fun facts

Cucumbers used to be called “cowcumbers.”

Cucumbers used to be called “cowcumbers.” “By the end of the 18th century, ‘cowcumber’ had become a standard pronunciation, and even spread to the U.S.” It later became a class marker, and Dickens used it to signal lower class characters. […]

book recommendations

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

Author: Walter Isaacson Popular images of Benjamin Franklin often center on three items: the bifocals, the kite, the key. Curious, I read the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin a few years back. Franklin’s honesty sparked my real interest in the U.S. […]