Why is every fourth year called a “leap year”?

A leap year has 366 days, with an extra day added to February. Every year divisible by four is a leap year except those completing a century, which must be divisible by four hundred. It’s called a leap year because normally the date that falls on a Monday this year will fall on Tuesday next year and then Wednesday the year after that. In the fourth year it will “leap” over Thursday and fall on Friday.

Why do the hands of a clock move to the right?

Early mechanical timepieces didn’t have hands. They signalled time with bells. Then one hand was introduced, indicating the hour only, until eventually sophisticated mechanics introduced the more precise minute and then second hands. Because clocks were invented in the northern hemisphere, the hands followed the same direction as the shadows on a sundial. If they’d been invented in the southern hemisphere, “clockwise” would be in the opposite direction.

Where did the pharmacist’s symbol of “Rx” come from?

To the Romans, the pursuit of the healing arts and the distribution of medicine was the highest professional calling possible and therefore could only be ordained by Jupiter. The “R” in “Rx” is from the Latin word recipere, meaning “to have been prescribed” or “to take,” while the small “x” was the god king’s symbol of approval. To the Romans, the “Rx” meant that the great god Jupiter himself had a hand in the prescription.

Why is the common winter viral infection called the “flu”?

In 1743, an outbreak of a deadly cold-like fever originated in Italy and swept through Europe. Because doctors believed that diseases and epidemics were ordained or influenced by the stars they called it (as the press reported it from Italy) an influenza. The English word for influenza is influence, which although abbreviated to flu still means the disease flows from the influence of the heavens.

What is the origin of the red and white barber pole?

The Roman word for beard is barba, which gave us the term barber. Early barbers cut hair and trimmed beards, but they also pulled teeth and practiced medicinal bloodletting. This last procedure required the patient to expose his veins by squeezing a pole painted red to hide the bloodstains. When not in use the red pole was displayed outside wrapped in the white gauze used as bandages, and it eventually became the official trademark of the barber.

What’s the difference between a spider’s web and a cobweb?

All spiders create their webs through a liquid secretion that hardens in the air. These webs are nearly invisible, especially to the insects they trap. In modern language, the spider’s web becomes a cobweb only after it collects dust and becomes visible, so the webs are different in name only. The word cob came from writings as early as the thirteenth century and had evolved from coppe, an early word for spider.

What part did the Big Dipper play in naming the frozen north the Arctic?

As part of the constellation of Ursa Major, the Big Dipper can be seen the entire year throughout Europe and most of North America, and it becomes brighter as you travel north. The Romans followed the Greeks in naming the seven-star constellation containing the Big Dipper “the Bear,” which in Latin is ursa. In Greek the word for bear is arktos, which gave us the name Arctic for the northern land beneath the Bear.

Why is a complete list of letters named the “alphabet,” and why is a river mouth called a “delta”?

One of the first things we learn in school is our ABCs, a list of all letters used in the English language. The name comes from the first two letters in the original Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. The triangular mouth of the Nile River was called a “delta” because, like all rivers leading into the sea, it’s shaped like the fourth Greek letter. Every delta in the world took its name from the Nile.

What is the rule of thumb?

In 1976, NOW incorrectly linked the expression “rule of thumb” with a 1782 public statement by an English judge that in his opinion, a man should have the right to beat his wife as long as the stick used was no thicker than his thumb. In fact, the real “rule of thumb” is a reference to building or baking something through the knowledge of experience rather than precise science, with the thumb being an instrument for a rough and improvised measurement.

Why is a hospital’s emergency selection process called “triage”?

Triage is from the French trier, meaning to compare and select, and was used in reference to sorting livestock for culling or slaughter. Triage entered medicine during the First World War, when battlefield physicians were overwhelmed with the wounded and dying. The least likely to live were treated last. In modern hospitals the order of triage is reversed, with priority given to the most seriously in need.

Is there a difference between a penknife and a jackknife?

The original difference between a jackknife and a penknife was size. Both had blades that folded into the handle for safety. The small penknife came first and was carried in a pocket in a sheath and was used for making or repairing quill pens. Pen is derived from penna, the Latin word meaning “feather.” The jackknife was simply a large, allpurpose penknife, so called because it was a handy tool for sailors, who, at the time, were called “Jacks.”

What is the origin of the polka dot?

The polka dot is a leftover from the polka dance craze that was introduced to America in 1835. Polka is the Polish word for “Polish woman,” but the dance came from Czechoslovakia — just like the song “American Woman” came from Canada. The dance was in vogue up until the end of the nineteenth century, during which time dozens of by-products capitalized on its popularity, including one that still lingers: wearing apparel with the polka dot pattern.

What does the Statue of Liberty have to do with the word gadget?

The word gadget first appeared in 1886, the year the French gave America the Statue of Liberty. That same year, a man named Gaget, one of the partners in the French company that had built the Liberty, conceived the idea of creating miniature statues to sell to Americans in Paris as souvenirs. The Americans mispronounced “Gaget” and called their miniature Libertys “gadgets,” and a new word for something small was born.

What is the difference between a settee, a divan, and a couch?

A settee, a divan, and a couch are all parlour furniture designed for sitting. Settee entered the language from the German setlaz, which means simply “seat.” Divan is from the Persian word for “council of rulers” and was given as a name to an armless couch. The word couch originally referred to a bed and comes from the French word coucher, meaning “to lie in place” … like “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi.”

Why are precious stones such as diamonds weighed in carats?

The word carat comes from the carob bean, which grows on the cerantonia siliqua tree. Each bean is so remarkably near the same size and weight that the ancients used it as a universal measurement for precious stones. There are approximately 142 carob beans, or carats, to the ounce. Each carat is divided into one hundred points, individually weighing about the same as three bread crumbs.

Why do so many Scottish and Irish surnames begin with “Mac” as in MacDonald, and “O” as in O’Connor?

One of the ancient Celtic traditions of Scotland and Ireland was (in much the same manner as for American slaves) that all the serfs who worked his land used the name of the clan chieftain. In Gaelic, the prefix Mac means “son,” while O means “grandson” or “descendant of.” Both were used to keep track of the true bloodline. MacDonald means “the son of Donald,” while O‘Connor means “the grandson of Connor.”

How long is a moment, and what is the precise time of a jiffy?

When we use moment or jiffy, as in “I’ll be back in a moment” or “She’ll be with you in a jiffy,” we usually mean in an undefined but brief period of time — but in fact, both have a precise length. Although lost through time, a moment was originally an English reference for ninety seconds, while a jiffy is from science and is one one-hundredth of a second, the time it takes light in a vacuum to travel one centimetre.

Do only the most intelligent graduate from university?

A proper education is an advantage to any mind, but intelligence doesn’t guarantee a formal education. Albert Einstein left school at fifteen after his teacher described him as “retarded”; Thomas Edison dropped out at eight. Up to 50 percent of North Americans born with a genius IQ never graduate high school. They can take comfort in these words from Emerson: “I pay the school master, but it’s the schoolboys who educate my son.”

Why do we call the end of the day “evening,” and why is it divided into “twilight” and “dusk”?

Twilight is defined by the ancient word twi, which means “half” or “between,” so twilight is the time between light and darkness. Dusk is the final stage of twilight and is from the lost English word dox, which meant “dark” or “darker.” Evening comes from the ancient word aefen, meaning “late,” and came to mean the general time between sunset and when you went to sleep.

What is a Catch-22?

A Catch-22 is an impossible situation. In Joseph Heller’s 1961 novel Catch-22, the protagonist tries every means possible to avoid flying dangerous missions in order to survive the war. The problem was Catch-22, a regulation that specified that if a man was afraid to fly then he was sane and had to, but if he flew he was crazy and didn’t have to. Either way, at some point he had to fly.