
Do they really call a car engine a 'donkasaurus' in Australia? Coming soon: The 1,000,000th English word, expected to arrive in our language on June 10, at 10:22 a.m., according to the Global Language Monitor. Of course, the Global Language Monitor, a self-appointed monitoring body that apparently consists of one guy who's trying to sell you a book, also said that the 1,000,000th word would arrive on April 29th. Or April 24th. Or May 4th. Whatever, right? If it's science it doesn't have to be right.That doesn't keep the Global Language Monitor from having a countdown clock of sorts, a clock that's based on scientific-sounding words and everything, marking the days until English reaches a million.
But what if I mess it up? What if I invent a word right now? What if I look at the twisted paperclip I was chewing on yesterday and call it a bendicular paperclip -- and define "bendicular" as "an adjective describing the peculiarly bent shape a paperclip has after it has been entirely straightened out and then re-bent into an approximation of its original shape?"
Bendicular: You heard it here first.
You know what never breaks down? Stopping to ask "Where am I?" Experts are warning that pretty soon you'll have no idea where you are... if you depend on GPS systems to know where you are. By 2010, the US will only have 95% of the satellites it needs to make sure people can find the nearest Starbucks without fail, and we could be down to 80% by 2014.Supposedly, the US' failure to put satellites in space is going to help Europe promote its competing system, the Galileo device -- but who wants to spend all their time shoving Euros into the car's CD player just to get to the mall?* (*Note: I've never used a GPS system; I'm just assuming that's how it works.)
Google Waffle Update: Still number one. But I still need your help. What is this song?
Website of the Day: I found it looking for a picture for that first story. Click here to experience the minimalist brilliance of Bentpaperclip.com.
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