poetry The oldest written record of "fuck" has been discovered — and it comes from a plague quarantine Thom Dunn

books The word "robot" originated in this 1921 Czech play David Pescovitz

Kids OK, here's a great explainer on the origins of the word "OK" Andrea James

language Breasts aren't "boobs" or "titties" but rather "tiddies" or "titays" David Pescovitz

cool The story of 'cool' Rusty Blazenhoff

Food Some folks call green peppers "mangoes" for a centuries-old reason Andrea James

animation What's the story with "gross?" David Pescovitz

language "Post-truth" is the Oxford Dictionaries word of the year David Pescovitz

books Scrumdiddlyumptious and other Roald Dahlesque words now in the Oxford English Dictionary David Pescovitz

History Find out when your name was popular with Baby Name Explorer app Xeni Jardin

single-serve sites Picular, a search engine for colors Rob Beschizza

happy mutants How to talk about shitgibbons with your high school English class Cory Doctorow

Weird Bubble porn aficionados keep refining their NSFW art Andrea James

art The story of Traceroute, about a Leitnerd's quest Thomas Kaestle

media After years of fat-shaming headlines, the tabloids decide that thin can kill, too Peter Sheridan

guily pleasures Let's put the guilt back in guilty pleasures Mark Dery