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Silent letters are a clue to how words entered English.

Silent letters are the scourge of spellers and a stumbling block when learning how to write in English—but they're often hidden remnants of how the words passed through different languages on their way to English.

Arika Okrent








Keanu Reeves stars in John Wick (2014).

'John Wick,' the 2014 revenge thriller starring Keanu Reeves, started a film franchise full of bullets, chases, and plenty of ice baths for its leading man.

Jake Rossen


Ireland: Come for the Guinness, stay for the lack of snakes.

Legend tells of St. Patrick using the power of his faith to drive all of Ireland’s snakes into the sea. It’s an impressive image, but there’s no way it could have happened.

Kate Horowitz






Marie Curie.

Marie Curie, who was born in Warsaw, Poland, on November 7, 1867, is still the only person to receive Nobel Prizes in two different sciences.

Michele Debczak
Red tide in Victoria, British Columbia.

The phenomenon might look like a biblical plague, but the source is far more mundane.

Alvin Ward