A what?

11 common objects that are never called by their proper names

While we typically go about life describing the end of our shoelaces as ‘the end of the shoelace’ or the whites of the egg as ‘egg whites’, these things, and many more, have names of their own, even if they are not always widely known or used. Let’s have a look at 11 common things that have proper names, even if no one uses them.

The little plastic or metal tip at the end of shoelaces or drawstrings is there to prevent the fibres from fraying, and to make it easier to pass the lace or drawstring through a hole. Its proper name is ‘aglet’, from the French aguillette, meaning ‘needle’, a reference to its use in helping to thread the string through the hole.

Erasers at the end of wooden pencils are not usually glued together, but they are instead held together by a little metal band. This band is called a ‘ferrule’—from Medieval Latin viriola or ‘little bracelet’—and the term can be used for any metal band that strengthens or fastens a joint, such as those used in handles, to hold brush bristles, or to secure a connection between two cables.

The ‘little plastic table on the pizza’ is quite a long name for something aptly named ‘pizza saver’, but no one seems to really care. It was invented in 1974 by an Argentine pizza maker, who named it SEPI or separador de pizza (‘pizza separator’). In America, it was patented as a ‘package saver’ in 1985, though it was later renamed ‘pizza saver’.

Most mathematical symbols have proper names that are not regularly used, and the division sign is no exception. It was officially introduced into mathematics as a symbol of division in 1659 by the Swiss mathematician Johann Rahn in his influential work Teutsche Algebra. This sign is called an ‘obelus’, from the Greek obelos, meaning ‘sharpened stick’ or ‘skewer’, as it was initially used as a pointer for questionable passages in a text.

Paper cups and their corresponding cardboard sleeves to protect our hands from the heat or the cold are relatively new, but their proper names are not—at least, the name for the cardboard sleeve. This holder is called a ‘zarf’, an Arabic (zuruuf) and Turkish (zarflar) word used for ornamented cup holders, usually made from metal. The materials and the details of the zarf have changed, but the purpose still remains.

Do we need a more technical term than ‘armhole’ for a hole meant for an arm to go through? Maybe not, but the technical term still exists. An ‘armscye’ (pronounced arm-sigh) is the proper term used in sewing and patterns to describe the opening on a garment where the sleeve is attached. The word is a compound of ‘arm’ + scye, a Scots word meaning ‘opening’. So, in the end, ‘armscye’ just means ‘armhole’.

We often use the words ‘railing’ or ‘handrail’ when talking about a staircase, but these terms only describe the top portion of it, not the pillars that support the handrail. The pillars and the rail altogether are called a ‘banister’, a corruption of the word baluster, derived from the Italian balaustro. The term originally was used for the pillars, but eventually came to mean the entire structure.

Not all beverage foams are equal. The foam on top of alcoholic beverages, in particular, is called ‘barm’, a term derived from Old English beorma, meaning ‘yeast’ or ‘leaven’, and it's mainly used for the effervescence of fermented liquors such as beer, ale, or wine.

Did you know that the white (or clear) part of the egg is called the ‘albumen’? The term entered English as a loan from Latin, where _albumen_—from albus, ‘white’—was used in the same way. Though it is not widely used in everyday life, it’s still the correct term for that part of the egg.

As a rule of thumb, you should always assume that all marks, symbols, and strokes in calligraphy have a proper name, even if it's not often used. When it comes to the lowercase letters ‘j’ and ‘i ’, the little dot on top is not a dot, but a ‘tittle’. This name comes from the Latin _titulus_—meaning ‘title’, ‘inscription’, or ‘small mark’—and was initially used by scribes to distinguish these letters in their cramped writing.

If you ever got lost in the mall or the museum, you must have come across a map that marked your location using an arrow or a pointer, usually accompanied by the phrase ‘you are here’. Well, that pointer is called an ‘ideolocator’, a combination of the Greek idea, a ‘mental image, concept, or visual representation’ (in this case, the pointer), and the Latin locatus, meaning ‘to place’ (the specific location on the map). For the sake of convenience, we will keep calling it the ‘you are here’ sign.

TO EACH THEIR OWN, RIGHT?

From Nurses To Air Traffic Operators: 10 Nerve-Wracking Jobs

Image: Christian Erfurt

Some of the jobs on this list are pretty obvious. Fighting fire amid screams and people in mortal danger is a spectacularly stressful situation, even for someone who does it for a living. But some others might come as a bit of a surprise, that is, for the people who are not directly involved in such occupations.

Whether you are coordinating commercial air flights, drunken crowds, or unruly children, whether you are saving someone’s life or closing an important business deal, there is always plenty of stress to go around. Take a look at the following ten gigs and make up your mind as to which of these would be the most stressful for you.

Image: JESHOOTS.COM

With heavy responsibilities that involve other people’s lives in a very direct way, nurses collaborate with other health professionals to treat diseases and promote their patients' health and well-being.

Their responsibilities include administering medicine, monitoring patients, assisting with lab tests, and organizing patient files. They often have to be on their feet for long hours, with intense schedules, as hospitals may require them to come in on short notice.

Image: Taylor Flowe

Working well outside school hours, grading papers, going over curricula, dealing with undisciplined kids, dealing with undisciplined kids’s parents, and a thousand more chores are the daily routine of a teacher that, let’s face it, will never get rich by doing her/his job.

The huge responsibility that involves taking care of other people’s children and doing one’s best to impart valuable lessons and education to an audience that is usually apathetic at best makes the role of a teacher, a very stressful and demanding one.

Image: CHUTTERSNAP

One would be forgiven to think that a job that entails being around happy situations all the time, is quite a joyous experience. But the truth is that being an event planner and coordinator is nothing short of a stressful endeavor.

Imagine having to coordinate and choreograph the multiple aspects and actors of a one-time event that must turn out perfect or otherwise your reputation will suffer greatly. And this must be accomplished while dealing with unforeseen situations and let’s face it, demanding and often drunk people. In a nutshell, that is the daily bread of event planning and coordination.

Image: Georg Arthur Pflueger

Encouraging social development and assisting the most disadvantaged members of society can be a very satisfying occupation. Social workers focus on prominent social issues like homelessness, addiction, and abuse. But this often entails working with people in difficult situations that can be dangerous.

We never know how people who are dealing with extremely stressful situations will react and that is the very core of a social worker's daily duties. Much like a police officer, a social worker often encounters individuals who are going through the worst time of their lives and she/he has to deal with these people calmly and soothingly. This requires a huge amount of patience and the ability to cope with stress, without showing it.

Image: Grant Beirute

Juggling with the lives of hundreds of passengers and crews who are, literally, in the air, might sound a bit poetic -sort of- but it is a pretty accurate description of an air traffic controller’s job.

This profession entails coordinating landings and takeoffs, incoming and outgoing air traffic, and checking on the status of every single aircraft in their area of operation. If this doesn’t sound like an incredibly stressful job to you, then you might have worked in one of the last positions on this list.

Image: Vasilis Caravitis

Dealing with other people’s money can be quite stressful. Managing all the business operations, setting organizational goals, and managing budgets for huge companies with huge pockets is certainly a very stressful job.

Bad decisions can end up in massive losses and layoffs with devastating consequences. All of these are usually the responsibility of a single manager who struggles to meet deadlines and financial goals while maintaining the team’s morale and dealing with personal situations and unforeseen situations.

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Picture having to administer a potent chemical to a human being in a dose so precise that, if done wrong, could have fatal consequences. An anesthesiologist is a health care professional who monitors patient health during a procedure, adjusting the amount of anesthetic to relieve pain.

While relieving pain can be a satisfying job, the need for precision and constant vigilance, along with the potential for severe complications and the unpredictability of patient responses, makes this a very stressful job.

Image: camilo jimenez

If your daily routine entails being the first responder in a dramatic emergency we can safely assume that stress is a trusty companion, albeit, not a pleasant one. Paramedics are highly trained professionals who assess, treat, and transport patients who need urgent medical attention. Sure, this can be a rewarding job but it is very mentally and physically taxing.

Paramedics often operate in dangerous, high-pressure environments where split-second decisions can mean life or death. The threat of violence combined with witnessing trauma daily contributes to extremely high rates of stress, depression, and anxiety among first responders.

Image: Fred Moon

Possibly very few jobs involve dealing with such a huge variety of life-threatening situations as police work does. The whole spectrum of human reactions and emotions is a real chance when the duty calls.

Police officers go on regular patrols, apprehend criminals, respond to emergency calls, and investigate crimes. They regularly engage violent people in dangerous and volatile situations. Sometimes, their duties require the use of lethal force to contain threats, making the role physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding.

Image: Jay Heike

This one should come as no surprise. When your daily job is almost every other person’s worst nightmare, stress is a thing you learn to live and cope with. Dealing with life and death situations, all while in a flaming inferno, is not an occupation suited for the faint of heart.

Saying that this is a vocational calling is falling short of the truth. Firefighters respond to emergencies involving fires, hazardous materials, and other disasters, all for a not-so-great paycheck. Talk about stress for the sake of it.