In 1914, Richard Platz, a 20-year-old son of a baker, was hiking when he threw a message in a bottle into the Baltic Sea. Little did he know that it would take over a century before anyone would read his message. Earlier this year, a fisherman named Konrad Fischer pulled the beer … [Read more...]
‘You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks’ Idiom Proven Wrong
If you ever thought that you were too old to learn a language or some other skill, you probably never heard the remarkable story of Kimani Maruge. Some people say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but Kimani first entered elementary school when he was 84-years-old. In … [Read more...]
Birdbrained
Birds aren’t usually the first animal that people think about when they think about smart animals. In English, calling someone birdbrained means that they are stupid. And saying something is ‘for the birds’ means that it’s trivial or worthless. However, these expressions … [Read more...]
That Prairie Dog Thinks You’re Fat!
Has anyone ever told you, you could stand to lose some weight? Or maybe people have told you you’re as thin as a rail. Either way, it might not just be other people judging you on your looks. Prairie dogs have a complex language, and they are not only talking about people, but … [Read more...]
Do You Need To See A Doctor To Speak Better English?
The English idiom tongue-tied describes someone who is speechless. Originally coined by Shakespeare, the expression is still commonly used today. There are many reasons that people sometimes feel tongue-tied, and being a native English speaker or an English student has nothing to … [Read more...]
A Language Dies Every Two Weeks But Not This One
When Manuel Segovia and Isidro Velazquez had a falling out, it became international news. No one remembers what started it. Some say it was because they disagreed on the proper way to speak their own language. Their feud was widely reported around the world because there was much … [Read more...]
Can Translating Animal Languages Save the World?
Climate change is speeding up. According to some research, the earth is losing 200 species of plants, insects and animals a day. Britt Selvitelle and Aza Raskin believe that understanding non-human language can save the world. They are neither linguists nor environmental … [Read more...]
Animal Laughter
Aristotle once questioned what separates humans from animals. He decided it’s not language or reason. It’s laughter. Aristotle wrote that the moment when a baby first laughs is when the child becomes fully human. According to historian Barry Sanders, Aristotle believed that … [Read more...]