A psychology professor at the University of Alberta claims to have found the scientific answer to that age-old question: why is Dr. Seuss so funny? Chris Westbury was conducting research… Read more »

A number of prominent writers have penned an open letter to Oxford University Press to express their unease after learning of longterm changes made to inclusions in the Oxford Junior… Read more »

According to the Telegraph, the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is not only over twenty years behind schedule, but also risks losing its place in print. Michael Proffitt, who… Read more »

Good news, everyone! You no longer have to worry about some ignorant internet user ruining your day by misusing “literally.” Developer Mike Walker has come to the rescue of those… Read more »

Last week, Wired ran an obituary for the letter “E”, in which Joshua David Stein claims that the letter has become almost obsolete and completely unfashionable in the internet age. It may… Read more »

Benjamin Franklin, it turns out, wasn’t content with playing a key role in the early American printing industry, establishing the first circulating library, and writing a bestselling almanac for twenty-five… Read more »

The word “whale” occurs 1,685 times in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. “Elijah” is there 15 times, “Ahab” 512, and “harpoon” 256 times. I know this not from dutiful reading, but because… Read more »