Where is the Aral Sea?

Search: aral sea



Why: On reddit, TIL That the disappearing of the Aral Sea has left behind a desert filled with shipwrecks:

Muynak is a city in northern Karakalpakstan in western Uzbekistan. Home to only a few thousand residents at most, Muynak's population has been declining precipitously since the 1980s due to the recession of the Aral Sea.

But I am American and t.f. haven't looked at a world map since AP History in 12th grade.



Answer: Over here!

Source: Google Maps



The More You Know: From that page:

The Aral Sea was once the world's fourth-largest saline body of water, it has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s, after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet Union irrigation projects. By 2004, the sea had shrunk to 25% of its original surface area, and a nearly fivefold increase in salinity had killed most of its natural flora and fauna. By 2007 it had declined to 10% of its original size, splitting into three separate lakes, two of which are too salty to support fish. The once prosperous fishing industry has been virtually destroyed, and former fishing towns along the original shores have become ship graveyards. With this collapse has come unemployment and economic hardship.

Did Elizabeth and Philip marry before or after she became Queen?

Search: queen elizabeth



Why: I just saw this darling thing on reddit, After all these years, they still look at each other the same way:

Answer: They were married first! In sequence:

• 1921 (June 10th) - Philip is born in Corfu, Greece (he is 90)
• 1926 (April 21) - Elizabeth is born (she is 85)
• 1934 - They meet for the first time
• 1937 - They meet for the second time
• 1939 (July) - They meet for the third time and begin to exchange letters (she is 13)
• 1947 (Nov. 20) - They marry

• 1952 (Feb. 6) - Elizabeth's father George VI dies; Elizabeth (25) is proclaimed queen regnant throughout her realms
• 1953 (June 2) - Elizabeth is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ceylon, and Pakistan, and Head of the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth wore a gown commissioned from Norman Hartnell, which was embroidered with floral emblems for countries of the Commonwealth: English Tudor rose, Scots thistle, Welsh leek, Irish shamrock, Australian wattle, Canadian maple leaf, New Zealand silver fern, South African protea, lotus flowers for India and Ceylon, and Pakistan's wheat, cotton, and jute.

Source: Wikipedia



The More You Know: Here is what Wikipedia says about the day George VI died:

In early 1952, Elizabeth and Philip set out for a tour of Australia and New Zealand by way of Kenya. On 6 February 1952, they had just returned to their Kenyan home, Sagana Lodge, after a night spent at Treetops Hotel, when word arrived of the death of Elizabeth's father.

The thing is that I'm 99% sure I stayed in that hotel at some point in 2000. There was a watering hole right outside where elephants came, and they put hot water bottles in the beds at night. There is a picture somewhere in the universe of a monkey reaching in through our window (it was kind of slatted) and taking a Tic Tac out of my hand. I will hunt it down when I go home in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

Anyway, also, this is interesting, I think:

With Elizabeth's accession, it seemed likely that the royal house would bear her husband's name. Lord Mountbatten thought it would be the House of Mountbatten, as Elizabeth would typically have taken Philip's last name on marriage; however, Queen Mary and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill favoured the retention of the House of Windsor, and so Windsor it remained. The Duke complained, "I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children." In 1960, after the death of Queen Mary and the resignation of Churchill, the surname Mountbatten-Windsor was adopted for Philip and Elizabeth's male-line descendants who do not carry royal titles.

What's the origin of the word "chicanery"?

Search: chicanery

Why: In The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (which I finally finished on the way to work this morning):

As long as he was relatively discreet and did not get involved in any financial chicanery, his future would be assured.

I want to pronounce that word like "Chicano," but the Englishman who narrated my audiobook said it a different (correct) way.

Answer: That's just the word! Maybe originally from Middle Low German shickken, "to arrange, bring about." Then 15c. M. Fr. chicaner, "to pettifog, quibble," and c. 1600 Fr. chicanerie, "trickery."

Pettifog!

1560s, from petty; the second element possibly from obs. Du. focker, from Flem. focken "to cheat," or from cognate M.E. fugger, from Fugger the renowned family of merchants and financiers of 15c.-16c. Augsburg. In German, Flemish and Dutch, the name became a word for "monopolist, rich man, usurer."

A 'petty Fugger' would mean one who on a small scale practices the dishonourable devices for gain popularly attributed to great financiers; it seems possible that the phrase 'petty fogger of the law,' applied in this sense to some notorious person, may have caught the popular fancy. [O.E.D. first edition, in a rare burst of pure speculation]

However, cf. pettifactor "legal agent who undertakes small cases" (1580s), which, though attested slightly later, may be the source of this.

Omg.

Source: EtymOnline

The More You Know: But chicano is different.

1947 (n.), from Mex. Sp. dialectal pronunciation of Mexicano, "Mexican," with loss of initial unaccented syllable. Said to have been in use among Mexican-Americans from c.1911. Probably influenced by Sp. chico, "boy," also used as a nickname.

According the Wikipedia, Mexicans used to use this word to mean "poorest of the poor," but during the Civil Rights movement they used the word to unite themselves.

I'm not really sure if I'm allowed to use it.

What's a dagga boy?

Search: dagga; dagga boy

Why: Bob has been sending me journal posts about his hunting trip to Zimbabwe, and he keeps saying things like:

We were back on the tracks of four dagga boys early on the sixth day of our safari.

I don't know what that is, but it sounds racist.

Answer: They are old Cape buffalo who have been kicked out of the herd!

They call these Buffalo "Dagga Boys" - they are large old bulls that have been kicked out of the herd and spend all day wallowing in Mud. Dagga means "mud" in Zulu. They have really short tempers - best to stay away. The mud is to get rid of parasites.

I see this:

The younger males not only bred with the cows, but easily defended the herd against predators, so their presence was vital to the group. The Dagga Boys were basically useless and the old bulls seemed to know it.

That's sad. The name "dagga boy" was coined by South African outfitter and hunter Gerhard Vos. If you want to see some pictures of him with dead animals, click here and here.

Source: This guy's site, Po's Peek

The More You Know: "Dagga" is also slang for pot in South Africa. And also, a South African psychoactive plant, Leonotis leonurus, is commonly known as "wild dagga" (or "lion's tail"). You can smoke it:

It is sometimes used as a Cannabis substitute by recreational users looking to evade current laws on cannabis and other psychoactive plants. Leonotis leonorus is not currently scheduled under federal law in the United States. The smoke is reported to have an unpleasant taste and to be an irritant to the lungs and throat.

What are pieces of eight?

Search: pieces of eight

Why: Yesterday, so utterly hungover from 2 consecutive 6-in-the-morning bedtime "nights" and barely able to breathe or speak (let alone stand up [let alone actually walk]), I did that thing where I brought a regular bedroom pillow into the living room, hid under a blanket, and watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End because I had never seen it and also because, with commercials, it has a 3.5-hour running time. There's a whole deal with "pieces of eight," and also, there's a store outside the exit of the ride called Pieces of Eight.

Answer: They're old Spanish money! Silver coins were "Reales" and gold coins were "Escudos." The "Pieces of Eight" were the largest silver coins (1 oz.) worth 8 reales. I don't know why it was 8; maybe they didn't use the base 10 system.

These coins were also used in the American Colonies. Rather than calling them "pieces of eight," people usually just referred to them as peso, Spanish dollars, or - in the English-speaking colonies - just dollars. They were legal tender in the US until 1857.

You've also heard of "doubloons." These were gold, not silver, because Doblón means, doy, "double." There is some debate about how much a doubloon was actually worth. The theory that makes the most sense is that these were worth 8 escudos. I mean, obviously. Or "doubloon" was just slang for all the gold coins.

They were melted, poured, and forged or stamped by hand:

If the events of the Pirates movies happened around the 1740s-50s, this is what the coins would have looked like:

Obverse
VTRAQVE VNUM M[EXICANUS] 1739
"Both (are) one, Mexico [City Mint], 1739"
Displays two hemispheres of a world map, crowned between the Pillars of Hercules adorned with the PLVS VLTR[A] motto.

Reverse
PHILIP[PUS] V D[EI] G[RATIA] HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX
"Philip V, by the Grace of God, King of the Spains and the Indies"
Displays the arms of Castile and León with Granada in base and an inescutcheon of Anjou.

And an 8!

Source: Pirate Money, Wikipedia

The More You Know: Orlando Bloom and Keikei Knightley are not in the new Pirates movie that you recently ignored. Did you know that? I didn't. The reason is because their story ends after the credits of Pirates 3, which frankly, I find a little rude. In case you missed it (and their whole long boring drama), feast your eyes. Feast them! This is "ten years later":

I want to see a picture of Kalle Blomkvist

Search: calle blomkvist

Why: I am halfway through The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, and for the 23rd time, Lisbeth has referred to Mikael Blomkvist as "Kalle fucking Blomkvist." I understand this character to be some sort of friend of Pippi Longstocking, who I now know is Swedish. He seems to be a well-known kind of guy in Sweden - and Stieg Larsson seems to have been making some sort of huge joke about these names - but I've never heard of him.

Answer: Well, here are some versions:

I don't know which one he is. ^

Those movies ^ are from 1996 and 1997. Lisbeth was born in 1978, so she totes would have known about these films.

Source: Google Images

The More You Know: In these great United States, Kalle Blomkvist's name is Bill Bergson. He is the Swedish Veronica Mars, except younger and dumber and probably less hilarious. Adults ignore him!, so he solves murders and kidnappings and whatnot with the help of his ragtag gang of charming names: Anders, Eva-Lotta, Sixten, Jonte (Jonte!!), and Benka - but not Pippi. Author Astrid Lindgren wrote 3 books about him:

• Bill Bergson, Master Detective (1946) (original title: Mästerdetektiven Blomkvist)
• Bill Bergson Lives Dangerously (1951)
  
• Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue (1953)
  

What are Hunky Dorys?

Search: hunky dorys

Why: On Reddit, "Storage Conditions":

"Treat Hunky Dorys like Gremlins. Keep them cool, dry & away from bright lights."

Answer: Thick crinkle-cut "crisps" from Ireland! Available in 6 strong flavours.

Hunky Dorys is known for its fun, extrovert and cheeky nature with strong flavours, including the infamous Buffalo flavour, inspired by the herd of Buffalo based near the factory in Co. Meath.

Infamous!

Source: Largo Foods

The More You Know: But look at this racy ad campaign:

Is that how female rugby players really dress? Do girls even play rugby? (No; yes.)

What's the origin of the word "henchman"?

Search: henchman etymology

Why: In the Wikipedia plot summary for True Romance, which I haven't seen in years:

Clarence draws a gun and kills Drexl and a henchman.

What's a hench?

Answer: It comes from the word for "horse"!

• O.N. hesta-maðr, "horse-boy"
• Ger. Hengst, "stallion"
• O.E. hengest, "horse, stallion"
• M.E. henxman, "henchman"
  

Young henchmen, in fact "pages of honour" or squires, rode or walked at the side of their master in processions and the like, and appear in the English royal household from the 14th century until Tudor Queen Elizabeth I abolished the royal henchmen, known also as the "children of honour."

In full color.

But the Pages of Honour still exist. It is usually a distinction granted to teenage sons of members of the nobility and gentry. Their job is to carry the train of the Queen's dress.

Elizabeth II has had about a million of them.

Anyway,

The word [henxman] became obsolete in England, but was retained in Scottish as "personal attendant of a Highland chief," in which sense Sir Walter Scott revived it in literary English from 1810. The sense of "an obedient or unscrupulous follower" is first recorded 1839, probably based on a misunderstanding of the word as used by Scott.

Source: EtymOnline, Wikipedia

The More You Know: Did you miss this news story? I thought his real name was Jimmy Henchman, and I thought, "Boy, is that unfortunate."

Jimmy Henchman Arrested by Feds DEA confirms that Czar Entertainment honcho was apprehended and arraigned on drug charges

The manhunt for hip-hop music executive James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond ended Tuesday afternoon (June 21), the DEA confirmed to MTV News. Henchman, who ran the Czar Entertainment management company overseeing the careers of artists like the Game, was arrested in New York City and charged with heading a cocaine trafficking ring.

Rosemond has been on the lam since warrants were issued for his arrest on May 17. On Tuesday afternoon, the onetime music manager noticed federal agents as he walked out of the W Hotel in Union Square, according to the New York Post. Henchman tried to evade US Marshals and DEA agents by taking off on foot, but was apprehended and arrested on 21st Street and Park Avenue South.

Rosemond was then arraigned in Brooklyn on conspiracy to distribute in excess of five kilograms of cocaine; he is being held without bail, a DEA representative told MTV News.

What's a viscacha?

Search: viscacha; jvm's spirit animal

Why: I am in a Reddit hole. This picture is labeled: "I really think think a viscacha would make a killer real-life side kick."

It looks like a sagacious bunny.

Answer: It's a kind of rodent!

Any of four species of slender yet fairly large South American rodents similar to chinchillas. They have short forelimbs, long hindlimbs, and a long, bushy tail. The soft fur is long and dense, and the soles of the feet have fleshy pads.

They look sleepy.

Source: Britannica

The More You Know: Three of the species live in the Andes, where it's v. cold. They eat seeds and grass, and are therefore a pest to farmers. I want to cuddle one so bad.

What's a logopaed?

Search: logopaed

Why: In this Photo Gallery: Children of the Russian Rich that Lindsay posted:

Nikita and Alina at the Italian Embassy, Moscow 2009: "During the photo shoot Nikita told me that I should visit a logopaed. When I asked him what a logopaed was, he blushed and turned away."

Answer: A speech therapist! It looks like it's a Croatian word.

Well, that's rude.

Source: All-Biz

The More You Know: I want to be a child of the Russian rich.

Roman at the Tattoo Parlor, Moscow, 2009: "At the photo shoot, he told me he prefers older girls like Natasha, a 26-year-old stylist. Girls at his age, he says, only cry and are too busy squealing all the time."

Jacob Shooting at Ballerinas, Moscow 2009: "When I came to Jacob’s room, he was sitting on the bed. There was a collection of weapons, mostly Kalashnikovs, real ones, next to him. He picked up an old machine pistol that had been used during the Second World War and pretended to shoot at the ballerinas twirling on the TV screen."

Arina in Her Garage, Moscow 2009: "Arina is standing in front of her father’s vintage car collection. She told me beforehand she wanted to look like Catherine Deneuve."

The book Little Adults by photographer Anna Skladmann will be in stores in July.

I want to see some old English bathing machines

Search: bathing machine; dipper bather

Why: In Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby:

Most museums in seaside towns had bathing machines, the peculiar Victorian beach huts on wheels that allowed ladies to go into the sea without exposing themselves to onlookers... Gooleness, typically, was the last town in the UK to employ dippers and bathers; dippers dunked ladies into the sea, and bathers immersed the gentlemen, and it was a calling that had mostly vanished by the 1850s.

Answer: Look at these hussies!

Well, that looks really fun.

Source: Google Images

The More You Know: Did you know these existed? I didn't. That will teach me to skim Jane Austen. Info:

The bathing machines in use at Margate, Kent, were described in 1805 as "four-wheeled carriages, covered with canvas, and having at one end of them an umbrella of the same materials which is let down to the surface of the water, so that the bather descending from the machine by a few steps is concealed from the public view, whereby the most refined female is enabled to enjoy the advantages of the sea with the strictest delicacy." People entered the small room of the machine while it was on the beach, wearing their street clothing. In the machine they changed into their bathing suit, although men were allowed to bathe nude until the 1860s, placing their street clothes into a raised compartment where they would remain dry.

Probably all bathing machines had small windows, but one writer in the Manchester Guardian of May 26, 1906 considered them "ill-lighted" and wondered why bathing machines were not improved with a skylight. The machine would then be wheeled or slid into the water. The most common machines had large wide wheels and were propelled in and out of the surf by a horse or a pair of horses with a driver. Less common were machines pushed in and out of the water by human power. Some resorts had wooden rails into the water for the wheels to roll on; a few had bathing machines pulled in and out by cables propelled by a steam engine. Once in the water, the occupants disembarked from the sea side down steps into the water. Many machines had doors front and back; those with only one door would be backed into the sea or need to be turned around. It was considered essential that the machine blocked any view of the bather from the shore. Some machines were equipped with a canvas tent lowered from the seaside door, sometimes capable of being lowered to the water, giving the bather greater privacy. Some resorts employed a "dipper," a strong person of the same sex who would assist the bather in and out of the sea. Some dippers were said to push bathers into the water, then yank them out, considered part of the experience.

Bathing machines would often be equipped with a small flag which could be raised by the bather as a signal to the driver that they were ready to return to shore.