Why is breakdancing called breakdancing? Breakdancing was dancing that filled a break in the music. Breakdancing is generally only called breakdancing by the general public. People who breakdance are called breakers, or break-boy (b-boy) and break-girl (b-girl). Breakdancing is a type of dance, but b-boys and b-girls live a lifestyle which has a culture of […]
#1040 Why is breakdancing called breakdancing? Read More »
Manor, mansion, villa, stately home or hall? They are all words that describe a large, expensive house, but they have slightly different origins. A manor is a British term now, but the tradition of manors comes from all over western Europe, having started in Rome. The word comes from the Latin “manere”, which meant remain,
#1038 Manor, mansion, villa, stately home or hall? Read More »
What is a cavity? It is a hole in the enamel of the tooth that bacteria can get in through. We have 32 teeth, assuming you haven’t had your wisdom teeth out, and they are divided into three different types of teeth. We have incisors, canines, and molars. Incisors are the cutting teeth. The name
#0137 What is a cavity? Read More »
What languages became English? A Germanic language brought by the Anglo-Saxons, then Norse brought by the Scandinavian Vikings, and then French brought by the Normans. No language really has a starting point, but you can often see the languages that combined to make them. For example, French, Italian, and Spanish all evolved from Latin, which
#1034 What languages became English? Read More »
Why do shoes smell? Shoes smell because bacteria break down the sweat and dead skin cells from our feet, producing waste products that smell bad. Bacteria live all over our skin, not just on our feet. These bacteria are called the skin microbiota. You may have heard of the gut microbiota, which is the name
#1032 Why do shoes smell? Read More »
Why are the police called cops? Police officers are called cops because “to cop” meant to arrest someone. There are many expressions used to refer to the police in English speaking countries. Probably the most famous expression is cop. It is so common that many police officers even refer to themselves as cops or coppers,
#1030 Why are the police called cops? Read More »
What were punks rebelling against? They were rebelling against the establishment, the commercialization of music, hippie culture, and the general economic hardship in the UK and Europe. The word punk probably started as an insult that the punk movement took control of and owned. Punk meant “something worthless”, “inferior”, “bad”, “a worthless person”, and “a
#1028 What were punks rebelling against? Read More »
Why are more plane crashes survivable? Because of technology, training, the way the planes are laid out, and the materials the planes are made of. Many people have a fear of flying and a lot of people have an image that flying is very dangerous. This couldn’t be further from the truth. This fear is
#1024 Why are more plane crashes survivable? Read More »
What is Zipf’s Law? It is a statistical distribution in a data set where the first item is twice as big as the second item, three times as big as the third item, four times as big as the fourth item, and so on. Zipf’s Law is called a law, but it is not really
#1016 What is Zipf’s Law? Read More »
What is talcum powder? It is a mineral found in clay. When we think of talcum powder, most of us think of the powder we put on a baby’s bottom after they have been changed to prevent nappy rash (diaper rash), or something we put on our nether regions after a tough game of squash.
#1011 What is talcum powder? Read More »
