These two English words are sometimes confused by native speakers. This lesson will make a nice addition to your English understanding: Addition vs Edition
Electric cars
I’ve been reading about electric cars lately, and it’s fascinating. I haven’t seen “Who Killed the Electric Car?” yet, but I plan to. Apparently we are stuck paying these outrageous prices for gas and destroying the environment not only because of oil company lobbyists, but also because electric cars have very few moving parts, and the market for auto parts is also a huge and influential. Crazy stuff.
Summer drinks
Despite the “break” in the heatwave, I still feel like I’m in an oven, and I simply cannot find a refreshing enough drink. I’ve tried lemonade, ginger ale, ice tea, and all of my other cool drink recipes, but nothing seems to be working. Any suggestions?
Word of the day: Wikiality
Definition: A sort of pseudo-reality that exists when you make something up and enough people agree with you. Coined by Stephen Colbert, reporter for Comedy Central’s Colbert Report.
Source: Can Wikipedia Handle Stephen Colbert’s Truthiness? (MTV News)
Of course, that begs the question of what to call the ever-changing “reality” that is found on Wikipedia, since popular terms may be edited nearly constantly throughout the day and an entry is almost never definitive. Instabiliality?
Coup de boule – the song
We all knew that Zidane’s head butt during the World Cup Final would go down in history, but did you ever think about the marketing aspects? A French song parodying the event is breaking records (ha ha) in France, and there are several ringtones you can purchase too, all from La Plage Records
I’m not going to translate the whole song, but here’s the chorus:
Zidane il l’a frappé, Zidane il l’a tapé (Coup de boule!)
Zidane he hit him, Zidane he slapped him (Head butt!)
Interesting Factoids
While researching something else entirely, I came across several completely unrelated tidbits that I’d like to share with you.
- The shortest war in history, called the Anglo-Zanzibar War, lasted 45 minutes.
- In 1928, war was outlawed by the Kellogg-Briand Pact.
- The world’s first successful oil well was found in, of all places, Titusville, Pennsylvania.
- On average, right-handed people live nine years longer than left-handed people.