Collection of Insane and Fun Facts
33% of Americans consider “whatever” to be the most annoying word or phrase. The recent addition of “fake news” takes second place with 23% followed closely by “no offense, but” with 20%. 11% think “literally” is the most grating word used in conversation while 10% assert “you know what I mean” is the most agitating.
The word “dashboard” originated as a barrier of wood or leather fixed at the front of a horse-drawn carriage or sleigh to protect the driver from mud or other debris “dashed up” (thrown up) by the horses’ hooves.
The word gasoline has nothing to do with gas, it was a brand knock off of the original Cazeline when a shop owner drew a line on the C to make it a G.
The words “apron” and “napkin” were originally “napron” and “apkin” but the preceding indefinite articles (“an” and “a”) were so confusing to the ear that the words eventually just changed.
The word “ok” as we know it today, as a synonym for “alright”, is only about 175 years old. It was originally written as a joke that went viral in 1839 by a Boston editorial writer satirizing people’s bad grammar and use of abbreviations, and was an abbreviation for “oll korrect”.
Charles Boycott, an English land agent, was so hated by the community he became a verb.
The Chinese word for “contradiction”, 矛盾, consisting of the characters for “spear” and “shield” respectively, is said to derive from an old tale in which a Chinese merchant proclaimed to sell “spears that could pierce any shield” and “shields that could defend from all spear attacks”.
The word “hobbit” has been found exactly once in texts predating Tolkien, in a list of magical creatures with no explanation or context.
The word “OK” originated in 1839 when a newspaper used it as a funny abbreviation of “oll korrect.”