By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/20/2024 2:05 PM
Police were called to a California beach where lifeguards discovered what appeared to be a human skull -- but turned out to be something a bit more mundane. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/20/2024 12:38 PM
Police in Connecticut are on the hunt for a trio of escaped bison after one of the "feisty fluffernators" was spotted wandering in a road. ... Read full Story
Maria Branyas Morera, an American-born Spaniard believed to be the world's oldest person at 117, has died, her family said on Tuesday. ... Read full Story
Primary school pupils should have the chance to eat ice lollies, plant vegetables and knead bread dough to help them learn about science, a group of experts have told ministers. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/19/2024 4:11 PM
An extremely rare prototype Boba Fett action figure made for Kenner's "Star Wars" line in 1979 sold for a record-breaking $1,342,000. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/19/2024 1:03 PM
Idaho man David Rush officially holds the most Guinness World Records in the world -- a distinction he earned by earning a record for smashing records. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/19/2024 12:39 PM
A Kentucky museum's new exhibit is dedicated to one of Bath County's most mysterious historical events: the so-called Kentucky Meat Shower. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/19/2024 11:31 AM
A Florida man hunting for pythons in the Big Cypress National Preserve captured video when he spotted a snake hitching a ride on the back of a swimming alligator. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/15/2024 3:43 PM
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority workers came to the rescue of a mother cat and kittens found trapped behind a stairwell at a subway station. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/15/2024 3:27 PM
A Spanish man with a special fondness for Nokia phones earned a Guinness World Record by collecting 3,615 unique models from the brand. ... Read full Story
“The eagerness to vilify ‘the other side’—usually on social media—complicates the less reactionary work that defines our mission.” — Jerry Brewer, The Washington Post, 11 June 2024
Did you know?
It seems reasonable to assume that the words vilify and villain come from the same source; after all, to vilify someone is—in some ways—to make them out to be a villain. Such is not the case, however. Although the origin stories of both vilify and villain involve Latin, their roots are quite different. Vilify came to English (via Middle English and Late Latin) from the Latin adjective vilis, meaning “cheap” or “vile.” Someone who has been vilified, accordingly, has had their reputation tarnished or cheapened in such a way that they’re viewed as morally reprehensible. Villain on the other hand, comes from the Medieval Latin word villanus, meaning “villager,” and ultimately from the Latin noun villa, meaning “house.” The Middle English descendent of villanus developed the meaning of “a person of uncouth mind and manners” due to the vilifying influence of the aristocracy of the time, and the connotations worsened from there until villain came to refer to (among other things), a deliberate scoundrel.