Pop culture etymologies

This 1944 movie gave its name to a psychological tactic

We are used to thinking that the words we use daily are derived from Latin or Greek words used centuries ago, or that great authors like Shakespeare coined them. Sometimes, though, these everyday terms have been in use for just a few decades, or are the product of a children’s book or a cartoon, and we are none the wiser. Let’s have a look at 11 words that were first used or popularized in books and movies.

In 2022, ‘gaslighting’ was chosen as the word of the year by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, describing the manipulative technique of making someone question their memories, perceptions, and even their reality. While the term is now used for a psychological manipulation, its name comes from a literal gaslight.

In the 1944 movie Gaslight, adapted from a play, a man slowly convinces his wife that she’s going insane to commit her to an asylum. One of his tactics consists of dimming the gas lights in the house while insisting she is imagining the light changes. Despite the term originating in 1944, it only became widely used in the 2010s.

In the 21st century, paparazzi are an annoying but common occurrence for anyone famous, but did you know that their name comes from a 1960s Italian classic film? Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita follows Marcello Rubini, a celebrity journalist, across seven days in Rome.

Rubini is accompanied by the photographer Paparazzo, modelled after scandal-hunting Roman photographers, a name the director chose because it reminded him of an annoying, quick-moving insect. The use of the name as a common term for celebrity photographers was popularized in English by Time magazine shortly after the movie.

Robots are not an oddity in the 21st century and are a common occurrence in movies, books, and other types of media. But the term ‘robot’ has a darker history than many imagine. First used in the 1920 play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Czech writer Karel Čapek, it was used to describe bio-engineered humans—closer to what we would now call androids—, mass-produced to serve as workers.

Čapek used the Czech word robota, meaning ‘serfdom’, ‘hard work’, and sometimes interpreted as ‘slave’, to name these human-like beings that were efficient, but lacked emotions, critical thinking, and self-preservation instincts, and were thus easier to exploit. The term entered the English language in the late 1930s and later evolved into the idea of a highly advanced machine.

Did you know that the name of this popular search engine is derived from a mathematical term? A ‘googol’ describes a 1 followed by a hundred zeroes, and the founders of Google chose the name —with a slightly different spelling— to reflect the vast amount of information the search engine would make available.

But while the verb form ‘to Google’ was initially used by founder Larry Page in 1998, it only became popular in 2002, thanks to the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where in S07, E04, Willow asks Buffy, "Have you googled her yet?" Google has tried to discourage this use of the term, but what can you do against the power of a cult series?

No one really knows where the term ‘nerd’ originated, but it is widely accepted that it’s a variation of ‘nert’ or ‘nut’, both meaning a stupid or crazy person. It first appeared in print in the 1950s book If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss, where it is used as the name of a small creature.

By that point, the term became popular as a derogatory way to describe someone brainy or socially inept. However, its later use in sitcoms and films in association with intellectualism and a passion for technology has contributed to lessening the negative connotations of the word.

When Hormel Foods introduced SPAM to the market in 1937, they never imagined it would become the international word for junk emails. The brand name, an abbreviation of ‘spiced ham’, eventually became synonymous with luncheon meat and was featured in a humorous sketch of the BBC comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus.

The sketch features a bar where every dish includes SPAM, which prompts a group of Viking patrons to shout "spam, spam" each time the waitress reads out the menu. The term was then adopted to describe repetitive, unwanted internet messages, and it is now instantly associated with commercial ads and repetitive messages.

Now a common way to take responsibility for something or to admit a fault, this phrase originated in the world of basketball in the 1970s to own an error and keep the game moving. Golden State Warriors’ Manute Bol is commonly credited with popularizing its use in the basketball context, but its spreading to other contexts came through the rom-com classic Clueless.

This 90s reimagining of a Jane Austen novel popularized several San Fernando Valley slang words and phrases through its main character, Cher, and her use of "Oops! My bad" during a driving lesson is probably one of the most iconic Clueless quotes.

We now understand the term ‘nimrod’ as ‘fool’ or ‘klutz’, but its original use was quite different. The Bible describes King Nimrod, one of Noah’s descendants, as a mighty hunter, but the name also carries the meaning of ‘rebellious’ and ‘tyrant’, so across history, ‘nimrod’ has been used to refer to both tyrants and good hunters.

How did it come to mean fool? It is all Bugs Bunny’s fault. In a 1948 Looney Tunes episode, Bugs Bunny mockingly calls Elmer Fudd a nimrod, implying that he is a pathetic hunter. Maybe the audience failed to pick up the biblical reference or the sarcasm, but that was the turning point of ‘nimrod’ from hunter to fool.

J.R.R. Tolkien coined many terms, but we bet you didn’t know he was the mind behind the use of ‘tween’ as preadolescent. While he did not invent the term itself —this shortened version of ‘between’ already existed— he contributed to its association with the stage between childhood and coming of age.

In The Lord of the Rings, ‘tween’ is used to describe hobbits in their twenties, often irresponsible and reckless, no longer children, but still not fully adults until they are 33 years old. As hobbits live longer than humans, this stage is equivalent to preteens and teenagers. After the term was popularized in English, it became synonymous with children in the in-between stage before adolescence.

If you ever thought that ‘pandemonium’ might be related to ‘demon’, you were a hundred percent right. A combination of the Greek pan (‘all’) and the Latin daemonium (‘demon’ or ‘evil spirit’), the word first appeared in John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667). In the poem, the angels fallen from Heaven create a palace in Hell, called Pandemonium or ‘place of all the demons’.

How did its meaning shift to chaos and mayhem? A few decades after Milton coined it, the term became common to describe places of chaos and uproar, eventually being associated with the chaos itself.

Have you ever heard the term ‘malapropism’? It is often used to describe the incorrect use of a word in place of another that sounds similar, such as confusing ‘amphibious’ with ‘ambidextrous’. Though this is a common speech mistake in any language, its English name comes from the 1775 play The Rivals, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

In the play, the character of Mrs. Malaprop (from the French mal à propos, ‘poorly placed’) frequently uses the incorrect but similar-sounding word, creating confusion and failing to properly communicate. Though the term ‘dogberryism’ —in reference to a Shakespearean character— is sometimes used, ‘malapropism’ has undoubtedly become the most common name for this mistake.

The truth about your brain

You won’t believe what happens in your brain while you sleep

Image: Milad Fakurian

Your brain is one of the most powerful and mysterious organs in your body. It controls everything from your thoughts to your emotions and even processes information at lightning speed. But how much do you really know about it? Some long-believed myths about the brain have been debunked, while other surprising facts reveal just how incredible this organ truly is. Get ready to be amazed by these fascinating brain facts!

Image: Natasha Connell

You’ve probably heard this one before, but it’s completely false! While it’s true that not all parts of the brain fire at the same time, imaging studies show that most regions are active throughout the day, even when we sleep.

Your brain is constantly working, controlling bodily functions and emotions, and processing information. So next time someone says you’re only using 10% of your brain, you can confidently tell them that’s just a myth!

Image: Aarón Blanco Tejedor

Here’s a weird fact: While your brain processes pain signals from the rest of your body, it has no pain receptors of its own. This is why surgeons can perform brain surgery on conscious patients without causing them pain.

However, the membranes and tissues surrounding the brain do have pain receptors, which is why headaches and brain injuries can be so excruciating.

Image: Usman Yousaf

How come we have headaches if the brain has no pain receptors? Well, that’s because headaches are triggered by chemical activity in the brain, changes in nerves and blood vessels, and even fluctuating serotonin levels.

In some cases, hormones like estrogen can also play a role, which explains why migraines are more common in women.

Image: Go to Johannes Plenio's profile Johannes Plenio

Dreams are proof that your brain never rests! (Warning: this fact can make you feel exhausted.) While you sleep, your limbic system, that is, the part of the brain that deals with emotions, becomes especially active, which is why dreams often feel so intense.

On average, humans experience four to seven dreams per night, even if we don’t always remember them. And what about that scary nightmare about falling? Well, you can thank your amygdala, the brain’s fear center, for that one.

Image: Brett Jordan

Have you ever walked into a room and instantly forgotten what you were after? That’s because short-term memory only lasts about 20-30 seconds! That’s not enough!

Your brain holds a limited amount of information in its active state before deciding whether to store it or discard it. Ironically, we can’t really choose what makes the cut, but we do hope these facts stay with you!

Image: BUDDHI Kumar SHRESTHA

That sharp, icy pain when you eat something too cold? It’s your brain’s way of telling you to slow down! Officially called sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, a brain freeze happens when cold food or drinks rapidly chill the blood vessels in your throat, causing them to constrict and then rapidly expand. This sends pain signals to your brain, warning you of the sudden temperature shift. It’s annoying, but it’s actually your body trying to protect itself!

Image: Josh Riemer

You didn’t need us to tell you, but let’s look at the details: The average person has between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts per day. What’s even more interesting? 95% of those thoughts are the same ones you had yesterday. Is that not surprising enough? Hear this out: 80% of them tend to be negative. That’s because our brains are wired for survival, constantly analyzing risks and potential dangers.

Image: Terry Vlisidis

Even though it only makes up about 2% of your body weight, your brain employs a major quantity of energy! It consumes 20% of your oxygen and blood supply, making it one of the most demanding organs in your body.

If your brain goes without oxygen for just five minutes, brain cells start dying, leading to irreversible damage. This is why deep breathing and cardiovascular exercise are great for brain health!

Image: Alexander Andrews

Do you know that feeling when you hit the back of your head and see stars? That’s because your occipital lobe, which controls vision, is located at the back of your brain. If you get hit there, your brain momentarily misfires, causing flashes of light.

Interestingly, your brain processes vision on the opposite side; while your right brain controls your left eye, your left brain controls your right eye. It’s one of the many ways the brain operates in a complex way.

Image: Rodion Kutsaiev

Believe it or not, your brain generates between 12 and 25 watts of electricity when you’re awake. If you can’t really grasp how powerful that is, check this out: It’s enough to power a small light bulb! Your brain’s electrical activity is what allows neurons to send signals at speeds of up to 260 miles per hour.

Image: Robina Weermeijer

Your brain may be the fattiest organ in your body, consisting of at least 60% fat! This is why consuming healthy fats, like omega-3s and omega-6s present in fish, for example, is essential for brain health.

Healthy fats stabilize brain cell walls, reduce inflammation, and support cognitive function. So go ahead and enjoy that avocado toast, it’s food for your brain!

Image: Robina Weermeijer

It’s not just your memory that fades over time; the brain itself physically shrinks as one gets older. It continues developing until your late 40s, but after that, it slowly decreases in size.

Now, size doesn’t equal intelligence, so a smaller brain doesn’t necessarily mean a less capable one. Staying mentally active, exercising, and eating brain-boosting foods can help keep it in top shape!

Image: Lisa Yount

We often think of cholesterol as bad, but your brain actually depends on it! In fact, 25% of your body’s cholesterol is stored in your brain, where it helps with learning and memory. However, unlike other organs, the brain can’t absorb cholesterol from the blood, it has to produce its own. So, while too much cholesterol in the body can be harmful, the right amount is vital for brain function. At least you can use that as an excuse to get that burger!