WORD ORIGINS
This term for one’s earnings traces back to the Latin word for “salt allotment,” since Roman soldiers were sometimes compensated with salt.
What is salary?
This largest land animal uses its trunk to drink water and gather food, and can weigh up to 14,000 pounds.
What is the elephant?
This element with atomic number 6 is found in both diamonds and graphite, making it fundamental to life—and pencils.
What is carbon?
Stretching along the Nile, this society erected massive pyramids, practiced mummification, and worshipped gods like Ra and Anubis.
Who were the Ancient Egyptians?
In this Southeastern U.S. state, it’s technically illegal for an unmarried woman to go skydiving on Sundays.
What is Florida?
Originally spelled “clew,” meaning a ball of yarn, this modern word for a hint or piece of evidence harkens back to the thread that guided Theseus out of the Minotaur’s labyrinth.
What is a clue?
Diminutive yet mighty, this tiny bird can flap its wings in a figure-eight and is the only bird known to fly backward.
What is the hummingbird?
A bright yellow solid at room temperature, once called “brimstone,” it’s used in matches, gunpowder, and even some skin treatments.
What is sulfur?
Widely regarded as the earliest known civilization in Mesopotamia, they developed cuneiform writing and built ziggurats in cities like Ur.
Who were the Sumerians?
Running out of fuel on the Autobahn can land you a fine in this nation—where stopping on the highway is permitted only in emergencies.
What is Germany?
From Old Norse for “bear shirt,” this word refers to a state of frenzied rage—like the Viking warriors who supposedly donned animal pelts.
What is berserk?
One of only two egg-laying mammals, this oddity from Down Under sports a duck-like bill and a beaver-like tail.
What is the platypus?
So reactive it must be kept in oil, this silvery alkali metal with the symbol Na is crucial for nerve function in the human body.
What is sodium?
Sometimes called the Harappan civilization, this Bronze Age culture flourished around a certain river, known for advanced urban planning in sites like Mohenjo-daro.
What is the Indus Valley Civilization?
In this southwestern U.S. state, an old statute supposedly makes it illegal to milk someone else’s cow without their permission.
What is Texas?
Adopted from the language of the Taíno people, this cooking method’s name once described a wooden framework for smoking or roasting meat.
What is barbecue?
Though often mistaken for reptiles, these scaly creatures are the world’s only mammals covered entirely in keratin scales.
What are pangolins?
Named after a famous physicist, this synthetic element, atomic number 99, was found in the debris from the first hydrogen bomb explosion.
What is Einsteinium?
Maritime traders with city-states like Tyre and Sidon, they’re credited with developing one of the first phonetic alphabets.
Who were the Phoenicians?
This city-state in Southeast Asia enacted a strict ban on chewing gum (unless prescribed) to keep its streets and public transit squeaky clean.
What is Singapore?
This slang term for a remote, rural area comes from the Tagalog word for “mountain,” brought back to the U.S. by soldiers stationed in the Philippines.
What are the boondocks?
Though they look like large rodents, these small African mammals are surprisingly among the closest living relatives of elephants.
What are hyraxes?
The heaviest known noble gas at atomic number 118, named in honor of a Russian scientist, it’s both highly unstable and extremely rare.
What is oganesson?
Nicknamed the “Mother Culture” of Mesoamerica, these people carved colossal stone heads and thrived near the Gulf Coast of modern-day Mexico.
Who were the Olmecs?
In this northern Italian city, dog owners must walk their pets at least three times a day or risk a hefty fine.
What is Turin?