In 1879, James Murray was hired as the editor of The Oxford English Dictionary. He had little advanced education, but he was a gifted linguist. Murray enlisted a large number of volunteers around the world to read widely and send him usages of assigned words. At Oxford, he and a small staff of scholars cataloged and edited the definitions they received.
Read More »
In the life of trees, one key to survival is having more roots than shoots. In his book Oak: The Frame of Civilization,, author William Bryant Logan says, “If a tree puts on a lot of top growth and few roots, it is liable to be weak-wooded and short-lived. . . . If a tree puts down a great deal of roots and adds shoots more slowly, however, it is liable to be long-lived and more resistant to stress and strain.”
Read More »
I love the phrase “comfort food.” It speaks of the things that are so good, so familiar, so right, that they can always bring a smile to your face. For me, comfort food usually includes some form of beef and potatoes. Hamburgers and French fries. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy. Also, chocolate in almost any form imaginable. These are the foods that speak to me and say that all is well with the world. (I’m not saying they’re the most healthy!)
Read More »
Now that I have grandkids, I’m back into the classic children’s Bible stories. Wide-eyed stories like David and Goliath, Noah’s ark, and Jonah and the big fish quickly capture a child’s imagination!
Read More »
A fascinating film made in 1950, The Next Voice You Hear, tells a story of a family with a typical amount of trials and tensions. Then, one night, the voice of God speaks on the radio. But not just their radio—God’s voice is heard throughout the world on every radio, saying the same thing at the same time.
Read More »
My wife and I stayed up late to watch a TV program we found exciting—the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It was fascinating to watch middle-school children as they recited the correct spelling for some of the most difficult words imaginable.
Read More »
When my computer greeted me one morning with what is ominously referred to as “the blue screen of death,” I knew it was broken, but I didn’t know how to fix it. I read a little, tried a few things, but finally had to call an expert for help. Knowing that something was wrong was only a small part of the problem; I couldn’t fix it because I didn’t know the right thing to do.
Read More »
The builders of the Panama Canal overcame many enormous challenges: the moving of tons of earth, the redirecting of a river, and the cutting down of miles of jungle. But the tiny mosquito threatened to shut down the whole project. The Isthmus of Panama was an ideal breeding ground for this pest. As mosquitos infected canal workers with yellow fever and malaria, the death toll began to soar.
Read More »
A Congolese man went to the BBC’s News 24 for a job interview. But a time-conscious producer mistook the man for a scheduled guest authority. He led the baffled but compliant applicant into the newsroom studio and fitted him with a microphone.
Read More »
In 1987, a West Michigan couple, the Zartmans, bought four books at an estate sale. They were excited to find that the books contained two collections of letters and sermons by the preacher and hymnwriter John Newton (1725–1807), who wrote the beloved hymn “Amazing Grace.” Also included was a two-volume set of his sermons based on Handel’s Messiah.
Read More »