Minggu, 18 Juni 2017

Little Boy’s Meeting with God

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons.
The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was, and he got up to leave but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But, before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?” She replied, “I ate Twinkies in the park with God.” But, before her son responded, she added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”
Moral: God is everywhere.  We just need to share our happiness and make others smile to feel him.

Source:  http://www.moralstories.org/little-boys-meeting-with-god/

Sabtu, 17 Juni 2017

Hundred Gold Coins & Birbal

The wisdom of Birbal was unparalleled during the reign of Emperor Akbar. But Akbar’s brother in law was extremely jealous of him. He asked the Emperor to dispense with Birbal’s services and appoint him in his place. He gave ample assurance that he would prove to be more efficient and capable than Birbal. Before Akbar could take a decision on this matter, this news reached Birbal.
Birbal resigned and left. Akbar’s brother in law was made the minister in place of Birbal. Akbar decided to test the new minister. He gave three hundred gold coins to him and said, “Spend these gold coins such that, I get a hundred gold coins here in this life; a hundred gold coins in the other world and another hundred gold coins neither here nor there.”
The minister found the entire situation to be a maze of confusion and hopelessness. He spent sleepless nights worrying how he would get himself out of this mess. Thinking in circles was making him go crazy. Eventually, on the advice of his wife, he sought Birbals help. Birbal said, “Just give me the gold coins. I shall handle the rest.”
Birbal walked the streets of the city holding the bag of gold coins in his hand. He noticed a rich merchant celebrating his son’s wedding. Birbal gave a hundred gold coins to him and bowed courteously saying, “Emperor Akbar sends you his good wishes and blessings for the wedding of your son. Please accept the gift he has sent.” The merchant felt honored that the king had sent a special messenger with such a precious gift. He honored Birbal and gave him a large number of expensive gifts and a bag of gold coins as a return gift for the king.
Next, Birbal went to the area of the city where the poor people lived. There he bought food and clothing in exchange for a hundred gold coins and distributed them in the name of the Emperor.
When he came back to town he organized a concert of music and dance. He spent a hundred gold coins on it.
The next day Birbal entered Akbar’s darbar and announced that he had done all that the king had asked his brother-in-law to do. The Emperor wanted to know how he had done it. Birbal repeated the sequences of all the events and then said, “The money I gave to the merchant for the wedding of his son – you have got back while on this earth. The money I spent on buying food and clothing for the poor – you will get it in the other world. The money I spent on the musical concert – you will get neither here nor there.” Akbar’s brother in law understood his mistake and resigned. Birbal got his place back.
Moral: The money you spend on friends is returned or reciprocated in some form or the other. The money spent on charity gets converted into blessings from God which will be your eternal property. The money spent on pleasures is just frittered away. So when you spend your money, think a little, if not a lot.

Source: http://www.moralstories.org/hundred-gold-coins-birbal/

Jumat, 16 Juni 2017

Act of Kindness and Goodwill

Mr. Phillips was just getting ready to leave his office and he remembered that his wife had asked him to bring 1KG of Bananas. When He stepped out, he saw an ill-looking old lady across the road. She was selling fresh bananas on the street. Mr. Phillips usually buys bananas from a grocery shop few blocks away from his office but since he was in hurry to reach home today, he thought about buying them from across the road only.
He went to the old lady and asked her the price. She quoted $7 per 1KG. He told, “But the store where I usually buy from gives them for $5 per 1KG, can you not give me for the same price?” The Old Lady told, “No Sir, I can not afford to match that price. I can sell them to you at $6 per 1KG. That’s best I can afford to give you for.” Mr. Phillips told her, “nevermind”. He left in his car towards the usual grocery shop.
He went inside and picked up a good bunch of bananas. He went to the cashier to pay for them but he was surprised when the cashier told him that price per 1KG is $10. He told the cashier, “I have been buying bananas from here only for some years and this is a steep price increase, can’t you offer me a better deal for being a loyal customer?” The Manager overheard him and came there. He told Mr. Phillips, “Sorry Sir but our prices are fixed, we do not bargain.” Mr. Phillips felt little bad with that flat attitude. He thought for a second and put those bananas back. He went back to the old lady. She recognized him instantly and told him, “Sir, I can’t match that price, I won’t be able to earn any profit.”
Mr. Phillips told her, “Don’t worry about the price, I will pay you $10 Per KG! Now, give me 2KG.” The Old Lady got very happy, she packed 2KGs of Bananas and said, “I can’t take $10 but I will take $7 per KG. I appreciate your kindness.” She also told him, “My Husband used to own a small fruit shop but he got very sick. We have no child or any relatives who could support us. We had to sell his shop to cover his medical bills but he could not survive.” Tears were flowing from her eyes. She said, “But now to support myself I am trying to sell what I can afford to buy and sell, so I can survive for what’s left of my life.”
Mr. Phillips told her, “Do not worry, You are doing good and from tomorrow on, I will only buy bananas from you.”  He pulled out his wallet and gave her $100 extra and said, “Take this, Bring more different fruits to sell tomorrow, consider this an advance payment for fruits I will be buying from you. You can earn more if you have more choices of fruits to sell.” The Old Lady thanked him.
Later, He recommended many of his colleagues to buy fruits from the lady which they did. And with the support from Mr. Phillips and many other buyers, she made a better living.
Moral: Often we choose to go in big malls or big grocery shops for a shopping. We always pay the fixed price without bargaining. That is fine as we all have choices and people who run their business have their liabilities too. However, we need to spare a moment and think that why we have no courage or reason to bargain while shopping at big shops and why we try to bargain heavily with small street vendors? Think wisely. Always be helpful and supportive to someone who works hard to earn and has a need for it. Think, what Mr. Phillips had thought for a second and why he decided to buy from the old lady..

Source:  http://www.moralstories.org/act-kindness-goodwill/

Kamis, 15 Juni 2017

The Seven Wonders

Anna was a 9-year-old girl from the small village.  She finished attending elementary school till 4th grade at her village.  For the 5th grade onwards, she will have to get an admission in a school at a city nearby.  She got very happy knowing that she was accepted in a very reputed school in a city.  Today was the first day of her school and she was waiting for her school bus.  Once the bus came, she got in it quickly.  She was very excited.
Once the bus reached to her school, all students started going to their classes.  Anna also made it to her classroom after asking fellow students for direction.  Upon seeing her simple clothing and knowing she is from a small village, other students started making fun of her.  The teacher soon arrived and she asked everyone to keep quiet.  She introduced Anna to the class and told that she will be studying with them only from today.
Then the teacher told the students to be ready for the surprise test now!  She told everyone to write down the 7 wonders of the world.  Everyone started writing the answer quickly.   Anna started to write the answer slowly.
When everyone except Anna had submitted their answer paper, the teacher came and asked Anna, “What happened Dear?  Don’t worry, Just write what you know as other students have learned about it just a couple of days back”.
Anna replied, “I was thinking that there are so many things, which 7 I can pick to write!”   And, then she handed her answer paper to the teacher.  The teacher started reading everyone’s answers and the majority had answered them correctly such as The Great Wall of China, Colosseum, Stonehedge,  Great Pyramid of Giza, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Tajmahal, Hanging Gardens of Babylon etc.
The teacher was happy as students had remembered what she had taught them.  At last the teacher picked up Anna’s answer paper and started reading.
“The 7 Wonders are – To be able to See, To be able to Hear, To be able to Feel, To Laugh, To Think, To be Kind, To Love!”

The teacher stood stunned and the whole class was speechless.  Today, a girl from the small village reminded them about the precious gifts that god has given us, which are truly a wonder.
Moral:  Value what you have, use what you have, trust what you have.  You don’t always have to look away to find an inspiration.  God has given you all the strength to reach your goals.
 Source: http://www.moralstories.org/the-seven-wonders/

Rabu, 14 Juni 2017

The Circle of Good Deed

Once upon a time Shree Krishna and Arjun went for a short stroll around the city. They saw a poor looking priest begging. Arjun felt pity at him and he gave him a bag full of 100 gold coins. The priest became very happy and thanked Arjun. He left for his home. On way, he saw another person who needed help. The priest could have spared a coin or two to help that person. however, he chose to ignore it. But on way to his home, one thief robbed him of his bag of coins and ran away.
The priest became dejected and went back again for begging. Next day again when Arjun saw the same priest begging and he was surprised that after getting a bag full of coins which can last a lifetime, the priest was still begging! He called the priest and asked him the reason for this. The priest told him about the whole incident and Arjun again felt pity at him. So, this time he gave him a diamond.
The priest became very happy and left for home and he again saw someone who needed help but he chose to ignore again. Upon reaching home, he safely put the diamond in an empty pot of water with a plan to cash it out later and live a wealthy life. His wife was not at home. He was very tired so he decided to take a nap. In between, his wife came home and picked up that empty pot of water, walked towards the river close by to fill up the water. She had not noticed the diamond in the pot. Upon arriving at the river, she put the whole pot into the running river water to fill it up. She filled up the pot but the diamond was gone with the water flow!
When the priest woke up, he went to see the pot and asked his wife about the diamond. She told him, she had not noticed it and it must have been lost in the river. The priest couldn’t believe his bad luck and again started begging. Again Arjun and Shree Krishna saw him begging and Arjun inquired about it. Arjun felt bad and started thinking if this priest will ever have a happy life.
Shree Krishna who is an incarnation of God smiled. Shree Krishna gave that priest one coin which was not even enough for buying a lunch or dinner for one person. Arjun asked Shree Krishna, “Lord, I gave him gold coins and diamond, which could have given him a wealthy life, yet it didn’t help him. How will just one coin help this poor guy?” Shree Krishna smiled and told Arjun to follow that priest and find out.
On the way, the priest was thinking that one coin Shree Krishna gave him, he can’t even buy a lunch for one person. Why would he give so little? He saw a fisherman who was getting a fish out of his net. Fish was struggling. The priest felt pity at fish. He thought that this one coin won’t solve my problem, why not I save that fish. So the priest paid the fisherman and took the fish. He put the fish in his small pot of water which he always carried with him.
The fish was struggling in a small pot of water, ended up throwing out a diamond from the mouth! The priest screamed with a joy, “I got it, I got it”. At that same point, the thief who had robbed the priest’s bag of 100 gold coins, was passing through there. He thought that the priest recognized him and may get him punished. He got nervous and ran to the priest. He apologized to the priest and returned his bag full of 100 gold coins. The priest couldn’t believe what just happened.
Arjun saw all this and said, “Oh Lord, Now I understand your play”.
Moral: When you have enough to help others, don’t let that chance go. Your good deeds will always be repaid to you.

Source: http://www.moralstories.org/circle-good-deed/

Keeping the Roots Stronger

Once upon a time, there were two neighbors living next to each other. One of them was a retired teacher and another was an insurance agent who had a lot of interest in technology. Both of them had planted different plants in their garden. The retired teacher was giving a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give a full attention to them, while the other neighbor interested in technology, had given a lot of water to his plants and looked after them too well.
The retired teacher’s plants were simple but looked good. The insurance agent’s plants were much fuller and greener. One day, during the night, there was a heavy rain and a wind due to a minor storm. Next morning, both of the neighbors came out to inspect the damage to their garden. The neighbor who was an insurance agent saw that his plants came off from the roots and were totally destroyed. But, the retired teacher’s plants were not damaged at all and were standing firm.
The insurance agent neighbor was surprised to see it, he went to the retired teacher and asked, “We both grew the same plants together, I actually looked after my plants better than you did for yours, and even gave them more water. Still, my plants came off from the roots, while yours didn’t. How is that possible?”
The retired teacher smiled and said, “You gave your plants more attention and water, but because of that they didn’t need to work themselves for it.  You made it easy for them.  While I gave them just an adequate amount of water and let their roots search for more.   And, because of that, their roots went deeper and that made their position stronger.  That is why my plants survived”.
Moral:  This story is about parenting where children are like plants.  If everything is given to them, they will not understand the hard work it takes to earn those things.  They will not learn to work themselves and respect it.  Sometimes it’s best to guide them instead of giving them.   Teach them how to walk, but let them follow their path.

Source: http://www.moralstories.org/keeping-roots-stronger/

Senin, 12 Juni 2017

Helping and Modal Auxiliary Verbs

    Helping verbs or auxiliary verbs such as will, shall, may, might, can, could, must, ought to, should, would, used to, need are used in conjunction with main verbs to express shades of time and mood. The combination of helping verbs with main verbs creates what are called verb phrases or verb strings. In the following sentence, "will have been" are helping or auxiliary verbs and "studying" is the main verb; the whole verb string is underlined:
  • As of next August, I will have been studying chemistry for ten years.

            Students should remember that adverbs and contracted forms are not, technically, part of the verb. In the sentence, "He has already started." the adverb already modifies the verb, but it is not really part of the verb. The same is true of the 'nt in "He hasn't started yet" (the adverb not, represented by the contracted n't, is not part of the verb, has started).

            Shall, will and forms of have, do and be combine with main verbs to indicate time and voice. As auxiliaries, the verbs be, have and do can change form to indicate changes in subject and time.
  • shall go now.
  • He had won the election.
  • They did write that novel together.
  • am going now.
  • He was winning the election.
  • They have been writing that novel for a long time.

Uses of Shall and Will and Should

            In England, shall is used to express the simple future for first person I and we, as in "Shall we meet by the river?" Will would be used in the simple future for all other persons. Using will in the first person would express determination on the part of the speaker, as in "We will finish this project by tonight, by golly!" Using shall in second and third persons would indicate some kind of promise about the subject, as in "This shall be revealed to you in good time." This usage is certainly acceptable in the U.S., although shall is used far less frequently. The distinction between the two is often obscured by the contraction 'll, which is the same for both verbs.

            In the United States, we seldom use shall for anything other than polite questions (suggesting an element of permission) in the first-person:
  • "Shall we go now?"
  • "Shall I call a doctor for you?"

            (In the second sentence, many writers would use should instead, although should is somewhat more tentative than shall.) In the U.S., to express the future tense, the verb will is used in all other cases.

            Shall is often used in formal situations (legal or legalistic documents, minutes to meetings, etc.) to express obligation, even with third-person and second-person constructions:
  • The board of directors shall be responsible for payment to stockholders.
  • The college president shall report financial shortfalls to the executive director each semester."

            Should is usually replaced, nowadays, by would. It is still used, however, to mean "ought to" as in
  • You really shouldn't do that.
  • If you think that was amazing, you should have seen it last night.

            In British English and very formal American English, one is apt to hear or read should with the first-person pronouns in expressions of liking such as "I should prefer iced tea" and in tentative expressions of opinion such as
  • I should imagine they'll vote Conservative.
  • I should have thought so.

Uses of Do, Does and Did

            In the simple present tense, do will function as an auxiliary to express the negative and to ask questions. (Does, however, is substituted for third-person, singular subjects in the present tense. The past tense did works with all persons, singular and plural.)
  • I don't study at night.
  • She doesn't work here anymore.
  • Do you attend this school?
  • Does he work here?

            These verbs also work as "short answers," with the main verb omitted.
  • Does she work here? No, she doesn't work here.

            With "yes-no" questions, the form of do goes in front of the subject and the main verb comes after the subject:
  • Did your grandmother know Truman?
  • Do wildflowers grow in your back yard?

            Forms of do are useful in expressing similarity and differences in conjunction with so and neither.
  • My wife hates spinach and so does my son.
  • My wife doesn't like spinach; neither do I.

            Do is also helpful because it means you don't have to repeat the verb:
  • Larry excelled in language studies; so did his brother.
  • Raoul studies as hard as his sister does.

            The so-called emphatic do has many uses in English.
  1. To add emphasis to an entire sentence: "He does like spinach. He really does!"
  2. To add emphasis to an imperative: "Do come in." (actually softens the command)
  3. To add emphasis to a frequency adverb: "He never did understand his father." "She always does manage to hurt her mother's feelings."
  4. To contradict a negative statement: "You didn't do your homework, did you?" "Oh, but I did finish it."
  5. To ask a clarifying question about a previous negative statement: "Ridwell didn't take the tools." "Then who did take the tools?"
  6. To indicate a strong concession: "Although the Clintons denied any wrong-doing, they did return some of the gifts."

            In the absence of other modal auxiliaries, a form of do is used in question and negative constructions known as the get passive:
  • Did Rinaldo get selected by the committee?
  • The audience didn't get riled up by the politician.

 

Uses of Have, Has and Had

            Forms of the verb to have are used to create tenses known as the present perfect and past perfect. The perfect tenses indicate that something has happened in the past; the present perfect indicating that something happened and might be continuing to happen, the past perfect indicating that something happened prior to something else happening. (That sounds worse than it really is!) See the section on Verb Tenses in the Active Voice for further explanation; also review material in the Directory of English Tenses.

            To have is also in combination with other modal verbs to express probability and possibility in the past.
  • As an affirmative statement, to have can express how certain you are that something happened (when combined with an appropriate modal + have + a past participle): "Georgia must have left already." "Clinton might have known about the gifts." "They may have voted already."
  • As a negative statement, a modal is combined with not + have + a past participle to express how certain you are that something did not happen: "Clinton might not have known about the gifts." "I may not have been there at the time of the crime."
  • To ask about possibility or probability in the past, a modal is combined with the subject + have + past participle: "Could Clinton have known about the gifts?"
  • For short answers, a modal is combined with have: "Did Clinton know about this?" "I don't know. He may have." "The evidence is pretty positive. He must have."

            To have (sometimes combined with to get) is used to express a logical inference:
  • It's been raining all week; the basement has to be flooded by now.
  • He hit his head on the doorway. He has got to be over seven feet tall!

            Have is often combined with an infinitive to form an auxiliary whose meaning is similar to "must."
  • I have to have a car like that!
  • She has to pay her own tuition at college.
  • He has to have been the first student to try that.

Modal Auxiliaries

            Other helping verbs, called modal auxiliaries or modals, such as can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would, do not change form for different subjects. For instance, try substituting any of these modal auxiliaries for can with any of the subjects listed below.

            There is also a separate section on the Modal Auxiliaries, which divides these verbs into their various meanings of necessity, advice, ability, expectation, permission, possibility, etc., and provides sample sentences in various tenses. See the section onConditional Verb Forms for help with the modal auxiliary would. The shades of meaning among modal auxiliaries are multifarious and complex. Most English-as-a-Second-Language textbooks will contain at least one chapter on their usage. For more advanced students, A University Grammar of English, by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum, contains an excellent, extensive analysis of modal auxiliaries.

Uses of Can and Could

The modal auxiliary can is used
  • to express ability (in the sense of being able to do something or knowing how to do something):
    He can speak Spanish but he can't write it very well.
  • to expression permission (in the sense of being allowed or permitted to do something):
    Can I talk to my friends in the library waiting room? (Note that can is less formal than may. Also, some writers will object to the use of can in this context.)
  • to express theoretical possibility: American automobile makers can make better cars if they think there's a profit in it.

The modal auxiliary could is used
  • to express an ability in the past: I could always beat you at tennis when we were kids.
  • to express past or future permission: Could I bury my cat in your back yard?
  • to express present possibility: We could always spend the afternoon just sitting around talking.
  • to express possibility or ability in contingent circumstances: If he studied harder, he could pass this course.

Can versus May

            Whether the auxiliary verb can can be used to express permission or not — "Can I leave the room now?" ["I don't know if you can, but you may."] — depends on the level of formality of your text or situation. As Theodore Bernstein puts it in The Careful Writer, "a writer who is attentive to the proprieties will preserve the traditional distinction: can for ability or power to do something, may for permission to do it.

            The question is at what level can you safely ignore the "proprieties." Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, tenth edition, says the battle is over and can can be used in virtually any situation to express or ask for permission. Most authorities, however, recommend a stricter adherence to the distinction, at least in formal situations.

Uses of May and Might

            Two of the more troublesome modal auxiliaries are may and might. When used in the context of granting or seeking permission, might is the past tense of mayMight is considerably more tentative than may.
  • May I leave class early?
  • If I've finished all my work and I'm really quiet, might I leave early?

            In the context of expressing possibility, may and might are interchangeable present and future forms and might + have + past participle is the past form:
  • She might be my advisor next semester.
  • She may be my advisor next semester.
  • She might have advised me not to take biology.

            Avoid confusing the sense of possibility in may with the implication of might, that a hypothetical situation has not in fact occurred. For instance, let's say there's been a helicopter crash at the airport. In his initial report, before all the facts are gathered, a newscaster could say that the pilot "may have been injured." After we discover that the pilot is in fact all right, the newscaster can now say that the pilot "might have been injured" because it is a hypothetical situation that has not occurred. Another example: a body had been identified after much work by a detective. It was reported that "without this painstaking work, the body may have remained unidentified." Since the body was, in fact, identified, might is clearly called for.

Uses of Will and Would

            In certain contexts, will and would are virtually interchangeable, but there are differences. Notice that the contracted form 'll is very frequently used for will.

            Will can be used to express willingness:
  • I'll wash the dishes if you dry.
  • We're going to the movies. Will you join us?


            It can also express intention (especially in the first person):
  • I'll do my exercises later on.

            and prediction:
  • specific: The meeting will be over soon.
  • timeless: Humidity will ruin my hairdo.
  • habitual: The river will overflow its banks every spring.

            Would can also be used to express willingness:
  • Would you please take off your hat?

            It can also express insistence (rather rare, and with a strong stress on the word "would"):
  • Now you've ruined everything. You would act that way.

            and characteristic activity:
  • customary: After work, he would walk to his home in West Hartford.
  • typical (casual): She would cause the whole family to be late, every time.

            In a main clause, would can express a hypothetical meaning:
  • My cocker spaniel would weigh a ton if I let her eat what she wants.

            Finally, would can express a sense of probability:
  • I hear a whistle. That would be the five o'clock train.

 

Uses of Used to

            The auxiliary verb construction used to is used to express an action that took place in the past, perhaps customarily, but now that action no longer customarily takes place:
  • We used to take long vacation trips with the whole family.

            The spelling of this verb is a problem for some people because the "-ed" ending quite naturally disappears in speaking: "We yoostoo take long trips." But it ought not to disappear in writing. There are exceptions, though. When the auxiliary is combined with another auxiliary, did, the past tense is carried by the new auxiliary and the "-ed" ending is dropped. This will often happen in the interrogative:
  • Didn't you use to go jogging every morning before breakfast?
  • It didn't use to be that way.

            Used to can also be used to convey the sense of being accustomed to or familiar with something:
  • The tire factory down the road really stinks, but we're used to it by now.
  • I like these old sneakers; I'm used to them.

            Used to is best reserved for colloquial usage; it has no place in formal or academic text.

Source : http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/auxiliary.htm

Kamis, 08 Juni 2017

66 Facts You May Not Have Known About The English Language

The English language is, quite literally, the greatest language in the world. Great in terms of size - the current edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains 615,000 entries. Great in terms of scope — it’s an official language in seventy-nine countries and territories. And great in terms of, well, greatness — it’s just one fantastic mishmash of borrowings, inventions, corruptions, misinterpretations, misspellings, alterations, words you’ll never need, and words you never even knew you’ll never need.

Since December 2013, @HaggardHawks has been trying to prove precisely this by tweeting odd words, word origins and language facts everyday. 1,300 tweets later, it turns six months old this week and so to celebrate, here are 66 random facts from our first semester that hopefully go some way towards showing how great — and how downright bizarre — the English language can be.

1. In the 17th century, magpies were nicknamed pie-maggots.

2. The part of a wall between two windows is called the interfenestration.

3. If you were to write out every number name in full (one, two, three, four...), you wouldn’t use a single letter B until you reached one billion.

4. The part of your back that you can’t quite reach to scratch is called the acnestis. It’s derived from the Greek word for “cheese-grater.”

5. A hecatompedon is a building measuring precisely 100ft × 100ft.

6. A growlery is a place you like to retire to when you’re unwell or in a bad mood. It was coined by Charles Dickens in Bleak House (1853).

7. There was no word for the color orange in English until about 450 years ago.

8. The infinity sign, ∞, is called a lemniscate. Its name means “decorated with ribbons” in Latin.

9. A Dutch feast is one at which the host gets drunk before his hosts do.

10. Schoolmaster is an anagram of “the classroom.”

11. To explode originally meant “to jeer a performer off the stage.”

12. Funk was originally a Tudor word for the stale smell of tobacco smoke.

13. In written English, only one letter in every 510 is a Q.

14. The opposite of déjà-vu is called jamais-vu: it describes the odd feeling that something very familiar is actually completely new.

15. A scissor was originally a type of Roman gladiator thought to have been armed either with a pair of swords or blades, or with a single dual-bladed dagger.

16. To jirble means “to spill a liquid while pouring it because your hands are shaking.”

17. Samuel Johnson defined a sock as “something put between the foot and the shoe.”

18. In Victorian slang, muffin-wallopers were old unmarried or widowed women who would meet up to gossip over tea and cakes.

19. Scarecrows were once known as hobidy-boobies.

20. The longest English word with its letters in reverse alphabetical order is spoonfeed.

21. Shakespeare used the word puking in As You Like It.

22. Flabellation is the use of a fan to cool something down.

23. Bamboozle derives from a French word, embabouiner, meaning “to make a baboon out of someone.”

24. A percontation is a question that requires more than a straightforward “yes” or “no” answer.

25. The shortest -ology is oology, the scientific study of eggs.

26. As a verb rather than a noun, owl means “to act wisely, despite knowing nothing.”

27. A shape with 99 sides would be called an enneacontakaienneagon.

28. In the 18th century, a clank-napper was a thief who specialized in stealing silverware.

29. Noon is derived from the Latin for “ninth,” novem. It originally referred to the ninth hour of the Roman day — 3pm.

30. 11% of the entire English language is just the letter E.

31. Oysterhood means “reclusiveness,” or “an overwhelming desire to stay at home.”

32. A puckfist is someone who braggingly dominates a conversation.

33. The bowl formed by cupping your hands together is called a gowpen.

34. To battologize means “to repeat a word so incessantly in conversation that it loses all meaning and impact.”

35. A zoilist is an unfair or unnecessarily harsh critic, or someone who particularly enjoys finding fault in things.

36. In 19th century English, a cover-slut was a long cloak or overcoat worn to hide a person’s untidy or dirty clothes underneath.

37. Happy is used three times more often in English than sad.

38. Trinkgeld is money meant only to be spent on drink.

39. Aquabob is an old name for an icicle.

40. In the 16th and 17th century, buttock-mail was the name of a tax once levied in Scotland on people who had sex out of wedlock.

41. Witzelsucht is a rare neurological disorder whose sufferers have an excessive tendency to tell pointless stories or inappropriate jokes and puns.

42. A repdigit is a number comprised of a series of repeated numbers, like 9,999.

43. In Tudor English, a gandermooner was a man who flirted with other women while his wife recovered from childbirth.

44. A cumberground is an utterly useless person who literally serves no other purpose than to take up space.

45. Sermocination is the proper name for posing a question and then immediately answering it yourself.

46. The earliest known reference to baseball in English comes from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (1798).

47. Whipper-tooties are pointless misgivings or groundless excuses for not trying to do something.

48. Anything described as transpontine is located on the opposite side of a bridge.

49. In the early days of Hollywood, the custard pies thrown in comedy sketches were nicknamed magoos.

50. Checkbook is the longest horizontally symmetrical word in the English language — although if proper nouns are included, Florida’s Lake Okeechobee is one letter longer.

51. The earliest record of the phrase “do-it-yourself” comes from a 1910 magazine article about students at Boston University being left to teach themselves.

52. The paddywhack mentioned in the nursery rhyme “This Old Man” is a Victorian slang word for a severe beating.

53. The Kelvin temperature scale, the forsythia plant, Boeing aircraft and the state of Pennsylvania are all named after people called William.

54. Xenoglossy is the apparent ability to speak a language that you’ve never actually learned.

55. Mochas are named after a port in Yemen, from where coffee was exported to Europe in the 18th century.

56. In mediaeval Europe, a moment was precisely 1/40th of an hour, or 90 seconds.

57. To quomodocunquize means “to make money by whatever means possible.”

58. Porpoise literally means “pork-fish.”

59. Shivviness is an old Yorkshire word for the uncomfortable feeling of wearing new underwear.

60. The adjectival form of abracadabra is abracadabrant, used to describe anything that has apparently happened by magic.

61. Straitjackets were originally called strait-waistcoats.

62. Aspirin and heroin were both originally trademarks. They lost their trademark status as part of the Treaty of Versailles.

63. An autological word is one that describes itself — like short or unhyphenated.

64. In the 18th century, teachers were nicknamed “haberdashers of pronouns.”

65. The burnt or used part of a candlewick is called the snaste.

66. The expressions “bully pulpit” and “lunatic fringe” were coined by Theodore Roosevelt.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-anthony-jones/66-facts-you-may-not-have_b_5508623.html