執筆者 Modern English | 2012年08月02日 | Trivia
If night falls, why is it dawn that breaks? This is a play on words. When night starts, we say that it “falls”. When dawn starts, we say that it “breaks” over the horizon. If a teacup falls off a table, it will break. But night does not break,...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年07月26日 | Trivia
Popular wisdom is that when you fall off a horse, if you are not badly hurt, you should get back on and ride some more. This is so that you won’t develop a fear of riding horses. Falling off is scary, so if that is the last thing you remember about riding, you will be...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年07月19日 | Trivia
When lightning strikes, you see a flash of light. If you are lucky enough to be facing the right direction, you may see the lightning itself. Then, you hear the thunder. You can estimate how far away the lightning is by counting the seconds between the time you see...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年07月12日 | Trivia
Long thin strips of potato that are fried are called “French fries” in American, but “chips” in England. French fries can be called “fries” for short. Once when the U.S. was angry with France, people tried to change the name to “freedom fries”. If fries are called...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年07月05日 | Trivia
Picture postcards are sold in all kinds of vacation destinations. They usually have pictures of the area or its attractions and sometimes bear slogans like “Wish you were here.” These are for sending to your friends or family while you are on vacation. Of course, you...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年06月28日 | Trivia
June 28 is Paul Bunyan Day. Paul Bunyan is an American folk tale. He was a giant lumberjack. They say he created the Grand Canyon with his axe. That’s how big he was. His pet was a giant blue ox named Babe. He carved Babe from a mountain so he wouldn’t be lonely....
