New Words in the latest Oxford dictionary

This year new words including 'bloggable', 'clickjacking' and 'scareware' have been granted entry. Other new tecchy terms to make it in are 'sexting', 'tbh' and 'feature phone'.











Language is a constantly evolving thing, like a monkey exposed to high levels of radiation, and has been growing and changing more rapidly than ever since the rise of the internet.

Sigmund Freud..Founder of Psychoanalysis.

Sigmund Freud


Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was a controversial figure. People either loved his theories or hated them. Even his own disciples got into disagreements. Freud believed that every person has an unconscious that can be discovered through a process called "psychoanalysis." In psychoanalysis, a patient would relax, perhaps on a couch, and use free association to talk about whatever they wanted. Freud believed that these monologues could reveal the inner workings of the patient's mind. Freud also postulated that slips of the tongue (now known as "Freudian slips") and dreams were also a way to understand the unconscious mind. Although many of Freud's theories are no longer in regular use, he established a new way of thinking about ourselves.

The “X” in “Xmas” , it's origin

The “X” in “Xmas” — Learn the sacred, 1,000-year-old meaning of the “X”


December 13, 2010 307 Comments Share Here’s a holiday surprise that only the dictionary can provide. Do you find the word “Xmas,” as an abbreviation for Christmas, offensive? Many people do.






You won’t find Xmas in church songbooks or even on many greeting cards. Xmas is popularly associated with a trend towards materialism, and sometimes the target of people who decry the emergence of general “holiday” observance instead of particular cultural and religious ritual.



But the history of the word “Xmas” is actually more respectable — and fascinating — than you might suspect.



First of all, the abbreviation predates by centuries its use in gaudy advertisements. It was first used in the mid 1500s.



X is the Greek letter “chi,” the initial letter in the word Χριστός. And here’s the kicker: Χριστός means “Christ.” X has been an acceptable representation of the word “Christ” for hundreds of years. This device is known as a Christogram.



The “mas” in Xmas is the Old English word for “mass.” The thought-provoking etymology of “mass” can be found here.






In the same vein, the dignified terms “Xpian” and “Xtian” have been used in place of the word “Christian.”



As lovers of the alphabet, we are transfixed by the flexibility of “X.” The same letter can represent the sacred, the profane (“rated X”), and the unknown (“X-ray.”) What does the “X” in Xbox stand for?

Edward Goodrich Acheson - Carborundum

Edward Goodrich Acheson - Carborundum


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Edward Goodrich Acheson patented a method of making an abrasive he named Carborundum - U.S.


On February 28, 1893, Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856–1931) patented a method for making an industrial abrasive he called "Carborundum" or silicon carbide. On May 19, 1896, Edward Goodrich Acheson was also issued a patent for an electrical furnace used to produce carborundum. The United States Patent Office named carborundum as one of the 22 patents most responsible for the industrial age (1926). According to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, "without carborundum, the mass production manufacturing of precision-ground, interchangeable metal parts would be practically impossible."



Acheson went on to discover that when carborundum was heated to a high temperature it produced an almost pure and perfected form of graphite that could be used as a lubricant. He patented his graphite-making process in 1896.



During his lifetime, Edward Goodrich Acheson was granted 70 patents for industrial abrasives, several graphite products, processes for the reduction of oxides, and refractories.

Earlier in Acheson's career, the inventor had worked for Thomas A. Edison. In 1880, Acheson helped in the development of the incandescent lamp at Edison's laboratories at Menlo Park, N.J.

The Youngest mother ever!

Lina Medina, the 5 year-old mother (youngest ever)



Lina Medina (born September 27, 1933 in Paurange, Peru) gave birth at the age of 5 years, 7 months and 21 days and is the youngest confirmed mother in medical history. This world record is closely followed by a similar case in Russia.

Lina was brought to a hospital by her parents at the age of 5 years because of increasing abdominal size. She was originally thought to have had a tumor, but her doctors determined she was in the seventh month of pregnancy. There was never evidence that Lina Medina's pregnancy occurred in any but the usual way, but she never revealed the father of the child, nor the circumstances of her impregnation. She refuses interviews.

Bill Clinton Jokes

I, Bill Clinton, President of the United States and all-around liar, cheater, socialist, resolve to do the following in 1998:


With Al Gore's help, I've realized that as an individual, I am a totally immoral person and I shall seek the government's help to make me a moral person.

I also resolve to never forget that as President, I am the government, and therefore can do whatever I want.

I resolve to have Janet cover up whatver it is that I can't do.

I resolve that if there's another bimbo eruption, I'll stay on top of her. IT! I meant, stay on top of it!

I resolve to find a way to loot all the funds of the RNC now that I've put the DNC into serious debt.

I resolve to meet with Prince Charles and have him invite over all five Spice Girls, especially that butt-grabbing one.



I resolve to let Susan McDugal rot in jail -- Oh, no, wait that was last year's resolution.



Let's just say, I promise to cut loose and sink any old friends and associates as they become liabilities. I resolve to discredit them should they try to turn state's evidence. (But that one goes without saying.)

ECCENTRIC DOCTOR INVENTORS

ECCENTRIC DOCTOR INVENTORS


Some of the greatest advances in medicine were spearheaded by some of the most eccentric characters. Ben Chandler reviews his top five eccentric medrepreneurs.



Horace Wells (1815-1848)

Wells was an American dentist with a dislike for inflicting pain on his patients. His flash of genius occurred at a travelling show where he observed an audience member injure their leg while under the influence of laughing gas (nitrous oxide). Wells noted that the person experienced no pain and realised that this gas might also bring to an end the pain of dental surgery.

In his first experiment he took the gas himself for his own tooth extraction and subsequently used it on a number of patients. A month later he staged his first public demonstration but unfortunately the patient was not sufficiently anaesthetised and cried out in pain when the tooth was extracted. The audience were not impressed and booed Wells from the stage. After some time promoting his work in France Wells returned to the USA and continued researching anaesthetics. Unfortunately on one occasion whilst taking chloroform he became deranged and threw acid over two prostitutes, later committing suicide once he realised what he had done.

Alexis Carrel (1873-1944)

Alexis Carrel was a gifted surgeon, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for devising methods of suturing blood vessels, as well as developing an aseptic technique that was used extensively throughout the First World War.

However, he was a controversial character, firstly drawing criticism amongst some medics for publishing a book about miracle cures at Lourdes, and later for his political views and eugenics work. He died in 1944 having been accused but never tried for collaborating with the Nazi party in occupied France.

James Barry (1792-1865)

Barry was a surgeon with the British Army and an early pioneer of the caesarean section. History suggests that Barry was actually a woman, born Margaret Ann Bulkley. Barry is likely to have been the first British female doctor.

She is alleged to have hidden her sex to allow her to follow her chosen career in medicine. It was only following her death that her true identity was discovered when underneath her gentlemen's garments was the body of a women.


Christiaan Barnard (1922-2001)

Known as the "film star surgeon" Barnard became an overnight celebrity when he performed the first human heart transplant in 1967. Always pushing the boundaries of possibility, he also transplanted primate hearts into humans on two occasions (one from a baboon and one from a chimpanzee).

His private life resembled that of a modern celebrity with rumours of numerous affairs with famous women. He married three times, twice to fashion models - the final time to a girl young enough to be his granddaughter.


Werner Forssmann (1904-1979)

Forssmann eventually became a urologist but in his earlier career he made his name by pushing catheters into places other than the urethra. His defining experiment was in 1929 when he inserted a catheter 65cm into his own cephalic vein before calmly walking up two flights of stairs to have an X-ray taken showing the tip in his right atrium. He published his feat along with suggestions for its use. However not everybody was impressed, and following disciplinary action for his self-experimentation he quit cardiology and pursued a career in urology. His work was eventually followed up and in 1956 he was awarded a Nobel Prize.

Gratitude

How many times do we regret not expressing love or gratitude? Perhaps, a number of times. This is rather unfortunate but true. Most people are very quick when it comes to criticizing others but keep quiet when a few positive words from them can help people. Death is one reality no one can deny and sooner or later, in a person’s life the day comes when his earthly existence ends. It would be a shame if we die without expressing positive feelings for people who are important to us. Worse is, if the people we love die before us without knowing how much they mattered to us.


Gratitude is the best attitude and it is the memory of the heart. A person is really hurt when a beneficiary says the routine “thanks” that comes without warmth. On the other hand it is very comforting to feel that some people keep fresh always the memory of favours they receive and continue to show their gratitude for long. In life one comes across many thankless persons who are a disgrace to the society. An honest taxi driver who roamed the whole day searching to return a money bag containing currency notes and gold to its owner received not a word of thanks. On the other hand the owner asked him why he not pointed it out to him at the time when he had got down from the taxi.

The best example of gratitude is of a person who goes to blood bank every year to donate his blood because someone had once given him a pint of blood through blood transfusion when he was sick. We may also recall the example of the learned administrator Mr.V.P.Menon, the man behind the integration of the princely states, who took the help of Rs.20/- from an unknown Sikh at Delhi railway station. At that time Mr.Menon was struggling in life.Mr.Menon asked the Sikh to whom he should return the amount, for that the Sikh replied that he could give it to someone in need. A little before his death Mr.Menon asked his daughter to bring the money bag from his room. He then took out two ten rupees notes, gave them to the beggar who was crying at the door.

What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it-would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have. “Thank you” and “please” are the little words with which we make our way smooth in life. We should thank the milkman who brings us milk, the hawker who brings us newspaper, the liftman who carries us up and down, a taxi driver or auto driver who drops us and so on. Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

Let us express love and gratitude to people who deserve it and tell them how much they mean to us. Let us motivate those who need encouragement. Our feelings in terms of affection add up as blessings for both us and the ones we harbour such feelings for.



Last but not least “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them”.

Taj Mahal

Inventor of the Assenbly line.

INVENTOR OF
of the Assembly Line by Ransom E. Olds in 1901. ASSEMBLY LINE



In order to keep up with the increasing demand for those newfangled contraptions, horseless carriages, Ransom E. Olds created the assembly line in 1901. The new approach to putting together automobiles enabled him to more than quadruple his factory’s output, from 425 cars in 1901 to 2,500 in 1902.

Olds should have become known as "The father of automotive assembly line," although many people think that it was Henry Ford who invented the assembly line. What Ford did do was to improve upon Olds’s idea by installing conveyor belts. That cut the time of manufacturing a Model T from a day and a half to a mere ninety minutes. Henry Ford should been called "The father of automotive mass production