People who make grammatical errors drive me nuts. Or should I say, people whom make grammatical mistakes drive me nuts? How do you know when to say who and when to say whom?

The American Heritage Book of English Usage puts it like this: “Who is used for a grammatical subject, where a nominative pronoun such as I or he would be appropriate, and whom is used as the object of a verb or preposition.”

OK, great, but what the heck’s a nominative pronoun and what’s a preposition? Basically (and I had to look it up), a nominiative pronoun acts as the subject of a verb. For example, “Who put my underpants in the freezer?” Use the word “who” if you could swap “who” for pronouns like “I” or “she.”

Contrast that to the object of a verb, also known as a direct object. That’s when you use “whom.” An example of that would be: “You saw whom near the freezer, looking all suspicious?” Use “whom” if you can replace it with “him” or “her.” If a pronoun ends with the letter “m,” it’s an object.

The Yahoo! Style Guide puts it like this: “One trick for finding the correct form is to recast the sentence in your mind, substituting he and him for who or whom. If him sounds correct, use whom.” Keep this in mind as well: “Sometimes it’s better to just rewrite a sentence to avoid a potential grammatical error or a grammatically correct but awkward or formal-sounding construction.”

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Today’s cars can go zero to sixty in the time it takes you to read this sentence. But that wasn’t always the case. Back when the first cars were manufactured, the top speeds were, by today’s standards, comically slow. One has to wonder when the first speeding ticket was issued. And just how fast was this bandit of the blacktop going?

I thought there might be some difficulty in tracking the answer down, but the pursuit was a lot like beating a Yugo in a drag race. According to Ohio History Central, the dubious distinction belongs to one Harry Myers. In 1904, Mr. Myers was given the very first speeding ticket for going a whopping 12 miles per hour on West Third Street in Dayton, Ohio.

But hold the phone. That might not be totally accurate. A blog from Open Salon explains that the first speeding violation may have actually occurred five years earlier. According to the blog, New York City cab driver Jacob German was arrested in Manhattan for going 12 miles per hour in May, 1899.

The blog goes on to note that back in 1899, the police didn’t actually give out paper tickets. So, in a way, Mr. Myers may have still earned the first actual ticket. However Mr. German, who drove for the Electric Vehicle Company, scored the first violation. As Planet Buzo points out, it seems appropriate that “our country’s first arrest for reckless driving should be leveled at a New York cabbie.”

Thanks for reading,

Mike

The other day I was watching a LA Lakers game on TV when something struck me. Why in the world are they called the Lakers when there is barely so much as a puddle in Los Angeles?

The answer, as many of you know, is that the team wasn’t always from Southern California. Originally, they hailed from Minnesota, self-described land of 10,000 lakes. The team kept its old nickname rather than change it. But, the Lakers aren’t the only team to have a nickname that makes no sense.

Consider the Utah Jazz. Salt Lake City is a great place, full of beauty and wonderful people, but, near as I can tell, it’s not particularly known for its thriving jazz scene. So, what’s the deal here? Like the Lakers, the Jazz moved to Utah from somewhere else — namely, New Orleans, where jazz is an art, religion, business, you get the idea.

And there are more. The Grizzlies, another NBA team, used to be in rugged Vancouver, Canada. Now they play in Memphis, where Elvis sightings are far more common than fearsome bears. And what about the Colts of the NFL? Is Indianapolis really a horse racing town? Nope, but Baltimore is. The Colts used to play in Baltimore (home of the famous Preakness Stakes) before moving to the Hoosier State.

One of the most popular teams in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers, has a similar story. Originally, the Dodgers hailed from Brooklyn, New York. According to the official site for club, the team’s nickname was originally “Trolley Dodger,” “due to the complex maze of trolley cars that weaved its way through the borough of Brooklyn.” The name stuck even when the team moved to California.

Some team nicknames match perfectly with the their cities. The San Francisco 49ers come to mind. Ditto with the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Phoenix Suns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Got any other thoughts on team nicknames that either make perfect sense or no sense at all? Leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Think of the biggest, hugest, most insane number you can imagine. Got it? OK, now add one to it. The amazing thing about numbers is that they never stop. There’s always a bigger number.

For years I assumed that “zillion” was actually a real number, something that came along when you hit one-thousand trillion. How wrong I was. Apologies if you find this to be old news, but zillion doesn’t exist. It’s just a made-up word. Of course there are bigger numbers after trillion, but what do we call them?

I came across a personal blog from Jim Loy, who helpfully explains the order of big numbers. Here’s how it goes: hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, trillions, quadrillion, quintillion, sextillion, octillion, nonillion, decillion, and so on and so forth. By the time you get to centillion, you’re talking about a number with 303 zeros after it.

But getting back to made up words. This is one of my favorite pastimes, and after looking around the Web I see that I’m not alone. For anyone who enjoys coining nonsensical words and phrases and then feigning shock when people have no idea what you’re talking about, check out this list of ‘words’ from fans of author Jasper Fforde. Some personal favorites: Gruntled (the opposite of being disgruntled), puffalope (a padded envelope), and sploop (the flat, rounded corner that’s created when one drops a bar of soap in the shower).

Got some favorite made up words of your own? Sound off in the comments.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

I recently finished reading “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” by Agatha Christie. Among the many suspects under investigation for the titular crime is, of course, the butler. And as I plowed through the book, I got to wondering about a mystery of my own — how did the phrase, “The butler did it” get started?

According to the blog The Straight Dope, most experts give the credit to author Mary Roberts Rinhart. Her mysteries, which often starred ahead-of-her time heroine Hilda Adams, were among the most popular of their day. And in one of those books, “The Door,” which she published in 1930, the butler does indeed commit the crime. (Sorry for the spoiler.)

But, while the cliché quickly entered the lexicon and remains to this day, it’s worth noting that few stories actually involve the butler committing the crime. Again, according to the Straight Dope, part of that can be attributed to very influential 1928 essay entitled “Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories” by S.S. Van Dine.

Dine’s eleventh rule reads like so: “A servant must not be chosen by the author as the culprit. This is begging a noble question. It is a too easy solution. The culprit must be a decidedly worth-while person–one that wouldn’t ordinarily come under suspicion.” While the sentiment is a rather prejudiced against working people, I do see his point. The reader wants the killer to be someone who will experience an epic fall when he or she is caught. That’s why, in old school (or “golden age”) detective novels, the murderer is often the wealthiest person in the room.

“The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” is often called Christie’s masterpiece (and I recommend it highly). What are some of your favorite detective novels? Do you like your detectives to be elegant and all-knowing like Sherlock Holmes or do you want to see them a little more hard boiled like Sam Spade? What makes for a satisfying mystery?

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Commuting is the pits. The carpool lane (aka the HOV lane) can make it a bit less painful, but what if you don’t have another body in the car? Do you actually need one? A lot of folks on Yahoo! Answers wonder if pregnant women can legally ride in the carpool lane. The answer? Sure, but there has to be another person in the car, too.

It’s not hard to imagine how this might come up. Pregnant women “eating for two” is a common expression. Some might say they’re also driving with a little passenger. But the law says otherwise. According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, a pregnant woman counts as one person. It’s a different story once the little miracle is born. “Babies of any age… count as a person” in the world of high occupancy vehicles.

Rules of the road vary state to state, but, near as I can tell, this one is in effect across the board. California has a similar law, as do Washington and Arizona.

One woman tried to test this law back in 2006 and lost the case. Candace Wilkinson of Phoenix claimed that her fetus should meet the second person requirement for carpools. The judge didn’t agree and the woman was forced to pay the fine.

Bottom line — the carpool lane is nice, but don’t use it unless you have another person in the car with you. Buns in the oven do not count.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Few folks like spiders and absolutely everyone loathes cockroaches. But ladybugs? Ladybugs get nothing but love. But they’re also a bit mysterious. For one, how did they get their name? And two, what’s up with the spots? Here’s the scoop on what is arguably the world’s only cute insect.

First off, let’s tackle the name. According to the aptly named site “Ladybug Lore,” the legend goes something like this. During the Middle Ages, insects were destroying crops throughout Europe. Farmers prayed for assistance from the Virgin Mary, and soon afterwards the ladybugs arrived, “devouring the plant-destroying pests and saving the crops.” Again, according to legend, the bugs’ red wings symbolize the Virgin Mary’s cloak, while the black spots represent “her joys and sorrows.”

Now, about those spots. Not all ladybugs have them. In fact, not all ladybugs are red. But for those who are, here’s the reason why. According to Ladybug Life Cycle, the spots serve as a kind of warning to predators. “Don’t eat me,” the spots seem to say, “because I taste really bad.” At least that’s the theory. And it’s inspired by bumble bees, that are also brightly colored and have dark markings. A blog from MadSci.org seems to back up the theory.

So that’s the story behind the ladybug (real name: Coccinellidae). And, for the record, not all of them are ladies.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

The Pittsburgh Steelers have some of the most distinctive helmets in the NFL. Unlike every other team in the league, their logo only appears on one side of their helmet. Here’s the story behind the Steelers’ asymmetrical look…

The iconic logo, which is based on the American Iron and Steel Institute, features three diamond shapes. One yellow, one red, one blue. Collectively, they symbolize the materials used in the production of steel (red for ore, blue for steel scrap, and yellow for coal).

The logo first appeared on the team’s helmets back in 1962. And, just like today, the logo only appeared on one side. Why? According to the Steelers official site, the team wanted to be sure it liked the look of the logo before they agreed to put it on both sides of the helmet. The team equipment manager, Jack Hart, was told to put the logo on just the right side of the helmets. So he did.

That year, the Steelers finished 9-5, then a franchise-best record. They also qualified for the playoffs. To celebrate the occasion, the team changed from gold helmets with a logo to black helmets with a logo. The look was a hit and helped to “highlight the new logo.”

Things haven’t changed since then and I doubt they ever will.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

Want to feel stupid? Then, by all means, watch “Jeopardy.” The long-running game show features tough questions, tricky wordplay, and a theme song that can stay in one’s head for days. The other night, while I answered 90% of the questions incorrectly, I got to wondering — was the catchy theme music specifically written for this show?

Well, sort of. The song, appropriately named “Think,” was written by show creator, the late Merv Griffin. According to an article from Variety, Griffin originally wrote the song as a kind of lullaby for his son. Makes sense — the tune does have a melodic, sleep-inducing vibe to it. Eventually, he used in for the show he created, “Jeopardy.”

While Griffin eventually sold the rights to the popular show, he did hold on to the rights for the song. Variety wrote: “Griffin at one time estimated that the song had earned him over $70 million in royalties.” Not bad for a 30-second piece of music.

The “Jeopardy” tune wasn’t Merv’s only foray into music. The hugely popular talk show host, scored a hit with “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts” back in the 1950s. Talk about a renaissance man.

What are some of your favorite TV theme songs? “The Jeffersons”? “Hawaii 5-0″? “The Dukes of Hazzard”? Go ahead and leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Mike

The Super Bowl is just a few weeks away, which means its time to brush up on useless football trivia. Like, oh, for example, who coined the term “Super Bowl”?

The Super Bowl wasn’t always the name of the game that decided the NFL champs. Back in the day (“the day” in this case being the 1960s and earlier), the big game was simply called the National Football League Championship Game. It wasn’t until the NFL merged with the AFL that the Super Bowl was born.

Football legend Lamar Hunt is the one who came up with the term. According to legend, Hunt was at home watching his child play with a bouncy ball (aka a super ball). Inspiration struck, and Hunt decided that “Super Bowl” would make a heckuva name for a game.

Of course, he was right. But not everybody thought “Super Bowl” was the way to go. Another football legend, Pete Rozelle, lobbied for a different name. The blog Mental Floss explains that Rozelle, then the commissioner of the league, wanted to call the title game “The AFL-NFL Championship Game.” Yawn. Owners pushed back and suggested it be called “The Big One.” Eventually, the “Super Bowl” came out on top, despite Rozelle’s objections that the term was “corny.”

It’s probably a good thing that Rozelle lost the debate. Today, the Super Bowl is practically a national holiday and one of the most widely viewed sporting events on the planet. Clearly, Lamar Hunt knew a good name when he saw one.

Thanks for reading,

Mike