The major dictionaries have announced their “words of the year” believe it or not. Pantone announces its Color of the Year. A new book tells the long-lost story of the American military’s World War II troop newspapers. A new poster series celebrates NYC’s design community. St. Pancras train station’s Christmas tree display is a tower of hand-painted books. A new card game uses creativity to help generate good ideas. The USPS is releasing a series of Dungeons & Dragons stamps. A selection of “America’s grandest gas stations.” KISS plan to stay on tour forever…as digital avatars. Why are french fries called chips, and chips called crisps, in the UK? All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly hallucinatory miscellany.
Noah Webster, American lexicographer known for his American Spelling Book (1783) and his American Dictionary of the English Language, 2 vol. (1828; 2nd ed., 1840). Webster was instrumental in giving American English a dignity and vitality of its own. Both his speller and dictionary reflected his
The OED’s word of the year is…something. Google’s search of the year. GE buys all the ads in the New York Times. A barcode tattoo that can be scanned by a store checkout. A 504-page photobook of people cleaning things. The Northern Lights Photographer of the Year’s 25 best aurora photos. Why are city streetlights turning purple? A graphene-based artificial muscle that is 17 times more powerful than human muscle. Is Grawindy the “next generation of wind technology”? Reusable elastic lids to replace plastic wrap. Artemis I is on its way back from the Moon. “Busch Light Bush Lights” let you drape “electric glowing cans” across the greenery in your yard, for some reason. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.
Meet Polly Verity: paper sculptor. Printing playable, paper-based pianos. An exhibition of artistic toilet paper holders. New technology can detect and warn of bacterial contamination from inside a milk container. Introducing the Journal of Universal Rejection. Graphene-based batteries headed for the EV market. Attempting to use an artificial arm to fake vaccination. William Bullock, the ill-fated inventor of the web rotary press. The FBI suspected the inventor of the Tickle Me Elmo doll of being the Unabomber. How to prove the safety of the Brooklyn Bridge? A terrifying nutcracker powered by an explosive piston. “Terry’s Chocolate Orange Mayonnaise,” for some reason. All that and more in WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany.