Six Endangered Words, a Real Fortress of Loneliness and How Many Homework Assignments Children Get Around the World
This week we will learn about some endangered English words, a real crystal cave that looks like the Fortress of Solitude, how many homework children are doing around the world, and much more.
Six endangered English words and why they are disappearing
We’ve all heard about endangered or extinct languages , but you don’t hear about words that could completely go out of use almost as often – and we’re not just talking about fancy phrases that will reappear. common language as far as nostalgia permits, such as “glad” or “sike / psyche”. The grammar describes six such English words that stand in the way of the Dodo and explains why they are in danger, but here are six words:
- Ambrosian
- Coxcomb
- Filthy
- Anglers
- Hark
- To whom
You will need to read the full article on the reasons for each of them, but some of them, like the “dirty” ones, are surprising given how often they are still used. However, the report notes that endangered words are not just words that people gradually stop using over time, they are also words that have evolved over time to have different connotations and subsequent meanings, and “dirty” it is a word that has evolved rapidly, perhaps faster than any of the others on the list. On the positive side, however, they don’t expect this to be going anywhere anytime soon – probably not in the next 750 years.
As for some others? Well, you can predict why “who” and “hark” are abbreviated. As more and more people don’t know the difference between “who” and “who,” they simply choose “who” by default. Then, given that the only time most people use hark more is before the herald angels sing, well, you can see why that isn’t that popular either. [ via Grammarly ]
Crystal cave
Atlas Obscura is almost always a source of amazing information about various places around the globe, and in Chihuahua Mexico, deep underground, there is a cave of crystals that is huge, beautiful and unlike anything that has been previously discovered on Earth – except Superman’s Fortress. loneliness. I’ll let the video explain here. It’s only about three minutes long – well worth seeing. [ via Atlas Obscura ]
Should you tell your boss which company you are leaving for?
When you quit your job, your coworkers or boss will naturally ask you where you are going. Everyone wants to know what lies ahead, what great things you are about to accomplish, or why you are leaving. That’s all well and good, but on Quora, one person asked if it made sense to speak to your boss from a professional perspective, not just a personal one.
Moving away from stories of people getting laid off immediately after being fired, or people getting a bad reputation when they left to go to competitors, that’s a good question. Luckily, this thread has a great answer from user John Miller that I think we can all use in our careers:
When you move from one company to another and think about how to tell your boss about it, think about this:
- Your boss works for a business. This business makes decisions that it believes are in its best interests.
- If your boss knows where you are going and there are rules for moving people to that company, your boss is ethically obligated to adhere to them.
In the past, Microsoft has fired people out of the box who took jobs at one of a select few companies (Amazon and Google, for example). The examples I knew of this involved a person who was sent on “garden leave.” They were taken out, and all access to the building and computers was cut off. There is no time to clean the cars, and, depending on the circumstances, a maximum of a few minutes to remove their things (in the presence of security). They were still paid for a decent period (like 2 weeks), but they couldn’t work.
This is not always the case, but it can. Why force your boss to enforce these rules if they don’t want to? Don’t volunteer to go where you are going. At the same time, do not refuse to answer if they ask, and you are on friendly terms. You can always ask them if it matters from a company perspective before answering.
It goes without saying that you do not need to notify you unless you are prepared to exit immediately upon notification, if necessary.
I think that’s enough to keep in mind. If you do not submit your resignation letter, not realizing that this could lead to the fact that you are immediately kicked out of the building for any number of reasons, you will be fine – and, of course, in order to hide this information until those it will take work until you really leave. two more weeks (or whatever notice you give) to deliberately keep people in the dark as to where you are going. It’s your choice in the end, but this is good advice to keep in mind. [ via Quora ]
How the world is spending more on homework, school weeks and education
We often point to school systems in other countries around the world that are much better than the United States, but the truth is a little more complicated. Some school systems prepare students for different types of careers or societies, and it is not always fair to compare the education system in a country smaller than California with the averages across the vast and varied school systems and states in the United States.
With that in mind, this graph from Ozicare shows the big differences between educational standards across the board, with little emphasis on the average number of homework assignments each country assigns to its students. This is probably the most interesting thing; to find out how many hours of homework each student should do each week. [ via Ozicare ]
Four minutes of deadly downhill racing
If you’re wondering if you’re brave enough to get up and take on the day, think of the bravery of mountain bike racer Dan Atherton as he climbs this incredible downhill track with a GoPro camera attached to his head. It’s impressive enough that you realize then that Atherton broke his neck in 2010 doing what he loves to do is. Luckily for all of us, we can watch him do it as we muster the strength to enter the office. Have a nice week. [ via Red Bull , thanks Boing Boing ! ]
If you have thought-provoking stories, interesting podcasts, eye-opening videos, or anything else that you think is perfect for Brain Buffet, share it with us! Email me , leave it as a comment below or send it in any way convenient for you.