Dialect Zone

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:50:32 +0000

“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” ( /ˌsuːpərˌkælɨˌfrædʒɨˌlɪstɪkˌɛkspiːˌælɨˈdoʊʃəs/) is a song from the 1964 Disney musical film Mary Poppins. The song was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It also appears in the stage show version. Since Mary Poppins was a period piece set in 1910, period-sounding songs were wanted. “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” sounds [...]

Why We Have Daylight Saving Time

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 01:21:52 +0000

Conceived by Benjamin Franklin and panned by Native American proverbs, daylight saving time, or DST, has been a constant topic of debate. Nearly 100 years ago, it was created for practicality, but it has created astonishing confusion along the way. Implemented to save energy costs and be a boon to the economy, many argue it [...]

The History of Leap Year

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:30:04 +0000

Leap years are years with 366 days, instead of the usual 365. Leap years are necessary because the actual length of a year is 365.242 days, not 365 days, as commonly stated. Basically, leap years occur every 4 years, and years that are evenly divisible by 4 (2004, for example) have 366 days. This extra [...]

Wedding Anniversary Names

admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:18:57 +0000

What is a Wedding Anniversary? A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date a wedding took place. On a wedding anniversary in many countries it is traditional to give a gift to your partner (or couples) that symbolize the number of years of marriage. The names of some wedding anniversaries provide guidance for appropriate [...]

Text Messaging

admin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 04:08:00 +0000

Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network. While the original term (see below) was derived from referring to messages sent using the Short Message Service (SMS) originated from Radio Telegraphy, it has since been extended [...]

Valentine’s Day

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:48:57 +0000

Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is a holiday observed on February 14 honoring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines“). The day first became [...]