You Learn Something New Every Day

Birdie Num Nums

Birdie Num Nums

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How about a thread regarding something you just recently learned?

I was at the library browsing thru the book The Truth Will Out: Unmasking the Real Shakespeare. At p. 7, I learned, to my amazement, that, in addition to having the largest vocabulary and thus using more unique words than any other writer of English in history--18,000--Shakespeare coined some 1,500 new words (and phrases), again more than any other writer. They include: amazement, dialogue, dwindle, downstairs, employer, worthless, and retirement! (If not for old Bill, what would this site have been called?)

Anything new you learned today?
 
Birdie Num Nums said:
...Shakespeare coined some 1,500 new words (and phrases), again more than any other writer. They include: amazement, dialogue, dwindle, downstairs, employer, worthless, and retirement! (If not for old Bill, what would this site have been called?)

Anything new you learned today?
Click to expand...

Well, I just learned that some lucky people could invent new words, while if I did that in school, they would flunk me!

Anyway, I learn new things everyday, some are worthy, most not.

The real problem is not forgetting other older things that I have carefully stashed away in my brain.

(If not for old Bill, what would this site have been called?)
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Lazy bums? But then, perhaps Shakespeare also invented that word too!
 
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Speaking of languages, I recently discovered that the Gaelic written languages are not at all phonetic. The relation of the written words to their pronunciation is a mystery to me, and I suspect, most of the Germanic and Latin-derived language speakers.

I have always had an interest in languages. Sadly, same as with music, my abilities trail far behind my fascination. Maybe I never really expend the effort. But when one does not have the innate ability, it's too tough to keep bashing his head into the wall, compared to math or physics when I loved to read textbooks like housewives reading paperback romance novels.
 
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I just learned that Liechtenstein is the world's largest producer of sausage casings and false teeth.
 
Is there a correlation between sausage casings and false teeth? We need to investigate further!
 
Not today, but recently learned ACA will, in fact, save me several thousand $ due to my location, among other things. In fact, ACA will be about the same as my COBRA continuation, which isn't cheap, but isn't $10K/yr, either.
 
The false teeth are necessary in order to bite through the sausage casings. An obvious case of creating a demand for their own products.........
 
Good thing I tend to peel the sausage casings off before eating. Perhaps that was a contributing factor to me retaining all but one of my natural teeth.

I did have a molar crown that was necessitated by my style of eating crab: chomping down on a crab claw to crack it instead of using the cracker. This was 20 years ago, and needless to say, I do that no more.
 
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NW-Bound said:
Good thing I tend to peel the sausage casings off before eating. Perhaps that was a contributing factor to me retaining all but one of my natural teeth.

I did have a molar crown that was necessitated by my style of eating crab: chomping down on a crab claw to crack it instead of using the cracker. This was 20 years ago, and needless to say, I do that no more.
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It appears that you have never developed an affection for licorice whips. I had a cap that took flight in a red one (my fav).

I do have a capped tooth which was assaulted by a pit in a 'pitted' olive. My dentist and I are waiting for final resolution.

I envy you, living on nuts and berries. There will be a day when I can return to the Oregon coast where the blueberries and the strawberries are the same size and overwhelmingly delicious.
 
We finished our medical checkups yesterday. A side issue was DW's bone density, and recent improvement, which the doctor attributed to the new drug Prolia... While expensive, she encouraged us to consider continuation because of the positive aspects.
So what did I learn? That the number one preventable cause of death or disability among people older than 65, is falls.
Each year, one in every three adults age 65 and older falls.1 Falls can cause moderate to severe injuries, such as hip fractures and head traumas, and can increase the risk of early death. Fortunately, falls are a public health problem that is largely preventable.
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CDC - Older Adult Falls - Falls Among Older Adults: An Overview - Home and Recreational Safety - Injury Center

Probably a no brainer, but the "Preventable" part is one that needs more exposure... especially to younger people. Everyone knows about the preventable part of cancer... the medicines and and risk avoidance for heart attacks... and the diets to reduce diabetes. The last of the top causes of death are pneumonia and Alzheimers...
But... possibly the worst, is the sudden degradation of life caused by a fall... often a broken hip or physically disabling injury. Wheel chairs, Nursing homes, rehab, and long terms of down time and depression... not to mention the cost. Happens in a few seconds.

Mostly preventable... calcium vitamin D, regular exercise, hydration, and awareness. Testing and early rehab.
If you don't know someone who has had their life degraded from a fall, you're in the minority.
The prevention starts today... age 20 or age 75.

Hit home yesterday.
 
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Well you've got me on that one. You do indeed learn something new every day!

Actually, I got it from an old "drop" used by a DJ colleague of mine on a small pirate radio station we both used to work at in the 19080's in England. He had a recording of some guy saying (in a zany nerd voice) "Did you know that there is no proper name for the back of the knees?" I didn't know whether it was true or not, but thought it sounded silly enough to be worth repeating.

But now I know that there is indeed a name for it. Think I'll look up that old DJ friend of mine and let him know..........
 
Major Tom said:
Well you've got me on that one. You do indeed learn something new every day!

Actually, I got it from an old "drop" used by a DJ colleague of mine on a small pirate radio station we both used to work at in the 19080's in England. He had a recording of some guy saying (in a zany nerd voice) "Did you know that there is no proper name for the back of the knees?" I didn't know whether it was true or not, but thought it sounded silly enough to be worth repeating.

But now I know that there is indeed a name for it. Think I'll look up that old DJ friend of mine and let him know..........
Click to expand...

Hey, I knew that six years of medical school had to come in useful one day. Including the dissection of the popliteal fossa......aaah, the smell of formalin in the morning.....
 
imoldernu said:
So what did I learn? That the number one preventable cause of death or disability among people older than 65, is falls....

But... possibly the worst, is the sudden degradation of life caused by a fall... often a broken hip or physically disabling injury. Wheel chairs, Nursing homes, rehab, and long terms of down time and depression... not to mention the cost. Happens in a few seconds....
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After my grandmother fell and broke her hip, and got a hip replacement, her life style changed significantly--as she was reluctant to go out as often, or be as active as she had been before, for fear of again falling. She passed away just a few years later.
 
Major Tom said:
There is no proper name for the back of the knees.
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I would informally call them knee pits, and inner elbow area would be an elbow pit. (Then I would invent new antiperspirants specifically targeted at these areas, created a new market for an unneeded item ("Don't suffer the embarrassment of elbow pit perspiration any longer!"), sell them online, and made a fortune.)
 
OMG! All these years I've been going unprotected against elbow pit perspiration!

I'll just have to crawl into a hole and die since I could never face anyone again.
 
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