What's a Double Negative? 5 Ways to Use Them Correctly

I made an embarrassing mistake the other day. I wrote "I can't hardly believe..." when I should have written "I can hardly believe..."

"Can't hardly" is an example of a double negative—something many writing experts say you should avoid—and it also doesn't make much sense if you look at it logically. Often double negatives mean the opposite of what you are trying to say. (But you may have heard me say before that English isn’t always a logical language, and you’ll see that’s the case here too.)

Double Negatives in Chaucer and Shakespeare

Double negatives used to be much more common in English than they are today, and Chaucer seemed to like them. For example, he describes the Knight in “The Canterbury Tales" by saying, “He never yet no vileness didn’t say.” That’s more than a double  negative! That’s a multiple negative.

Shakespeare also used double negatives. For example, in “As You Like It,” Celia says, “I cannot go no further.” If “you can go no further” was negative, then “you can’t go no further” was even more negative or emphatic.

In Shakespeare’s and Chaucer’s time, it was normal to use double and triple negatives to add emphasis, and even today, other languages, such as Spanish and French, also use double negatives to add emphasis to the negativity. 

In some dialects today, people still use double negatives for emphasis. For example, “I’m not doing nothing” can seem stronger than “I’m not doing anything.” But double negatives like that aren’t considered Standard English anymore. In other words, some people will look down on you if you use them.

The Original Rules Against Double Negatives

It wasn’t until the eighteenth century that prescriptivist grammarians started saying we shouldn’t use double negatives in English because they aren’t logical. Robert Lowth, a bishop and toweringly influential grammarian of his time, and who is also known for promoting the idea that we shouldn’t...

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8 Ways to Reduce Eye Strain

Look Away from the Screen

It sounds simple—and it is: You need to look away from your computer monitor, or frankly, from any other screen to give your eyes a break. This could mean staring at an object in the distance for a minute while you think, getting up to stretch your legs and get a glass of water, or simply blinking consciously and regularly. Another idea is to close your eyes while you’re on the phone. (Just don’t fall asleep during a boring conference call!) The more ways you can find to give your eyes a rest throughout the day, the better you’ll feel!

See Also: When to Worry About Eye Twitching

Get in Position

The top of your computer screen should be at eye level and the monitor should be placed about two feet away from you. That way, your gaze will be slightly downward, making it less likely to cause eyestrain.

Relax with Warmth

For instant relief of eyestrain, quickly rub your hands together for a few seconds to warm them, then place the palms over your closed eyelids. Take a few deep breaths and relax all of the muscles of your face. The warmth will create soothing relief for your strained eye muscles. Repeat as needed throughout the day.

Back in Black

Now you have even more justification for wearing black, other than that it’s chic. Believe it or not, your shirt color can have an effect on computer glare—and therefore on your eyes. White and light-colored shirts tend to produce reflection, while dark-colored shirts don’t. When it comes to eyestrain, black is still the new black.

Gimme Some Contrast

To give your eyes a break, turn down the brightness on your computer monitor. By increasing the contrast, you can make up for the dimness, and you’ll notice a big difference in how your eyes feel.

Parsley...

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One of the Most Dangerous Missions of D-Day

Who was James Eads? And why did he find himself in such danger in the early hours of June 6, 1944? Turns out he was spearheading a mission of such danger that neither he nor his comrades expected to come out of it alive.

Welcome to Season 3 of Unknown History: D-Day Stories. I'm your host, Giles Milton, and today we”re talking about one of the most brilliantly executed operations to take place on D-Day.

In the last episode of Unknown History, we heard about how a daring band of British troops were dropped behind enemy lines in the hours before the D-Day beach landings.

They were not alone in undertaking a mission of extraordinary danger. In the countryside that lay inland from Utah Beach, in the heart of rural Normandy, American paratroopers had been tasked with an operation of equal peril.

James Eads and his young comrades from the 82^nd Airborne Division were on a mission to capture the town of Sainte-Mère-Église. It was an operation of such importance that failure was not an option.  Sainte-Mère-Église had to be captured if the seaborne landing on Utah Beach—due to begin at the crack of dawn—was to be a success. Eads and his men had just a few hours of darkness to achieve their goal.

James Eads was a 21-year-old engineering student from Illinois, one of 13,000 American paratroopers to be dropped into Normandy shortly after midnight on June 6. For those tasked with the specific goal of capturing Sainte-Mère-Église, the jump had been terrifying.

It was like jumping off the 80th floor of the Empire State Building, a terrifying but mercifully short jump.

“Stand up and hook up.” That was the cry of the jumpmaster.  The red light started flashing and the men got in line. “Jesus Christ,” said one of the 21 paratroopers on board. “We don’t get paid enough for this.”

“Check equipment.” But there was barely time. The red light flashed to green and the jumpmaster pushed them out. “Twenty-one. Okay. Twenty. Okay. Nineteen. Okay.”

Except that nothing was okay. The men were flying at 118 mph and at a height of 750 feet. It was like jumping off the 80th floor of the Empire State Building, a terrifying but mercifully short jump that was made under heavy German gunfire.

James Eads, Robert Snyder, Edward Krause—all involved in that mission to capture Sainte-Mère-Église lived through hell as they jumped from the plane.

One of their comrades, Ken Russell, knew he was in trouble before he even left the aircraft. There was a fire in Sainte-Mère-Église and it was lighting the night sky and turning the men into sharply defined silhouettes—perfect targets for the Germans.

In...

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5 Tips for a Fresh Start This Spring

February is the month when many hopeful gardeners begin planting seeds for broccoli, kale, lettuces, and other frost-tolerant greens. This is also the time when seeds for begonias, snapdragons, and a longtime favorite—colorful, fragrant geraniums—get carefully planted in the earth.

Starting your plants from seeds can be rewarding as you watch them sprout and grow into healthy, viable vegetables and flowers. The same goes for other aspects of our lives, even ones not found in the garden. The beginning of spring is a great time to take stock of our lives and reevaluate where things aren't working, or are in need of a tune-up.

Plant and cultivate the seeds for a better you with these 5 fresh ideas:

1. Focus on What’s Working. Before you start a plan of attack for things you would like to change, assess all the areas in your life that you’re satisfied with. Farmers don’t start planting a new crop until they’re sure the soil is rich and fertile. Get grounded with a deep layer of gratitude for all the positives in your life and then consider where you’d like to see improvements.

2. Try Something New. If you’re feeling stuck and would like to see a change blossom in your life, try something completely different that you ordinarily wouldn’t do. Start ballroom dancing, learn a new language, take a history a course at your local community college, volunteer at a place that pulls at your heart strings, bascially do something that you've been putting off. No time like the present!

3. Add a Healthy Habit. Seeds need rich soil and plenty of water and sunshine to sprout and thrive. Take a cue from Mother Nature and add a healthy habit into your regular routine. Drink more H2O, start walking a few times a week, begin meditating, or add more leafy green veggies to your diet. When you’re enjoying optimal health, it’s easier to feel more ambitious and unstoppable. If you don't know where to start, Nutrition Diva can help.

4. Set Written Goals. Gardening fanatics love to plan their crops by noting what flourished, what didn’t, and what new varieties of plants they’d like to grow. Many even sketch out designs for how they’d like their future beds to look. Written goals are a wonderful way to start building momentum in order to meet new objectives as well as track your progress. Check out Get-it-Done Guy’s episode...

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What Should Your Net Worth Be?

I recently received a voicemail question from an anonymous caller who says:

“Hi, Laura. I’ve really been enjoying the Money Girl podcast! I have a question about net worth and couples. I heard on a previous episode a guideline for comparing net worth to see how you’re doing as an individual. But how should I compare me and my husband together?”

This is a great question that I’ve never been asked. (And by the way, if you have a money question or comment, I’d love to hear from you. Just call our voicemail at (302) 364-0308 to leave your message.)

In this episode, you’ll find out what net worth is and if you’ve accumulated enough wealth as an individual or as a couple. Plus, I’ll give you a free tool that makes it easy to figure your net worth and track it over time.

What Is Net Worth?

You probably heard the term “net worth” as it relates to super-rich celebrities or famous CEOs. Like Beyonce has a net worth of $500 million or Jeff Bezos is worth $133 billion. But what you may not realize is that even for the rest of us non-famous folks, it’s important to calculate and monitor your net worth.

Here’s an excerpt from my new book and audiobook, Debt-Free Blueprint: How to Get Out of Debt and Build a Financial Life You Love, that explains net worth and how to determine yours:

The first step on any journey is to assess the situation. You have to be clear about where you are right now and where you want to go. So, we’re going to really assess where your finances are right now.

Being clear about your current financial situation can be difficult and even a little scary, especially if you’re struggling with debt and don’t want to face it. However, embracing reality makes you better able to make positive changes.

The first priority in assessing your financial situation is getting organized so you understand your level of financial fitness. I’ll explain how to easily create an important tool to track the state of your finances throughout your life.

I call it your Personal Financial Statement, or PFS. It’s critical for gauging your financial health because each time you update it, you calculate your net worth. What exactly is net worth? 

The definition of net worth is summed up in a very simple formula: Net worth equals assets minus liabilities.

The definition of net worth is summed up in a very simple formula: Net worth equals assets minus liabilities.

Let me define what that means.

---

Your assets are things you own that have real value. Your...

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Are Nutritional Supplements a Waste of Money?

The FDA recently announced that it plans to increase its oversight of the multi-billion dollar supplement industry. This would include everything from the calcium and multivitamins at your local drug store, to those questionable weight loss and virility supplements pitched on late night cable TV stations.

According to the FDA, “Three out of every four American consumers take a dietary supplement on a regular basis. For older Americans, the rate rises to four in five. And one in three children take supplements.”

All of these are currently regulated under guidelines known as DSHEA—the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. According to the regulations, manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that their products are safe and correctly labeled.

However, unlike drug makers, supplement manufacturers do not have to submit proof of safety or efficacy before bringing their product to market. It’s sort of an honor system. If you get caught doing something wrong, you’ll be punished. But for the most part, there’s an assumption that people are following the rules.

In the 25 years since these regulations were enacted, the supplement industry has grown ten-fold—from about 4,000 products in 1994 to 50,000 different products now.  With this explosive growth has come an increasing number of what FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb calls “bad actors,” aka companies that are either intentionally or accidentally breaking the rules. As a result, there’s a greater chance that consumers will be exposed to products that have undeclared or even illegal ingredients or contaminants.There’s also a greater chance that products may include unapproved or inaccurate health claims.

In response, Gottlieb intends to step up enforcement of the regulations. Hopefully, this will result in fewer people going to the emergency room due to adverse effects from dietary supplements. (In 2015, there were 23,000 such visits).

But, to tell you the truth,...

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How to Save Money on Gas

Check the Rate Near You

You may have noticed that gas prices can change dramatically from town to town or even street to street. Know which exit to pull off of by getting the Gas Buddy app, which shows you the cheapest gas prices in your area. You may even find that driving a little farther off the highway exit can save you money—the gas stations closest to the highway will often charge more per gallon than the ones located a bit off your course.

Save on Gas...Tomorrow

The cheapest time to refuel your car is on Tuesday and Wednesday. People fuel up on Thursdays and Fridays for weekend trips, and on Monday for their workweek. Therefore, most gas stations do their weekly price changes on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

Keep Your Tires Inflated

It’s much harder for your engine to get your car to move when your tires are even a little flat. Invest in a gauge, and make sure to keep them as inflated as possible without over-inflating.

See Also: How to Pay Less for Gas

Stay Under the Speed Limit

We hate to tell you this, but your car will begin to lose fuel efficiency once it gets over 60 m.p.h. One of the easiest ways to save money on gas is to always go the speed limit—and it’s safer, too.

Get Regular Maintenance and Oil Changes

As oil ages, it gets thicker and harder to push through the engine, causing more energy to be used. By changing your oil regularly, you’ll make sure you get the best fuel economy possible. A clean air filter is also important. It can improve your car’s mileage by up to 10 percent, so make sure yours is replaced regularly. It should be changed at least every 8,000 miles, but if you live in a sandy or highly polluted area, you should change it more often. A good rule of thumb is simply to have the filter changed when you get your oil changed.

Remove Excess Weight

Take anything heavy out of your trunk or back seat that doesn’t need to be there (kids don’t count). An extra 100 pounds in your car can decrease your miles per gallon by 2 percent!

Roll Up Your Windows on the Highway

Having the wind streaming through your hair might be fun, but it increases drag on the car and makes it take more energy to run. In this case, it’s actually usually cheaper to run the AC. Keep the windows down long enough to yell along with one song, then roll them back up!

Manual Saves Money

If you’re buying a new car and can’t afford a hybrid,...

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Is It Ever Too Cold to Exercise Outdoors?

It may surprise you that scientists have actually suggested that no temperature is too cold when it comes to exercising outdoors. It’s true. Almost everyone is safe to work out in cold weather. You should probably choose some heat generating high-intensity workouts instead of a more chill workout like yoga, but your body will do its darndest to maintain a core temp of 98.6 degrees no matter what you choose to do—as long as we follow a few necessary precautions.

In fact, according to Dr. Castellani, lead author of a 2012 paper on Health and performance challenges during sports training and competition in cold weather, it turns out that even though cold can be thought of as dangerous and uncomfortable, more people are injured exercising in the heat than exercising in the cold.

One of the great thing about our human meat sacks is that when we exercise, our bodies generate enough heat to make us feel much warmer than it really is

One of the great things about our human meat sacks is that when we exercise our bodies generate enough heat to make us feel much warmer than it really is outside. Research suggests no matter what the thermometer says, the body will work hard to maintain the healthy and happy temperature of 98.6˚F. That work backfires on us a little since it can lead to a higher level of perceived exertion, but we’ll get into that later.

What Happens When We Get Cold?

When your core (or your torso) is nice and warm, it allows blood to flow to the extremities. But when your core gets too cold, your body stops sending as much blood to the extremities and hoards it for your vital organs and brain. So, what is the best way to keep your hands and feet warm? Heat up your core through physical activity!

It’s not just the core heating up that keeps us safe either. The body has many mechanisms that protect us from the cold. Even that runny nose is helping to keep you safe. When you are cold, the inside of your nose moistens itself to help humidify the cold, dry air that you are inhaling. The runny nose part comes from the excess fluids that end up dripping out of your nostrils.

We’ve all probably heard a story of someone’s cousin’s friend who froze their lungs while exercising outside. Well, please don’t give any credence to that tale or worry about icy cold air hitting your lungs because it is basically impossible for cold air to damage your lungs. Kenneth W. Rundell, the director of respiratory research and the human physiology laboratory at Marywood University says that...

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How Much Does My Dog Understand?

In my house, dogs are family. They get their own birthday celebrations and, despite my efforts to train them otherwise, they even get to sleep in the bed. I also talk to them, sometimes in praise, other times in a desperate attempt to convince them that it is not, in fact, in their best interest to eat crayons ... again. But how much of what I say to them do they actually understand? Do they remember the things I’ve told them? I know that I love my dog, but does my dog love me or just the food that I provide?

How Many Words Can a Dog Know?

Most dog knows what you mean when you say “sit” or “stay,” and mine certainly knows the word “no,” but how much more can they understand? I know an English bulldog whose owners had to stop using the word “dinner” when doing their meal planning because their pup would think it was time to eat. For a while they switched to “supper” but he eventually learned that too.

Experts suggest that dogs on average understand somewhere between 100 and 200 words, a level of vocabulary typical of human 2-3 year olds. Some dogs, like those who live with deaf people, are also known to respond to hand signals even without verbal communication.

How dogs understand different words, however, is not well understood. For example, does your dog know that “shoe” is a thing you wear to protect your feet while walking outside? Or does your dog think the word “shoe” means “bring me that object I keep by the door”?  

Common lore among dog lovers says that the tone of your voice is all that matters when communicating with your dog. You can say anything, and as long as you use a happy voice, your dog will understand that she or he has been a good dog.

In 2016, researchers from Budapest, Hungary put this hypothesis to the test by training 13 domestic dogs to sit in an fMRI scanner. The fMRI technique, short for functional magnetic resonance imaging, monitors brain activity by measuring changes in blood flow to different areas of the brain.

The researchers monitored the brain activity for the group of mostly border collies and golden retrievers as they heard typical words of approval as well as neutral words like conjunctions both in neutral and praiseful tones. According to their work published in the journal Science, when the dogs heard words of praise, in either tone of voice, activity was noted in the left side of the brain, suggesting that the left hemisphere in a dog’s brain processes language,...

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How to Take Care of Your Smartphone

Bernice loves her smartphone. Europa loves her smartphone. Melvin loves his smartphone. Thomas loves his smartphone. And I love my smartphone. Smartphones may actually be more popular than Kim Kardashian. Who'd have thought?

But unlike Kim K., smartphones have become essential to life as we know it.

Recently my iPhone speaker broke. I dropped it at the Apple Store for repairs and discovered much to my horror that my entire life screeched to a halt. After exiting the store, I didn't even know which way to turn. The map to my next meeting was on my smartphone. I couldn't even call Bernice for directions because even if payphones still existed (which they don't), I don't know her number. The last time I memorized a phone number there were only 150 Pokemon.

Most ironically, the Genius Bar notifies you that your repairs are done by sending you email. If the device being repaired is the one you read email on—like my iPhone is for me—you're outta luck. It makes one wonder how they define "Genius."

If smartphones are so central to our lives, it's time to get smart about buying and caring for them.

Visit GoDaddy.com to get your $2.95 .COM domain. Some limitations apply, see website for details. 

Get a Clue (I Mean, a Productivity Tool)

Melvin compares smartphones as if he were placing an online personal ad. "Mine has more pixels." "Mine is faster than yours!" "My screen is bigger than yours!" Sadly, Melvin, I hate to break it to you, but it's not how big it is, it's what you do with it.

If you're making your phone decisions based on the hardware specs, that means you don't actually do enough with it to justify buying a smartphone at all.

Decide if your smartphone is a toy or a tool. If you decide it's a toy, bravo! Go play Monument Valley, especially the add-on levels. But if you think of it as a productivity tool, choose your phone based on its capability:

1. What software does it run? Choose a smartphone that has software that is robust, secure, and integrates with your workflow, including any apps you may use on your desktop.

2. What support is available if things break? When my iPhone got damaged, it was like hitting a brick wall in my business until I got it back. Saving on a smartphone today, only to lose lots of work if it breaks, is a bad choice.

3. Can you configure it to back up automatically, so if something bad does happen, you can recover? When someone says "I had to...

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Interesting Language Stories in the News

 

Click the player to hear the interview. This is a summary of the topics we discussed.

Language Influences Memory

We talked about two new studies suggesting that language can influence people, at least in small ways, and we talk about Neal's previous article that includes an anecdote about how people in some cultures have an east arm and a west arm instead of a right and left arm.

Word order predicts a native speakers' working memory. The language we speak affects the way we process, store, and retrieve information. via "Science Daily"

Our language affects what we see. A new look at “the Russian Blues” demonstrates the power of words to shape perception. via "Scientific American"

One Form, One Meaning (OFOM)

Neal and Mignon have both noticed that when there are two spellings of a word (such as "gray" and "grey" and "whoa" and "woah"), some people will assign different meanings to them. For example, people have repeatedly commented that they think "gray" and "grey" are different colors. Neal says linguists know this as the "one form, one meaning" concept, a name given to it by Arnold Zwicky. To paraphrase another linguist, Dwight Bolinger, if two words seem to be synonyms, speakers are drawn to make up stuff in order to preserve OFOM.

Neal explains why he thought suckers and lollipops are different when he was young. 

Universities Are Cutting Foreign Language Programs

Foreign language programs are being cut at an alarming rate. According to CNN, citing a report by the Modern Language Association, "651 foreign language offerings had been terminated between 2013 and 2016," and we find that discouraging because learning foreign languages helped both of us develope a better understanding of English grammar.

Squiggly, Aardvark, and Fenster

We reveal the origins of the...

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How to Talk to Your Kids About Race

February is African American History Month when schoolchildren throughout America learn about the struggles African Americans have faced in our country. Today, Mighty Mommy interviews author and activist, Dr. Brittney Cooper, and gets her expertise on how parents can discuss the sensitive subject of race with their children. 

Brittney Cooper is a professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University. She cofounded the Crunk Collective, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Ebony, and The Root, among many others. In 2017, she was named to The Root 100 List, and in 2018, to the Essence Woke 100 List. You can pick up her latest book, Eloquent Rage, and read more of her writing in the upcoming book Queen Bey: A Celebration of the Power and Creativity of Beyonce Knowles-Carter, both available wherever books are sold.

We invite you to join us as Mighty Mommy and Brittney Cooper chat about raising kids in a world where racial issues still exist and how we can help our children embrace different races and cultures with an open mind and heart.

Some of the questions we discuss are:

• An appropriate age to introduce children to ethnicity and different races.
• Tangible examples of how we can explain different ethnicities to our kids.
• How parents can make race a non-issue. Should it be a non-issue?
• Things parents SHOULD NOT say when talking to their kids about race.
• How parents can explain racial slurs and stereotypes to a child who has just heard them for the first time. 
• How to talk to children about race if spouses/partners disagree on the subject.
• How families can make African American History Month more meaningful.

How do you talk about race with your child? Please share your thoughts in the comments section at quickanddirtytips.com/mighty-mommy, post your ideas on the Mighty Mommy Facebook page. or email me at mommy@quickanddirtytips.com. Visit my family-friendly boards at Pinterest.com/MightyMommyQDT.

Are you listening to the Mighty Mommy podcast? Let me know what you're...

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Grammar Girl's Interview with Neal Whitman (Full Transcript)

Grammar Girl's Interview with Benjamin Dreyer (Full Transcript)

How to Know If You've Met The One

Listener Anna from Toronto wrote in and asked how she coud determine whether the person she's dating is the right match for her.

For millennia, we’ve partnered within our tribe, our village, or our neighborhood. If we were lucky, the number of eligible partners we had to choose from reached maybe a dozen. Fast forward to today, however, and we can connect with untold numbers of people with the right-swipe of a finger.

But choice can be a double-edged sword. It breeds the illusion that we can find our soulmate if we sort patiently and diligently enough. In turn, this leads to second-guessing, high-pressure first dates, and rampant perfectionism in pursuit of The One.

So what does a diligent mate search look like in the 21st century? And how do we know when we’ve found The One? Do birds suddenly appear every time they are near? Do stars fall from the sky every time they walk by?

The bad news: there’s no foolproof formula.

The good news: there are some rules of thumb to follow (though you can still find true love even if you break them all).

This week, here are 6 ways to find your match:

Tip #1: Like Pairs With Like

When looking for a mate, people are, shall we say, optimists. A study in the journal Science Advances examined heterosexual online daters across four major U.S. cities. They found that people have a general idea of how attractive they are, and from there, tend to punch up. The study found that both male and female mate seekers tended to contact profiles who were about 25% more attractive than themselves, and when doing so, strategically compensated by writing a longer message. 

Despite all this optimism, in the end, couples tend to “match” on all sorts of variables, including attractiveness. This is a phenomenon called assortative mating and it’s the overall tendency for all animals, from poison dart frogs to black-headed gulls to humans, to pair like with like. 

We humans often, but not always, pair up by age, education, social class, body height and size, and many other factors, including attractiveness.

There are, of course, many exceptions to this rule—ugly rock stars marrying supermodels is just the beginning—but in general, your perfect match will be exactly that—a match on many different variables.

Tip #2: Shared Values Set You Up for a Shared Life

Even more important than matching on physical and...

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Introducing a New Business Podcast

Money Girl will be back with a regular episode next week. Today, I want to introduce a brand new podcast I think my listeners would really like.

Most of us don’t do our best work alone. Having someone to balance out your weaknesses and push you to achieve more can be really helpful when you’re going after a goal. After all, some of the top minds in business got to where they are with the help of a partner.  

That’s the theme of the new podcast One Plus One, from Wondery. It’s a show about some of the most successful partnerships in history—pairs of people who changed the way we saw the world. You’ll hear stories of cooperative success ranging from Beyonce and Jay-Z to Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Hosts Rico Gagliano and Faith Salie chart the ups and downs of these partnerships and discuss their extraordinary legacies. Today I'm sharing the first episode in the series, which focuses on a couple of guys you've probably heard of: John Lennon & Paul McCartney.

If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe. And don't forget to tell your friends about it. You never know… maybe one of them will be the other half of your legacy.

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Introducing a New Business Podcast

Get-it-Done Guy will be back with a regular episode next week. But today, I want to introduce a brand new podcast I think you’re really going to like.

Most of us don’t achieve our best work alone. For lots of us, it takes one great partner to balance out our weaknesses, and push us to achieve more. That’s why some of the most influential people in business today got to where they are with the help of a friend.

That’s the theme of the new podcast One Plus One from Wondery, a show that tells the story of some of history’s most successful partnerships—pairs of people who changed the way we saw the world.

Hosts Rico Gagliano and Faith Salie will chart the ups and downs of these partnerships and analyze what they gained from coming together.

The first episode in the series focuses on a couple of guys you may have heard of: John Lennon & Paul McCartney. Individually, they may have been brilliant. But together, they literally rocked our world.

If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe. And don't forget to tell your friends about it. You never know… maybe one of them will be the other half of your legacy. 

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An Interview with Benjamin Dreyer

Click on the player to hear the whole interview.

Benjamin Dreyer's book, "Dreyer's English," became a surprise bestseller and is already on its fifth printing just two weeks after the publication date. Dreyer, vice president, executive managing editor and copy chief of Random House, worked on the book for years, and it shows. The kernel of the book started with a New Year's resolution to write every day, and developed into a modern blend of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" and "Words into Type" (Dreyer's favorite style guide) that allows Dreyer's entertaining voice and many years of copy editing expertise shine through.

In this interview, we talked about 

• How Benjamin found his voice.
• Benjamin's reaction to some out-of-context coverage of the book.
• What he does as a copy chief.
• House styles.
• Why his book largely ignores AP style.
• Some of our favorite tidbits from the fabulous section on fiction writing.
• His unusual pet peeves.
• How book design has evolved to accomodate digital marketing.
• Why the paper used for his book jacket is called "gritty Capote."
• The story behind the title of the book.
• Why "glamour" still has a U in American English even though most similar words have lost their U.

Click the player above to hear the whole interview or click through to read the entire (rough) transcript.

 

 

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6 Hacks to Simplify Your Makeup Routine

The Many Uses of Lipstick

Lipstick can serve double-duty as a cream blush. Just dab a little on your cheeks and blend. This is also a great tip for an evening out when you’re carrying a tiny clutch that barely has enough room for your keys and cell phone.

DIY Brush Cleaner

If you’re having trouble getting your make-up brushes and sponges clean, make a simple cleaning solvent. Combine a half cup of baking soda with two tablespoons water and mix together. Then add the resulting paste to one cup of water and a half cup of fabric cleanser. Dip your brushes and sponges in the final solution, rinse clean, and reshape before allowing to air-dry.

Emergency Concealer

For emergency under-eye concealer, use your foundation. A good trick is to dab from the little bit on the cap, which is thicker. You can use this on blemishes too.

Prevent Crumbling Eyeliner

If you have an eyeliner pencil that keeps crumbling when you try to use it, stick it in the freezer for 20 minutes to firm it up.

Make Your Own Face Powder

Make your own loose face powder with cornstarch! After all, most commercial powders, whether drugstore brands or pricey make-up counter options, use cornstarch as a base. To add color, sprinkle in a little cocoa powder until you get your desired shade. Store it in a pretty tin, and use just as you would your usual loose powder. Not only have you saved money, you’ve made an all-natural face mask that doesn’t contain a single chemical.

Make-up Remover

For an inexpensive way to remove mascara, eyeliner, and shadow, try baby shampoo. It contains many of the same ingredients as eye make-up remover and works just as well, but costs a lot less. Pour a small amount on a tissue or cotton ball, rub over closed eyes, and rinse with water.

For more all beauty tricks from all around the internet, check out our Health and Beauty Tips board on Pinterest. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and ...

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War in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor

News of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor reached the White House shortly before two o’clock on the afternoon of December 7. Roosevelt was sitting in his second-floor study with longtime friend and adviser Harry Hopkins, eating an apple. Fala was munching the lunch leftovers from a tray on the president’s desk. Though it was a cold, windy afternoon, Roosevelt still hoped to enjoy a ride through the Virginia countryside before nightfall. Then the call came through from Secretary Knox: “Mr. President, it looks like the Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor.”

At Griffith Stadium several miles to the north, a sparse crowd of 27,000 shivering fans was watching the Washington Redskins battle the Philadelphia Eagles in the last game of the NFL regular season. A few minutes after the game began, the reporter covering the game for the Associated Press received a puzzling message from AP headquarters, instructing him to keep his story short. Then he got another call: “The Japanese have kicked off. War now!” The news made its way through the press box, then spread to the fans sitting nearby. Redskins management chose not to make a general announcement—“We don’t want to con- tribute to any hysteria,” the team’s general manager later explained—but midway through the first quarter, the public-address system began paging military and diplomatic officials, asking them to return to their stations or contact their offices. By the end of the first half, only one news photographer remained along the sideline.

'It came in slowly—disjointed, fragmentary, contradicting itself now and then.'

Alerted by Roosevelt, presidential press secretary Stephen Early telephoned the three major press associations from his home in northwest Washington and gave them the official announcement at 2:22 p.m. “The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor from the air, and all naval and military activities on the island of Oahu,” he told them. Reporters quickly gathered in the overheated, garishly lighted Executive Office pressroom, which became the de facto news center of the nation. Throughout the afternoon, Early provided updates as the president (who was meeting with a steady stream of advisers in the White House library) passed along the grim reports from Hawaii—as much as military officials were willing to disclose. After each bulletin, dozens of journalists scrambled for one of the few available telephones. Several radio stations and networks set up microphones in the pressroom. High upon one wall, they could see through the clouds of tobacco smoke an old sign perched atop a bookcase: We Ain’t Mad With Nobody.

It was a cold Sunday in New York, too, but that didn’t stop a...

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The Mission You've Never Heard Of: The Hours Before D-Day

Who was Denis Edwards? And why was he dropped behind enemy lines some six hours before the beach landings on D-Day? Turns out he was tasked with one of the most dangerous missions to take place on 6 June 1944.

Welcome to Season 3 of Unknown History: D-Day Stories. I'm your host, Giles Milton, and today we're talking about a specialist team who was sent on a mission in which failure was not an option.

Many hours before the beach landings on D-Day—when it was still pitch dark—an extraordinary and top secret nighttime operation was underway.

A small group of young men—British and Canadian—was dropped into Normandy under the cover of darkness. Their task was to spearhead the initial assault on occupied France with an audacious coup-de-main—a swift and surprise attack that would require them to land deep behind enemy lines. Long before the seaborne forces struggled ashore, this little group would be fighting their way through the French countryside with the goal of seizing two vitally important bridges, one at the village of Ranville and one at Bénouville.

The capture of these bridges was crucial to the success of D-Day. They were the principal crossing points for two waterways, the River Orne and the Caen Canal, which ran northwards to the coast. If the bridges remained in German hands, the Allied troops that were due to land at dawn risked being trapped inside their beachhead. If that happened, the SS Panzer divisions would be able to sweep across the bridges and drive those newly landed men back into the sea.

The men worked with clinical efficiency, aware that it was kill or be killed.

Among the young soldiers taking part in the mission was 19-year-old Denis Edwards. He looked far too young to be entrusted with such a hazardous mission. With his scrubbed cheeks and boyish grin, he might have been mistaken for a member of the Sea Cadets. Yet Denis Edwards was far from naïve and had no illusions as to the perils that lay ahead. "Terrifyingly dangerous" is how he described it. "There were so many possibilities for things to go badly wrong."

His young comrades in D Company were equally twitchy. "What if the Germans counter-attacked?" they asked. "What if the seaborne forces don’t break through the German defences in time?" The architects of the operation could provide few answers.

Like everything else on D-Day, the outcome would rest with those like Edwards, who were to do the fighting on the ground.

---

The lads in Denis Edwards’s team had one critical advantage over the thousands of other men about to be deployed. Their commander, John Howard, had proved himself a genius when it came to training them. A 32-year...

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Make American Heart Month a Family Affair

February is a month that has a lot of heart. While Valentine’s Day seems to monopolize the calendar, there’s another important event that is also heart-centric, but this one isn’t promoted by Hallmark.

In 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson designated February as American Heart Month, declaring that “over one-half of the 10 million Americans afflicted by the cardiovascular diseases are stricken during their most productive years, thereby causing a staggering physical and economic loss to the nation.”

Today, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, with one of four deaths attributed to it each year. While these statistics are still high, the American Heart Association (AHA) is heartened that this devastating disease can be prevented with healthy life choices.

In order to bring more awareness to heart disease the AHA encourages families to work together and shift their lifestyles in a more positive direction in order to make good heart-health a priority.

Make this American Heart Month a family affair with these fun and healthy tips: 

1. Talk it Up. Spend some time chatting about American Heart Month with your loved ones. Many schools now have events like Hoops for Heart to raise awareness and money for the AHA. Keep the conversation age-appropriate but emphasize how important it is for everyone to take good care of their hearts by eating well, exercising, and finding hobbies and outlets that can reduce stress. A great book to read to younger kids is Your Amazing Heart, by Dr. Edwin Lee. The information and illustrations allow for great conversation following the story.  If you have older kids and have any family members or close friends afflicted by heart disease, you can reference these individuals and what they’re doing to care for their health to bring the topic closer to home.
2. Enjoy the Great Outdoors. With the immense importance of electronics in our lives, heading outside to explore or enjoy nature is not a priority. Use American Hearth Month as the catalyst for getting back to basics and taking a brisk stroll through the neighborhood or pull those bikes out of the shed...

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8 Hacks for Easy Baking

Make Some Baker’s Magic

Professional bakers generally don’t grease and flour their pans, which can leave flour on your baked goods or make them cook unevenly. Instead, they mix up a batch of “baker’s magic,” and now you can too. Mix half a cup of room temperature vegetable shortening, half a cup of vegetable oil, and half a cup of all-purpose flour. Blend the mixture well and use it to grease pans. You can refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to six months.

Baking Cakes and Cupcakes

For best results, there are two rules we always follow: Use a cool pan, and never fill the tin more than two thirds full. We can’t guarantee other mistakes won’t happen, but at least we’ve got the basics covered!

How to Fix Dusty-Looking Cakes

Hate that white, dusty look on your cakes after you’ve floured the edges of your cake pan before baking? Make it a thing of the past. Reserve a small amount of cake mix, then use that to “flour” your pans. The cake will absorb the mix, and you won’t have a white mess on the outside when the cake is done.

The Glass Baking Dish Rule

Baked goods should always be cooked at the temperature directed in the recipe, with one notable exception: If you are using a glass baking dish, reduce the specified oven temperature by 25°F. Glass heats more slowly than metal, but it retains heat well; failing to lower the temperature can result in burned bottoms.

See also: How to Bake Healthier and Tastier Than Ever Before

Dusting Sugar

Fill a saltshaker with confectioners’ or colored sugar for dusting candy, cakes, and cookies. For the best results, choose one with large holes.

Softening Brown Sugar

If you find that the contents of your brown sugar box have become one giant lump, wrap the box in a ball of foil and bake in a 350°F oven for five minutes. It will be back to its old self in no time.

How to Fix Lumpy Brown Sugar

Brown sugar loses moisture rather quickly and develops lumps easily. To soften hardened sugar, put it in the microwave with a slice of fresh white bread or half an apple, cover the dish tightly, and heat for 15-20 seconds; let it stand five minutes before using. The moisture from the bread or apple will produce enough steam to soften the...

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How to Train for Strength and Power

If you are focussed on functional strength and not just building vanity muscles (not that there is anything wrong with that), the size of a muscle isn’t all that you should focus on. If trained correctly, a smaller muscle can actually exert more force than a larger muscle. A smaller muscle also requires less energy, oxygen, and nutrients to maintain and can even be healthier than a more massive, less functional muscle that generates less force despite its bulky and constantly hungry muscle fibres.

With that in mind, what I propose is that instead of simply putting on as much muscle as possible, we instead focus on making every single muscle fibre powerful and explosive. There are three main ways that we can focus our efforts on building speed and power at the same time. Let’s look at each one:

Speed Strength Sets

Speed strength sets are fast and powerful sets of exercises like cleans, overhead presses, squats, and deadlifts. Performing these exercises as explosively as possible maximizes movement economy, motor-unit recruitment, and lactate threshold—all of which contribute to strengthening those small but useful muscles.

When you do speed strength sets, keep the weight you are lifting on the heavy side while also making it safe to perform the movement as quickly as possible. It's a fine balance so I advise you to start by erring on the "too light" side and then adding weight as you get comfortable with the exercise.

Complex Training

A complex usually has 4-10 exercises, completed for 5-20 reps in a row without taking a rest between them. By doing this, you combine traditional strength exercises with explosive movements which results in a greater rate of force development, which results in increased overall power.

An example of a barbell complex would be five repetitions of a deadlift, directly into a bent over row, straight into a front squat, followed immediately by an overhead press, and finishing with a set of good mornings. Again, when you do this as a complex, you move all the way through each exercise and into the next without setting down the barbell.

Plyometrics

A plyometric exercise is any activity where a muscle is stretched rapidly followed immediately by a rapid shortening of that same muscle. When doing plyometric training, your focus should be on moving your body through its full range of motion, as fast as you can, as many times as you can—before your form and alignment start to falter.

Some examples of this would be bounding, depth jumps, box jumps, and clapping push-ups. These movements, when done often, train your muscles to powerfully release the natural elastic energy that is stored in your tendons.

These three types of workouts can be performed several times per week, with at least 48 hours...

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The Setpoint Diet: Interview with Jonathan Bailor

My guest today is Jonathan Bailor, author of a new book called The Setpoint Diet and the founder and CEO of Sane Solution. Before starting his own company,  Jonathan served as a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, where he helped create health and fitness-focused products like NikeKinect Training and Xbox Fitness.

Here are a few of the topics we delve into in our conversation (just click on the audio player to listen):

• What we gain (and lose!) when we focus on the quality of our food choices.
• How can we change the weight our body "wants" to weigh?
• How big a factor do external factors play in changing one's Setpoint?
• How to choose foods that keep hunger at bay
• The limits of appetite control
• How to avoid overeating healthy foods
• Where food and eating fits in to a balanced life
• How to love yourself slim.

About 5 years ago, Jonathan wrote a book called The Calorie Myth, in which he argued that it’s the quality of calories that determines our weight, more so than the quantity. In The Setpoint Diet, Jonathan adds new insights into how to convert those principles into action in the real world, based on his experience with thousands of participants.

This concept of a body weight setpoint is an interesting one. It contends that the body has a certain weight that it wants to be. And if we lose weight, the body fights to return to its setpoint weight.  In The Setpoint Diet, Bailor says we can change that setpoint—that weight that our body wants to weigh—by changing our diet.

But as we discuss in our interview, that setpoint may be at least partially determined by our environment—the way our homes and workplaces and schedules are set up and the degree to which they encourage us to overeat or be sedentary.  We can lose a bunch of weight on a short term diet. But if we don’t change, in a permanent way, the way our homes and workplaces and schedules are set up, that environment is going to exert a lot of pressure on us to revert to previous habits (and...

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7 Answers to Frequently Asked Income Tax Questions

Taxes are one of the most confusing aspects of personal finances. The IRS regulations are complicated, and many tax rules change from year to year. Even if you have a relatively simple financial situation or use a good tax software program such as Turbo Tax, taxes can still trip you up.  

In this episode, I’ll cover answers to seven common questions about income tax. They’ll help you comply with the law, minimize what you owe, understand tax deductions and credits, pay household workers or nannies properly, and avoid trouble if you can’t pay Uncle Sam on time.  

7 Answers to Frequently Asked Income Tax Questions

1. Who must pay income tax? 
2. When should you itemize income tax deductions?
3. Who can claim the home mortgage interest tax deduction? 
4. If my raise puts me in a higher tax bracket will I get less pay? 
5. What’s the difference between tax deductions and credits? 
6. Do I have to pay taxes for a household worker or nanny? 
7. What if I can’t afford to pay my taxes?

Here are the answers to some common income tax conundrums.

Question 1: Who must pay income tax?

Michelle B. from Orlando, Florida, says, “Hi, Laura. I’m a longtime podcast listener and have purchased your books on Audible. I’ve got a burning question and think you’re the perfect person to trust to answer it correctly. Is it true that filing an income tax return is optional or not required if you don’t have any taxable income?”

Thanks for your kind words, Michelle! It’s true that not everyone must file an income tax return. The requirements depend on how much you earn, your filing status, and age.

For 2018, if you’re a single taxpayer, you must pay taxes if your gross income exceeds the standard deduction, which is $12,000. If you’re married and file jointly, the limit is double that, or $24,000. If you’re over age 65, these income thresholds go up slightly.

Gross income is all income you receive that isn’t exempt from tax. It typically includes wages, retirement benefits, and investments. It includes all sources of income, including any earnings you might have from outside of...

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Reduplication: Would You Like Milk-Milk With Your Salad-Salad?

One of our recent advertisers, The Real Real, made me think of a cool language thing that’s been on my radar for a few years but that I haven’t covered yet. It’s the doubling of words to show that something is, well, real. I think the first time I heard it was in this ad for the 2015 Ikea catalog: The announcer describes the print catalog as a “book-book.”

Introducing the 2015 Ikea catalog. It’s not a digital book or an ebook, it’s a book-book. The first thing to note is no cables. Not even a power cable. The 2015 Ikea catalog comes fully charged and the battery life is eternal. 

He goes on to talk about tactile technology—turning the page with your finger—and how the content comes preinstalled. It’s fabulous. My husband and I both loved it, and because he prefers print books, and I usually prefer ebooks, to this day we still use “book-book” a lot in our house when we’re talking about his books or when I get a physical book in the mail. “Ooh look! You got a book-book!” (It might be a stretch for Ikea to consider its catalog a book, but the point that they were talking about a physical publication was still abundantly clear.)

'Milk-Milk'

Then, a couple of months ago, the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. was debating whether it would allow producers to use the word “milk” for products like almond milk and soy milk. According to CNBC, people are drinking a lot more of these kinds of plant-based milks, so the dairy industry has spent more than $2 million lobbying this year, which I imagine could be a reason the FDA is suddenly worried that consumers are being misled about the nutritional value of these non-dairy “milk” products. 

And the way I immediately thought about that story was that the FDA was considering limiting the word “milk” so producers could only use it to refer to “milk-milk.” In other words, the original liquid people think of when they think of milk. From what I understand, a law was passed in the EU in 2017 that does stop marketers from using the word “milk” for what some people refer to as—the word fun never stops—“cow-nterfeits.”

Contrastive Focus Reduplication

But doublets like “book-...

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Why Do My Knees Creak?

Get-Fit Guy podcast listener named Brian wrote to me earlier today:

“Hi, Brock. I just received the news from my doctor that I have Crepitus in my right knee. It does not hurt a lot and I have not seen a PT yet. I stopped running and am using the RICE protocol on my knee. But do you have any other suggestions? What exercises do you suggest? Should I put a knee brace on? Thank you for your help.”

After doing some deep breathing relaxation exercises so I don't lose my cool, this is what I wrote back to him:

"First off, Crepitus is not a condition. It's simply a fancy way of saying 'noisy body part.' It doesn’t mean that anything is wrong, per se, especially if it isn’t paired with pain. Although it can be annoying, most of us get crepitus in one joint or another as we age.

Yes there are things we can do to minimize it, but please don’t wear a knee brace. Unless you have pain and a very particular type of injury, a knee brace will most often make matters worse. You need to allow your joints to move through their full range of motion. It’s when we stop using our full range of motion that we allow problems to become bigger and harder to correct.

If you are concerned about this issue, go see a physical therapist (or sports doctor) who specializes in joint function. Frankly, your doctor doesn’t sound like they have a lot of training or understanding of this stuff—especially if the diagnosis was 'crepitus.'"

Yes, I know I could have gone easier on Brian’s doctor but Brian sounds worried and rightly so. Crepitus sounds like a scary problem if you don’t know what it is. So, let’s take a closer look and hopefully put Brian’s mind (and yours) at ease.

Crepitus sounds like a scary problem if you don’t know what it is. So, let’s take a closer look and put your mind at ease.

What Is Crepitus?

Crepitus (or the more fun way of saying it: crepitation) describes any type of grinding, creaking, grating, popping, thumping, cracking, or crunching that happens in a joint when we move it through a range of motion. We can experience crepitus at any age but generally, it doesn’t usually show up until we get older...

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How to Find and Fix Relationship Blind Spots

Incorporating a new recruit into your zombie army can be tricky. Of course, you’ll help create the all-important zombie-recruit/misunderstood-villain dynamic by using a process conversation, as described in episode 513, How to Strengthen Relationships with Process Conversations. We learned to make relationships successful from day one, by syncing up on communication medium, feedback, work style and other aspects of our relationship. But there’s more. 

It’s not enough to anticipate what you need to do to work well together. The flip side, which we almost never talk about, is anticipating how things might break. And since zombies are made of rotting flesh, let’s just say they break a lot more easily than you’d expect.

Vulnerability Is Key

Talking about how things break takes courage. You have to admit that things might break. In our culture, we always want to project an aura of absolute certainty and confidence. 

(If you’re under 30 listening to this, I have a horrible life spoiler for you: Very few people actually know what they’re doing. Job title is no predictor of ability. Confidence is no predictor of ability. Some of the most competent people have the lowest confidence. Have you heard of Impostor Syndrome? And many of the least competent people have high confidence. Very high confidence. The best confidence.)

None of us wants to admit we’re not perfect. It opens us up and makes us vulnerable.

So I’ll go first. 

Access Your Inner Hippie

I moved a lot as a kid. I grew up in a traveling New Age commune. We would move into a town and start a psychic growth center. Word would spread, and lickity-split, none of the kids would be allowed to play with me. You’ve heard of the kids from the other side of the tracks? Ta da! That’s me!

For 12-year-old me, this was really hard. Middle school is hard enough for kids who are well-adjusted, popular, and into sports. When you’re small for your age, smart, have zero social skills, and were raised as a conscientious objector, let’s just say you get an awful lot of “feedback” from your peers. 

I ended up emotionally scarred for life. But scar tissue is tough. So now, being open is easy for me. The Ambassador to the Court of Saint James invites me to a “black tie” New Years Eve reception. I grab a thick piece of black rope and tie it around my waist to keep my loincloth on. When I don’t win the best-dressed award, it doesn...

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Could We Live on Mars?

In February of 2019, NASA scientists made one last attempt to contact the Opportunity rover after thousands of previously unanswered calls. When they again didn’t hear back, the mission was officially ended. Eight months earlier, a planet-wide dust storm had ravaged the Martian surface, coating the rover’s location in a thick layer of dust. With dust coating its solar panels, Opportunity was no longer able to power its communications with Earth or its exploration of the Martian surface.

When the Spirit and Opportunity rovers reached the Martian surface in 2004, their mission was expected to last for 90 days and 1,000 meters or 1,100 yards. Opportunity ultimately roamed the red planet for over 15 years and traveled 28 miles returning more than 217,000 images of its adventures back to us here on Earth.

Mars is the most studied planet beyond our own. The first successful mission dates back to 1965 with the Mariner 4 flyby. One of the biggest questions that motivates our exploration of Mars through programs like the rovers is: Can we live there? How much is Mars really like Earth?

Let’s take a look at some of the key planetary characteristics that determine whether or not Mars is habitable and how the red planet compares to Earth.  

Mars Is Cold

Humans need water to survive, so a hospitable planet for us must support temperatures where liquid water can exist. Mars is farther from the Sun than Earth is (1.5 times as far), so it takes longer for the red planet to orbit around our shared star. In fact, a year on Mars is 687 Earth days. So if you’re 30 years old on Earth, you’d only be 16 on Mars (that's the good news).

The not so good news is that this extra distance from the Sun means temperatures on Mars run colder than on Earth. Temperatures on the red planet can span from a frigid -195 degrees Fahrenheit in winter near the polar ice caps to a comfortable 70 degrees Fahrenheit in summer near the Martian equator.

A year on Mars is 687 Earth days. So if you’re 30 years old on Earth, you’d only be 16 on Mars (that's the good news).

...

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What Does the ‘D’ in ‘D-Day’ Mean?

 

The 75th anniversary of D-Day is coming up in just a few months and that made me think about the origins of the word D-Day. Why do we call it “D-Day”? What does the “D” stand for? 

The Meaning of D-Day

Let’s start by getting one thing out of the way: “D-Day” doesn’t actually refer to a single date in history. The military term “D-Day” is actually a generic term that can refer to any day on which a particular plan of attack occurs. Over time, the word has become shorthand for the daring 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. (And no, the “D” doesn’t stand for “daring.”) The origins of the word date back to at least World War I, when an American field order wrote in 1918: “The First Army will attack at H-Hour on D-Day with the object of forcing the evacuation of the St. Mihiel salient.”

So what’s the “D” stand for? Well, it’s a little anticlimactic. The “D” actually stands for “day.” That’s right. When you say “D-Day” you’re essentially saying “Day Day.” According to the National World War II Museum, the shorthand is used in place of an actual date for the sake of secrecy. Should military intelligence fall into the wrong hands, the enemy will be none the wiser. 

The Days Before and After D-Day

A naming convention was formed for any dates surrounding D-Day. Days that precede or follow D-Day are measured by their distance from D-Day with a plus or minus sign. For instance, if you’re writing to a General about plans on the day that falls before “D-Day,” you’d write “D-1.” If you’re writing about a day that falls three days after “D-Day,” you’d write “D+3.” 

The Meaning of H-Hour

There’s also an H-Hour. Now that you know what the “D” in D-Day stands for, you can probably guess what the “H” in H-Hour stands for. 

When to Capitalize the 'D' in 'Day'

The “D” in “day” can be capitalized or lowercase. In this article, it is lowercase when it is being used generically, and capitalized when it refers to the 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II.

Unknown History

For more on the history of D-Day, I recommend you check out the Unknown History podcast from my Quick and Dirty Tips colleague Giles Milton. Season 3 of Unknown History is out now and it’s fantastic. It’s kind of like if the TV show “24” merged with “Saving Private Ryan.” It covers the first 24 hours of D-...

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How to Apologize to Your Child

Saying sorry is difficult enough when you have to apologize to an adult, but it's even harder when we have to make amends with a child. Regardless of whether your child is three or thirty, if you ignore the wrongdoing and don’t address how your actions made your child feel, you can potentially cause long-lasting damage (and waste a great teachable moment).

Mighty Mommy has experienced her share of parenting mess-ups over the years, but has learned that the sooner you make it right with your child, the better. Here are four ways to say you’re sorry and let the healing begin.

4 Ways to Say You’re Sorry

1. Own Your Wrong
2. Make an Age-Appropriate Apology
3. Make It Right
4. Creative Ways to Apologize

Let's explore each one more closely:

Own Your Wrong

I’m a pretty emotional person so I tend to parent with my heart on my sleeve. Because of that, when I do something that isn't great, I sense it instantly. 

For example, this past week my son who is away at college is living off campus this year. Because of that, he doesn’t eat at the university cafeteria. We budgeted an amount that would cover his groceries and I regularly load a shopping card at a nearby store as well.

He’s approaching graduation this spring and without my knowledge, he and his father decided that he should quit his part-time job as a lifeguard so he could focus on wrapping up his senior year. Weeks later, I learned of this news when I called to make sure he knew I’d added money to his grocery card. He thanked me and casually mentioned he’d quit his job because his father thought it was best. Without waiting to hear any of the reasons behind this decision, I made a snarky comment that I didn’t appreciate his getting to take it easy while I would probably be picking up the financial slack to cover his spending money.

Not one of my finest moments.

After we ended the conversation, I sat quietly for several minutes replaying my response in my mind.  I immediately began to justify my harsh reaction, but then I realized that I was rationalizing. I had the choice of how to respond and I chose to judge him rather than letting him explain his reasons.

The first step in apologizing is reflecting on what you did...

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8 Ways to Get Rid of Canker Sores

These 8 home remedies can help cure your canker sores. Plus, keep reading for our top way to prevent canker sores. 

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide may help reduce and relieve canker sores. Simply mix one part peroxide with one part water, then dab on any affected areas several times a day or swish around in your mouth for as long as possible.

Chamomile

The same chamomile tea that soothes a sour stomach can also calm canker sores. Allow the tea to cool, and then swish it around your mouth for a minute. Chamomile contains chamazulene, a natural anti-inflammatory agent, which will help accelerate the healing process.

See Also: What Is a Cold Sore?

Tea

Hold a damp tea bag over the area. Tea bags are filled with healthful tannins. Cool the tea bag for even more relief.

Honey

Dabbing unpasteurized honey on canker or cold sores four times a day will help them disappear fast, thanks to the enzymes it contains.

See Also: Nutrition Tips for Preventing Cold Sores

Suck on Slippery Elm

Native Americans have been using slippery elm for centuries to treat mouth, throat, stomach, and digestive ailments. Today you can buy slippery elm lozenges, available at health-food stores, which will provide lasting relief for canker sore pain. They’re also effective for coughs and sore throats too!

Baking Soda

A natural antacid, baking soda is a great canker sore remedy. Dissolve ½ teaspoon baking soda in a half cup of warm water, then swish it around your mouth. Baking...

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Getting the Love You Want: Interview with Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt

This week we say happy 30th anniversary to a classic book—Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples, by Drs. Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt. If you don’t own one of the four million copies in print, you may recognize the title because Oprah has featured it on her show no fewer than 17 times. 

As you know, Savvy Psychologist is all about actionable tips, so I appreciate that the book contains 35 pages of 18 different concrete exercises couples can do together to enhance communication, increase the fun in their relationship, and fundamentally connect.

In our conversation, I asked Harville and Helen more about their method and theory. 

In this episode, you will learn:

• The most common ways communication goes wrong, and how to fix it.
• The three steps of safe conversation—mirroring, validating, and empathizing—and why each step is uniquely important.
• How working on your weaknesses is a sign of love for your partner.
• How a simple rule called the "zero negativity process" can dramatically impact your relationship.

Click the player above to listen to the conversation!

Harville Hendrix, Ph.D. and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D. are partners in life and work. They are the co-creators of Imago Relationship Theory & Therapy, which has spread globally through Imago Relationships Worldwide, an organization that has trained over 2,500 therapists in over 53 countries. They are the authors of 10 books, including three New York Times bestsellers (Getting the Love You Want, Keeping the Love You Find, and Giving the Love That Heals). They are celebrating the 30th anniversary edition of Getting the Love You Want, which is now on sale wherever you like to get your books.

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Never Forget How to Spell 'Bureaucracy' Again

 

I’ve been interviewing authors for the podcast lately, and one question we always ask is what words give them trouble, and I think more than half of the authors—successful, and in many cases New York Times bestselling authors—more than half of the authors say they can’t spell “bureaucracy,” so if you struggle with it, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. It’s just a tough word.

First, let’s stipulate that most people don’t have a problem with the “cracy” part at the end. We’re familiar with that from “democracy,” “theocracy” and so on.

So we need help with the “bureau” part.

If you trace it all the way back to Latin, “bureau” shares a root with “burro”—the donkey. Weird, right? The relationship a little convoluted, so I won’t go into it for our purposes, but it’s easy to imagine that a bureaucrat not helping you from behind a desk is a stubborn donkey, a stubborn burro who won’t help you. And “burro” is a lot easier to spell: B-U-R-R-O.

Now, imagine that donkey not only stubbornly not helping you, but also putting on perfume while ignoring you and not helping you. A stubborn burrow putting perfume behind its ears. “Eau de obstruction.” How rude! 

This part might be a little tougher, but anyone who has shopped for perfume should have encountered phrases like “eau de toilette” and “eau de cologne.” The spelling of that “eau" part is what’s in the middle of “bureaucracy.” So imagine a stubborn burro dotting perfume behind its ears, and take the “bur” part from “burro,” (B-U-R) and the “eau” part from “eau de obstruction.” (E-A-U) Add a “cracy” on the end, and you have “bureaucracy.” 

It may seem silly—I know it does!—but I used to never be able to spell this word, and I’ve gotten it right every time since I came up with that little story, so I hope it helps you too.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock. 

Mignon Fogarty is Grammar Girl and the founder of Quick and Dirty Tips. Check out her New York Times best-seller, “Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.”

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Winter Weather Words: 'Polar Vortex,' 'Bombogenesis,' 'Snowmageddon,' and more

 

The midwestern United States was hit in January by some of the coldest weather in decades.

In Buffalo, North Dakota, and Chicago, Illinois, windchill temperatures fell to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit. In Ponsford, Minnesota, it reached minus 66. Schools closed; the postal service suspended mail; and people were warned to “avoid taking deep breaths” so the cold air wouldn’t hurt their lungs. 

With all that in mind, today we’re going to talk about some weird words we use for winter weather. Some of them you’ve heard before, but others may be new.

Let’s start with what we just faced: a polar vortex.

What’s a Polar Vortex?

A “polar vortex” sounds dramatic, but it’s actually nothing more than a large area of cold, low-pressure air. One surrounds the North Pole; another, the South Pole. The vortexes are always there, but they get weaker in the summer and stronger in the winter. 

That “strengthening” means they expand. In the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex dips down into the jet stream, a westerly flow of air that circles the globe. The jet stream pulls the frigid air down and voila! The temperate in the northern United States can suddenly be the same as the temperature at the North Pole. 

By the way, that word “vortex”? It comes from the Latin word “vortere,” meaning “to turn.” It refers to the rapid movement of particles around an axis—in this case, the cold air that swirls counterclockwise around the North Pole.

That same Latin root gives us many other English words too, including “introvert” (meaning “to turn inward”) and “diversify” (with its roots adding up to the literal meaning “to turn in different directions”).

Let’s move on to blizzards.

Blizzards and … Ground Blizzards?

You’ve probably heard of a blizzard. That’s a major snowstorm that lasts at least three hours and has sustained winds of 35 miles an hour or more. The blowing snow in a blizzard is so bad you often can’t see more than a quarter-mile ahead.

You might not have heard of a “ground blizzard.” That’s when no new snow is falling, but high winds blow existing snow horizontally, across the ground, or vertically, up in the air. Conditions in a ground blizzard can be just as bad as in a proper blizzard.

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‘Racket’ or ‘Racquet’?

The game of racquetball has an unusual spelling that looks vaguely French but actually isn’t. Racquetball players may suffer from confusion about what to call the implement they use to bang a ball about when they play. What they hold is known as a “racket” or a “racquet.” Players are probably safe using either spelling, but most sources consider “racquet” to be a variant, especially outside a racquetball court.

The word “racquetball” is celebrating its fiftieth birthday this year. But the game of “rackets” involving hitting a ball about in an enclosed area, is more than 500 years old. Chaucer compares “playen raket to and fro” to falling in and out of love in “Troilus and Cressida.”

The word “raquecte” shows up in France in the 15th century, and the earlier English references could be to a game using the hand rather than an implement for striking the ball. There is an earlier Arabic word, “rahah,” for palm of the hand.

The “qu” spelling for “racquet" first appears in the Oxford English Dictionary corpus in 1709 in relation to a lacrosse stick (“lacrosse," meaning “the stick,” is French). The “racquet” spelling for a game or implement seems to be a North American invention, later used in reference to rackets as played in England.

Rackets—which involved hitting a ball against a wall rather than over a net—evolved into squash. Racquetball evolved from a similar game called paddleball, which was originally played by tennis players at the University of Michigan around 1930. They practiced indoors on squash courts when the weather was bad, substituting ping pong paddles for their tennis rackets and then a hard rubber ball for the fuzzy tennis ball. In 1949, a tennis pro named Joe Sobek added strings back into the paddle and came up with the rules for what he called “paddle rackets.”

In 1969, at the sport’s first large tournament in St. Louis, competitors decided on one prominent player’s suggestion to call the sport “racquetball,” and the International Racquetball Association was formed. 

The "qu" spelling of “racquet” is well-established, even if there is little logic or history behind it. The Associated Press Stylebook prefers the “racket” spelling and Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary both call “racquet” a variant spelling of “racket.” 

The game returned to England in 1976...

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