We thoroughly enjoy one of the latest instalments of the podcast Judge John Hodgman that entertained cases submitted on codified language usage, idiolects and otherwise rampant pedantry with guest Merriam-Webster lexicographer Emily Brewster for its discussion on words but especially liked the tangential exchange on marriage customs with the new modern wedding anniversary gifts that diverge after the first five of paper, cotton, leather, linen and wood that hit all the show’s running gags: “And then the sixth anniversary, hotdog. Seventh anniversary, sandwich—because they’re not the same thing [some sources including Merriam-Webster infamously equate the two]…The eighth is Kung Pao chicken.” And so on, all needing citations for the unacquainted. The twentieth is separate bedrooms.
synchronoptica
one year ago: the Treaty of Verdun (843) plus assorted links to revisit
two years ago: the opening of the Louvre (1793), the animation of Raoul Servais plus historic medically restricted diets
three years ago: a public bath in Stockholm, the first Blues hit (1920) plus on being a joyful rule breaker
four years ago: You are Here plus more on the former border between East and West Germany
five years ago: strained relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia, the very model of a modern age millennial, the disappointment that comes with the realisation that one’s travel experience is far from unique
