We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Dickson Despommier. A brilliant scientist, storyteller, and friend, he shared his vast knowledge and infectious enthusiasm with all who listened. We will miss him dearly. Our heartfelt condolences go out to all who knew and loved him. #🧪

Soldier inside Trojan Horse says he was just trying to highlight a need for stronger defenses inside the city of Troy

If only the world's software designers would memorize that little ditty in Johnson's definition. That would clear everything up. newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/happy-leap...

Did you know the OED's earliest instance of ‘Vulcan’ (in the StarTrek sense) comes from a transcription of the TV program? To learn more, watch this fascinating talk on OED Antedatings, originally delivered to one of my classes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Xx...

The 2024 LingComm Grants are here! Please help us share this with people who may have a linguistics communication project that needs a boost! @superlinguo.bsky.social and I make these happen with the support of @lingthusiasm.bsky.social patrons and other generous people

Would you like to bring medieval manuscripts into your classroom? How about a VIRTUAL CLASSROOM VISIT? We'll work with you to come up with the perfect book list for your K-12, undergrad or grad class, featuring manuscripts from Penn's collections. schoenberginstitute.org/virtual-clas...

"The Orange County case is unusual for the sheer volume of books removed — 699 including some duplicates, according to documents the district provided — and for the unusually large number of books about the Holocaust and Jewish identity included among them." www.timesofisrael.com/florida-dist...

The banned books spread in the Orlando Sentinel is particularly shocking to see in print--so many titles! (I posted a share link to the e-edition yesterday(

The Orlando Sentinel has now published the list of 673 books newly banned in Orange County public schools. John Milton's Paradise Lost is banned (I guess because of what Adam and Eve did). But many many more contemporary titles are also now banned. www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/12/20/r...

BC/AD or BCE/CE? Neil deGrasse Tyson argues for the former, persuasively imo. However, I don't have a good sense of the scholarly status quo (partly because my recent reading isn't restricted to this century or even the last one). What do others think? www.tiktok.com/@dlogamez/vi...

“It was not unusual for people to start crying in the middle of our interviews, and that is not typical.” The AAUP investigators were shocked--but I bet they were not surprised. www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

Glad I'm not a lexicographer in China. "Some netizens believe that the term ["playing with women"] is insulting to women, while others believe that the reference book simply explains the usage of the phrase." www.breakinglatest.news/news/xinhua-...

I truly am gobsmacked at how damaging that British Library cyberattack continues to be. Several months without being able to function! Many of us who research books are heavily dependent on that place physically and virtually. It's devastating even if you didn't have your personal info stolen.

"Our first guest tonight has credits that are far too impressive for any guest on this program." Letterman interviewed Grace Hopper back in 1986 and it is a *delight*. www.dailymotion.com/video/x35dsz7

"Rather, in 1528, an anonymous monk scrawled this parenthetical into the margins of a De Officiis manuscript: “O d fuckin’ Abbot.”" Any chance an image of this marginalia is online where students can see it? @jessesword.com bigthink.com/the-past/his...

I was thrilled to see that something I work on every day was useful to Judge Chutkan in her work. Citations to Johnson's Dictionary aren't unusual, but those citations don't always link back to johnsonsdictionaryonline.com. And they aren't always part of such consequential opinions.

The Times interviewed a dozen academics — in fields ranging from law to psychology to agronomy — who have left Florida public universities or given their notice, many headed to blue states. . . . www.nytimes.com/2023/12/03/u...

Benefactress. n.s. [from benefactor.] A woman who confers a benefit. buff.ly/3uqCxQg #lexicography #dictionary #samueljohnson #18thcentury #18C

Four years ago today, I hosted an “ask me anything about sharks” booth at the Sigma Xi conference. At one point, I got up to go to the bathroom, and when I came back, a ten year old kid was sitting in that seat, answering people’s questions about sharks. 😂 🧪🦑

163 Jewish leaders have written a followup statement in response to Elon Musk's antisemitism. Here it is in full. You can read it and our previous statements here: xouthate.org Please help us spread the word.

Atlas Obscura on Madeline Kripke's dictionary collection: www.atlasobscura.com/articles/big...

Next item on the WotY watch: Cambridge Dictionary goes for 'hallucinate' news.sky.com/story/cambri...

St Pancras Workhouse dig: “While the facilities are spartan, the inmates were not there to be punished … There were gardens, an infirmary and nursery. These acknowledge their needs as much as the heated rooms, or the pale blue paint on the walls.”

Want to come to Amsterdam and hang out at the Rijksmuseum? This 9-month fellowship for early career researchers supports historical research on objects in their collections www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/education...