Trivia of the Week: Funny Bone

The funny bone isn’t so much an actual bone as a way of hitting your elbow that feels strange. If you hit your elbow against a hard surface at the correct angle, it doesn’t exactly hurt, but it also isn’t pleasant. In English we say you “hit...

Trivia of the Week: Tension

In Japanese, a person with “high tension” is excited or easily excitable. “Tension” is actually a measure of how strongly something (such as a rope) is being pulled from opposite sides. If you hold a rope in one hand, it dangles loosely, but if...

Trivia of the Week: Color Blindness

Color blindness is an inability to see colors. One common type is red-green color blindness. People with this condition can see other colors normally, but red and green look the same. It can be caused when the signals sent by the “cone” cells in the eyes...

Trivia of the Week: Trolls

Classically, trolls are a kind of humanoid monster that lives under bridges. In one famous story, three goats must cross a bridge without being eaten by the troll that lives underneath. Nowadays, “troll” usually refers to troublemakers on the internet....

Trivia of the Week: TNR

TNR stands for “trap neuter return”. It’s a method to control and help feral cats. Volunteers first trap the cats using humane traps. Then veterinarians perform spay or neuter surgery, and sometimes other health care. Finally the cats are returned to...