Words You Never Heard!

 

The world's first vending machine was invented in Ancient Egypt in 215 BCE.  Of course, vending machines are everywhere now and have recently been expanding their offerings to satisfy the masses. I guess sometimes people have an intense craving for a certain type of food. These people are also known as opsomaniacs.

Ohio State University has its own bacon vending machine. And there's a pecan pie vending machine in Cedar Creek, Texas.  Other rassasy vending machines around the world dispense hot pizza, burritos, live crabs, baguettes, and caviar!  Rassasy is something to satisfy your hunger. Did you forget to pack your pants?  The Standard hotels in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami actually have clothing in their vending machines!

 

How important is the order in which you were born?  According to a new book by Dr. Kevin Lehman, birth order determines the role siblings play in their families and affects how we feel about ourselves and relate to others.   Dr. Lehman’s research suggests that firstborns are typically more assertive and dominant, often going on to fill a position of high authority or achievement.   Middle children tend to have excellent negotiating and people skills.  You will find that many nurses, firefighters, and law enforcement professionals are middle children.  What’s a word for the second born?  Secundogeniture.   Last born children seem to enjoy attention and being in the limelight.  These babies are attracted to more artistic endeavors.  They are also successful in journalism, advertising and sales.  What’s another word for a person who is the life of the party?  Tummler!

 

Did you know that more and more newlyweds are taking separate honeymoons?  According to a report in the New York Times, many couples are no longer celebrating their first days of wedded bliss watching sunsets together in the Caribbean or sightseeing in Paris.  Instead, they’re booking separate, solo vacations or unimoons.

What’s another word for your mate?  A poplolly!

Apparently, one of the reasons for separate honeymoons is that couples can’t agree on where they want to go, so in order to avoid cagmosis ,  or marital unhappiness, they each go their own way. 

To each his own I guess, but isn’t this missing the whole point of being married?  Then again new research says 1 in 4 Americans report they actually enjoy traveling alone so they can have some quiet time and not have to worry about another person.  I suppose this would make sense after 30 years of marriage.  What’s another word for marriage at an old age?  Opsigamy!  

 

 

Recently 30-year-old Arne Murke and his brother were sailing a 40-foot yacht from Aukland, New Zealand to Brazil when they experienced a motor failure and lost all power.  Suddenly the boat turned to cause the boom to swing around knocking Arne overboard into the ocean. His brother tried to throw him a line and a life jacket, but the swell had put too much distance Arne and the boat.

Without a motor or life vest in the rough seas, a rescue was looking impossible.  But Arne remembered a survival tactic he had seen the Navy Seals employ. He took off his jeans and tied knots in the ends of the legs and then inflated the jeans by opening the waist and pulling the legs under water.   Talk about a thaumaturgist, or miracle worker. Luckily, the brothers were rescued after being adrift for over three hours.  What’s a word for the fear of becoming physically exhausted?  Kopophobia!

 

Germany is known for fast cars, and zee Autobahn, the country's system of seemingly speed-limit-free federal highways.  However, recently a proposal to impose universal speed limits on the Autobahn is causing outrage among car-loving Germans.

There is a movement by the Green Party in Germany to begin restricting the speed on the Autobahn in order to lower emissions and reduce accidents.  And accidents on the autobahn often result in multi-car pile-ups. This is the dreaded “stau” where you can be stuck for hours.

Call me a pusillanimous poltroon, but I think I would be a little frightened of driving along at over 100 miles per hour.  A pusillanimous poltroon is a spiritless coward. Hopefully, the two sides can come to an agreement that will satisfy both the speed demons and the pusillanimous poltroons.  What’s the German word for a partnership?  A  Vennootschap!    

 

 

Did you hear about the diver who was almost swallowed by a whale?  Rainer Schimpf, a South African dive tour operator was swimming near a bait ball, designed to attract sharks when all of a sudden everything went dark.  A whale had come along and scooped him up along with a mouthful of sardines from the bait ball. Rainer was gasperated, but tried to remain calm to see if the whale would release him.  Talk about waiting with bated breath:)

Fortunately, the whale was likely as displeased about the situation as he was and spit him out after a few agonizing moments. That’s enough to give you thalassophobia or fear of the sea! It sounds like a  gollywhopper of a tale, but it was all captured on film by a photographer on a nearby boat.  Believe it or not, the diver who was spared the belly of the whale has a son named Jonah!

 

Television in America is turning 75 this year. Visitors to the World’s Fair in New York in 1939 were amazed to see moving pictures and hear sound coming from a small black-and-white screen built into a large wooden box! And then they were stunned to learn this technological marvel could soon be in their own living rooms!  

The invention of television named after Latin and Greek words meaning “far-sight” dates even further back.  Patented in Germany in 1884, TV sets were sold commercially in several countries beginning in 1928.  The German word for TV is  Fernsehen.

America watches more television than any other country in the world followed by Poland. Zenith introduced the “Lazy Bones” remote control in 1951, giving birth to generations of couch potatoes.  In Britain, another word for the television remote is the smibbly bibbly!

 

 

 

Students come up with some pretty creative excuses for turning in their homework late.  One student explained to his teacher that they wanted to wait until they were older and therefore wiser, so they would be able to do a better job.  Another explained that he was aware that teachers are overworked and underpaid, and having to grade more assignments just added to the problem.  I guess he felt he was helping out.  What’s a word for telling artful lies in a convincing way?  Mendaciloquence. 

 

Of course, there are the usual excuses like “the dog ate my homework” or “my printer wouldn’t work”, but one of the more creative explanations given to a teacher was that "the police cut power to the neighborhood to carry out a drug bust, so I couldn’t use my computer."  What’s a word for a comical fib?  A  skiddledinger!

Just like baby names, pet names are often inspired by current pop culture.  According to data collected by Banfield Pet Hospitals, character names from the Marvel movies were super influential this year.  Marvel fans gave their pets names like Storm, Wolverine, Drax, Groot, Rocket, and Loki.   Among some more creative names for dogs are TwaiSherlock Bones, Bark Twain, Chewbarka, Droolius Ceasar and Winnie the Poodle. In the United States, the most popular names for dogs are Charlie, Coco, Daisy, Bailey, Lola Molly, and Sadie.  Cuttycrumb is an old Scots word for the sound of a purring cat.  And when your dog or cat curls up in a ball to sleep, that’s called a  kreesal, a word used to describe an untidy bundle of clothes. What’s a word for smelling something by sticking your nose in it like a dog?  Snowking.

 

 

It’s been said that Slang is language with its sleeves rolled up, but who knows?  The words we call slang today might just end up in the dictionary tomorrow. Throwing shade is slang for disrespecting someone, and being jelly is short for jealous.  Dime or dime piece is a word for a very attractive person, in other words, a perfect ten!

People hang out with their squad or peeps.   Bae, an acronym for “before anyone else”, is short for boyfriend or girlfriend.  And ship  is short for relationship. If you’re woke you’re on top of current news and events.  If you’re, on fleek you’re fashionable, and trill is short for true and real.  Of course, I love new words so it’s all good or Gucci!