Why Did We (The English) Start Using Surnames?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bm7pqR4hDTY

Memes of the Day

Take a close look at this photo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5O3gmF776s&t=39s

How A Writer Can Turn An Ordinary Idea Into A Great One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Kl1tGBJT0

Cat, I Farted (and Other Branding Catastrophes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwXA0ocSZhI

Frostbite Falls | Rocky and Bullwinkle Wiki

Frostbite Falls is a fictional town in Minnesota based on the real town of International Falls, Minnesota

 
https://rockyandbullwinkle.fandom.com/wiki/Frostbite_Falls

Bowser Glitch Trick in Super Mario Bros!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NUYQGGqm1fo

The mysterious case of the "lost positive"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7TfjCIbtng

English is a mess and probably always will be.  It combines West Germanic languages, Latin, Old Norse, and French.  This gives us more words that mean the same thing.

At one time English had grammatical gender just like many languages do today, but dropped it.  I'm grateful for this simplification.

Two Interesting Memes. Five guys/If only.../

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAxG8W1uDQc&t=102s

Why Do Americans Write the Date Like This?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HS-KmLnkyhY

The International ISO standard for dates is YYYY-MM-DD.  I've been using this format for the simple reason that I like it.

Emma Watson Explains Difference American vs British Guys

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rpX5Bi5TtDU

Comments made in 1957?

Fact Check: 'Comments Made In The Year 1957' List Has A History, But Not Back To The '50s | Lead Stories

https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2020/12/fact-check-light-hearted-comments-made-in-the-year-1957-has-a-history-but-not-back-to-the-50s.html

The Mind

"The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quotes From Our Favorite Halloween Movies

https://www.inspiringquotes.com/quotes-from-our-favorite-halloween-movies/ZScjzpBbgAAI3tfy

Why American English is Highly Misunderstood

https://youtu.be/jTm1Pu4buGM?si=s3m8ywNDct6F-sQ_



Best wishes,

John Coffey

The different layers of an Edwardian outfit; chemise, corset, petticoats, walking suit etc

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KM9TeQh5oQ4

Now that’s satisfying log cabin building

Lincoln Logs.

https://youtube.com/shorts/3D4W5cJTuhU?si=shMPvcaYRzWMxW-N

What Happened To 18th Century Men Who Visited Brothels?

https://youtu.be/R9JOYSGW_Gw?si=lJsuY3bDmwyRthq6

The Latin words you don't know you're using

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf9Q68DZlok

Another bad idea.

5 Grammar Rules to Forget

Interesting.  The first one is a myth going back to the 19th century.

I've struggled with #5.

https://www.wordgenius.com/grammar-rules-to-break/Xr0yWBPAJQAG8xAr

Lessons from a Can Opener

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_mLxyIXpSY

The commentary at the end is interesting.

People born in the 2000’s don’t exist.

https://youtube.com/shorts/lh18QGPmvn0?si=lQ0qPuS6tPN-zqa9

I frequently misspell this word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC753JH5Xdk

3 More Surprising Clothing Origin Stories

https://youtube.com/shorts/Qu3VdmgYOwY?si=ZeckfA6F94L8nL1w

The First Skyscrapers Were Boats

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Uc9DOKADmXc

Words Shakespeare Invented

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nxZLKnHyiIQ

5 Ways British and American Suburbs Look Very Different

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VQT8X4Rvxg

Who Is Charles III Named After?

https://youtu.be/_l6y4GMbUnc

Are chatbots the wave of the future?

Many people, myself included, tend to latch onto new technology.

So far, I'm not particularly impressed with the current level of chatbots.  They have no real understanding, but do a great job of imitating human conversation.  They only understand the relationship between words in ordinary speech.  The chatbots are essentially a version of Wikipedia that can hold a conversation with you.

That is all about to change.  It can't be far off because there is an AI arms race going on between major companies.  Eventually computer programs will talk to you with some understanding of what they are talking about.  I see a future, possibly within a decade, where your computer or smartphone is your artificial friend who regularly talks to you, keeps you company, and helps you deal with any problem you may have.  Better than real friends.  

It is inevitable.

Right now people are pushing Augmented Reality, and although I don't see much point, it will likely be the norm in a decade.  For me, it would be nice to spend time with some of my Utah friends as if they were in the room with me.

--
Best wishes,

John Coffey

http://www.entertainmentjourney.com