Parliamentary debates can be heated — but there are rules about what members can and can’t say. That’s according to New Zealand’s Office of the Clerk, which has kept a list of banned expressions used in parliament since 1933. The rules cover the usual culprits — accusations of lying, insults, and general bad manners — […]

In Latin, the word boāre means “to roar”, which is likely where the sound boo actually comes from. Back in the 16th century, to bo meant to announce your presence rather than to spook someone. By that logic, ghosts are really just saying, “Here I am!” By the 18th and 19th centuries, bo and boo […]

They’re American, with a Japanese origin. San Francisco families have long claimed to have invented them, but the truth lies elsewhere. In 2008, a research student traced their history to the Library of the National Diet of Japan. There, she uncovered the Moshiogusa Kinsei Kidan (1878), an illustrated book showing an apprentice baker making “fortune […]