapier, pier,
Tier (one who ties), but tier.
– Gerard Nolst Trenité, The Chaos

Rapier [Adj.]

• Extremely sharp.
• Cutting smarts or keen wit.

‘Which is wrong. Say rapier, pier,
Tier (one who ties), but tier.’
– Gerard Nolst Trenité, The Chaos

Impossible to Tell

Slow dulcimer, gavotte and bow, in autumn,
Bashō and his friends go out to view the moon;
In summer, gasoline rainbow in the gutter,

The secret courtesy that courses like ichor
Through the old form of the rude, full-scale joke,
Impossible to tell in writing. “Bashō”

He named himself, “Banana Tree”: banana
After the plant some grateful students gave him,
Maybe in appreciation of his guidance

Threading a long night through the rules and channels
Of their collaborative linking-poem
Scored in their teacher’s heart: live, rigid, fluid

Inveigle [Verb.]

• To convert, convince, or win over with flattery or wiles.
• To obtain through guile or cunning.

‘Say inveigh, neigh, but inveigle,
Make the latter rhyme with eagle.’
– Gerard Nolst Trenité, The Chaos

Interlingual Homophones

There are words which are pronounced the same as other words but differ in meaning or origin; these words are known as homophones. They are usually found within one language (e.g. carrot and karat) but they can cross language barriers; although they do not often exactly match across languages – as there always seem to be some slight deviation in how various sounds are pronounced – interlingual homophones do exist and can, potentially, cause all sorts of confusion.

• εκεί / aquí
  In Greek, there. In Spanish, here.
• ναι / nej
  In Greek, yes. In Swedish, no.
• pig / pigg
  In English, mammalian species of the genus Sus. In Swedish, alert.
• say / sé
  In English, to speak. In Spanish, I know.
• tack / tak
  In Swedish, thank you. In Polish, yes.

Freedom of Speech Anecdote

When Dr Samuel Johnson had finished his great lexicography, the first real English dictionary, he was visited by various delegations of people to congratulate him including a delegation of London’s respectable womanhood who came to his parlour in Fleet Street and said ‘Doctor, we congratulate you on your decision to exclude all indecent words from your dictionary.’ Whereupon he said ‘Ladies, I congratulate you on your persistence in  looking them up.’

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If all the salt in the sea were spread evenly over the land, it would be 500 feet thick.

Sweden makes biofuel from dead rabbits.

Nine species have been named after Barack Obama – more than any other US President.

Volkswagen has changed its official language from German to English.

Almost two-thirds of the 33,000 annual gun deaths in America are suicides.

See other: Quite Interesting Facts