MUNDANE MYSTERIES: What Is A Nor’Easter?
Whenever a forecaster says anything about a pending “nor’easter” during a weather report, stores start selling out of batteries, milk, and bread. For a lot of folks, nor’easter basically means “a really big storm”. And that’s not wrong, since nor’easters have earned their bad-boy reputation. But what makes a really big storm a nor’easter?
According to the National Weather Service, nor’easters occur on the East Coast of the U.S. People have been using the term “nor’easter” since at least the 19th century, but that doesn’t just refer to the area where they hit. It actually refers to where the wind comes from. When warm air out of the Southwest meets cold air moving south out of the polar region of Canada, it creates a strong wind called a “polar jet stream” which then moves east across our continent.
Meanwhile, the warm, powerful current known as the Gulf Stream is flowing up the East Coast, heating both the water & air above it along the way. Whenever that warm northeasterly air collides with the east-moving polar jet stream, the temperature difference between them creates a low-pressure system, which forms precipitation. It usually happens between Georgia & New Jersey, and the associated wind cyclone gains strength as it shifts farther north. Where you might be could either be pelted with rain or blanketed in snow, depending on how cold it may be. For instance, folks in Boston might be shoveling their driveways while, at the same time, people in Baltimore are dealing with flooded streets.
Nor’easters look very similar to hurricanes from above, but they’re not the same. The word hurricane refers to a specific sort of cyclone, one that forms in the the Atlantic Ocean’s tropical waters. Those warm waters can heat up the air above & form storm clouds that can eventually become a hurricane if & when it collides with warm air moving westward from Africa.
So, if you’re ever unsure whether bad weather headed your way is a hurricane or a nor’easter, you can always just call it “a really big storm”.
Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].
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Wake Up Crew Highlights: October 28, 2021
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why “The Proof Is In The Pudding”
You could definitely ask your buddy whether The Godfather Part II is as good as everyone says it is, but you’ll never know for sure unless you sit through all four hours of it & see it for yourself. After all, the best way to determine the something’s value is to experience it firsthand, right? “The proof is in the pudding”, as they say. But what does that even mean? Why did they put proof in pudding to begin with?
As with a lot of these kinds of sayings, this particular idiom was pretty literal in its beginnings. The earliest known written reference comes from a 1623 volume of the tome “Remains Concerning Britain” by English writer William Camden. Back then, pudding wasn’t the gooey dessert we Americans eat now, it was instead a mishmash of minced meat, spices, cereal…sometimes even blood. Everything got stuffed into an animal casing like a sausage, then it was steamed or boiled. And, because preservative methods weren’t all that great or thorough, and because the FDA didn’t exist back then, there was always a real good chance that your meat dish could make you sick, or possibly even kill you. So, unfortunately, the only way to really find out…was to dig in.
It’s not so much about the proof being in the pudding, but more about eating the pudding to find the proof. Which brings up my next point: “The proof is in the pudding” is actually an abbreviated version of the full phrase, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” It isn’t really surprising that, over the past several centuries, people have shortened the phrase, since the way we talk regularly evolves in ways that affect our understanding of the phrases. For instance, “one bad apple” is actually “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch” (even though some folks use the shorter version to mean the exact opposite of the original phrase).
No one knows precisely when “the proof is in the pudding” became the preferred semantics over its wordier (though clearer) ancestor. However, it’s been in our vernacular since at least the 1860s. Engineer Henry Dircks used it in his 1863 novel Joseph Anstey, before it showed up again in an 1867 issue of The Farmer’s Magazine. So, considering it’s roughly 160 years old, you should be able to use the shorter version freely without a fear of being corrected. 160-year-old pudding, though…I wouldn’t recommended trying to find the proof in that. Not anymore.
Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].
Wake Up Crew Highlights: October 26, 2021
Introducing Odin-Our Jay Day and The Day Home Team Pet of the Week
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: “For Pete’s Sake!”
Whenever you hear an old saying, like “letting the cat out of the bag”, does it ever make you think “for Pete’s sake, what does it mean”? But then you think, “why did I just say that? What does ‘for Pete’s sake’ even mean?” Who’s this Pete character, and why should I care about his sake?
“For Pete’s sake” is an idiom where the name Pete is essentially used as a mild substitute for God or Christ in an expression of annoyance or frustration. Much like the less common “for the love of Mike”, the switch to Pete makes the term more socially acceptable & less offensive. There’s actually even a name for this type of phrase, “minced oath”, which is a British euphemism used to avoid swearing when expressing surprise or annoyance.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, people started saying “for Pete’s sake” as early as 1903. But there’s no definitive reason why folks began using Pete instead or some other name, like Frank, Earl, or any other name. One theory, though, is that, at some point, someone simply replaced Jesus or God with another religious figure…St. Peter. (ANDY NOTE: Seems plausible.)
Now that you know a bit more about why we say, “for Pete’s sake,” you’ll be ready to celebrate on February 26th, which is “For Pete’s Sake Day”. Yes, it IS a real thing! I wouldn’t make something like that up, for Pete’s sake!
Got a Mundane Mystery you’d like solved? Send me a message via social media (@AndyWebbRadioVoice), or shoot me an email at [email protected].
BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Airtron Heating & Air Conditioning