Tag Archives: etymology

The Snickers Candy Bar was Named After a Favorite Horse of Creator Frank Mars in 1930

snickers pie

Today I found out the Snickers candy bar was named after one of Frank Mars’ favorite horses. Frank Mars was the creator of the Snickers candy bar and founder of Mars, Inc, originally called Mar-O-Bar Co., which is currently the 6th largest privately held company in the world with annual sales of around 21 billion dollars.  The company is still […]

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How Earth Got Its Name

Today I found out how ‘Earth’ came to be called so. Firstly, it’s important to understand that nearly every language has its own name for the planet. It’s called ‘terra’ in Portuguese, ‘dünya’ in Turkish and ‘aarde’ in Dutch, just to name a few with their own etymology. However, the common thread in all languages is that they were all […]

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Origin of the Name of the Sport Cricket

Cricket

Today I found out the origin of the name of the sport Cricket. The name is originally thought to either have been derived from the Old French “criquet”, meaning “goal, post, or stick” or from the Middle Dutch “kricke”, meaning “stick” or “staff”.  The latter Middle Dutch derivation from “kricke” is generally considered more likely due to the strong medieval trade connections […]

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The Fear of Being Buried Alive is Called ‘Taphophobia’

Dog Buries Cat Alive

Today I found out that the medical term for the irrational fear of being buried alive is called Taphophobia, also occasionally spelled Tephephobia, which means the same thing.    Taphophobia derives from the Greek “taphos” meaning “grave”. Today, this would be considered a somewhat irrational fear.  However, it wasn’t too long ago that this wasn’t irrational at all.  Taphophobia hit […]

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