Words that seem immortal

The meanings have vanished, but the words lived on: Meet 12 “ghost” words

Language changes constantly, but rarely throws everything away at once. Sometimes a word outlives the object, machine, or technology that gave it meaning in the first place. We continue to use these expressions every day without thinking much about where they came from. From rotary telephones and film reels to carbon paper and floppy disks, these words are linguistic fossils that refuse to go away.

Millions of people dial phone numbers every day, even though most have never touched a rotary telephone. The word comes from a circular dial used on telephones throughout much of the 20th century. Users inserted a finger into a numbered hole and rotated the dial to place a call.

Automatic dialing systems began appearing in the late 1800s, and rotary phones remained common until push-button models spread during the 1960s and 1970s. The dial disappeared, but the verb stayed behind.

Ending a phone call is still called hanging up, despite the obvious fact that modern smartphones have nothing to hang. The phrase originated when telephone receivers were physically placed on wall-mounted hooks or cradles after a conversation ended.

The action activated a switch that disconnected the line. Telephone engineers still use the related terms "on-hook" and "off-hook," preserving language from a technology that most people no longer see.

Anyone who sends an email is familiar with CC, short for carbon copy. The term comes from carbon paper, a thin sheet placed between pages to create duplicate copies while typing or writing.

Carbon paper became widely used in offices during the 19th and 20th centuries. Although it has largely disappeared, email systems adopted the familiar abbreviations. Even BCC, or blind carbon copy, preserves a term from the typewriter era.

Today, nearly all video is digital, yet people still refer to recorded video as footage. The word originated in the motion-picture industry, where film was measured in physical feet.

Editors and cinematographers literally counted how many feet of film had been shot. In traditional 35mm filmmaking, one foot of film contained 16 frames. The physical measurement vanished, but the vocabulary survived.

People regularly rewind videos, podcasts, and streaming content if they want to move to an earlier moment in the media. The expression dates to a time when magnetic tape and film reels had to be physically wound backward to revisit an earlier section.

Cassette tapes, VHS tapes, and film projectors all required actual rewinding. Digital files contain no reels or tape, but the word remains the standard way to describe moving backward through media.

Many drivers still ask passengers to roll down the window. Originally, that instruction was completely literal. Car windows were operated by turning a hand crank connected to a mechanical regulator.

As power windows became widespread during the second half of the 20th century, the rolling action disappeared. Yet the phrase survived the transition from crank handles to electronic switches.

For decades, recording television programs meant using magnetic videotape. Home viewers relied on formats such as VHS and Betamax to capture shows, sporting events, and movies.

Streaming services and digital recorders eventually replaced videotape, but people still talk about taping a program. The tape itself may be gone, but the expression remains surprisingly common.

Broadcasters have been telling audiences to stay tuned for generations. The phrase originated during the early days of radio, when listeners adjusted tuning dials to find the correct frequency.

Early television sets worked similarly. Modern devices select channels electronically, yet the old instruction continues to signal that more content is coming.

Most movies, television shows, and online videos are now captured digitally. Nevertheless, people still film weddings, documentaries, interviews, and social media clips.

The word comes from photographic film stock, the light-sensitive material that defined cinema for more than a century. Even as digital cameras became dominant, the vocabulary of filmmaking remained largely unchanged.

When an incoming call arrives, we still say the phone is ringing. Early phones actually contained mechanical bells that produced a ringing sound whenever someone called.

Modern smartphones use speakers and digital sound files instead of physical bells. Yet, the connection between telephones and ringing remains so strong that few people notice the historical reference.

One of the most famous technological fossils appears every time users click the Save icon. On many programs, the symbol resembles a 3.5-inch floppy disk, once a standard method of computer storage.

Floppy disks became widespread during the 1980s and 1990s before largely disappearing in the early 2000s. Many younger users instantly recognize the icon despite never having used the device it represents.

Smartphones, tablets, and computers can record audio and video with a single tap. The term, however, comes from an era when sounds were physically stored on wax cylinders, records, and magnetic media.

Thomas Edison’s phonograph, introduced in 1877, was the first machine capable of recording and reproducing sound. Modern devices store digital data rather than physical grooves, but the original word still does the job.

10 weird historical events that no one has been able to explain (yet)

Image: Walters Art Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Who doesn't like a good mystery? And if the mystery isn’t a work of fiction but the result of a true story, even better! The great unsolved enigmas of history are absolutely fascinating. Some have been solved over time, but there are still many old secrets for which neither scientists nor historians have found an explanation—yet. Time-travel with us as we uncover 10 of the biggest historical mysteries that will probably never be cracked!

Image: Tanner, Henry S., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bermeja Island is mentioned in navigation texts written by European travelers and appears in cartography from the 16th to 19th centuries. Old maps place it off the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula; however, multiple searches over the years have yielded no concrete evidence of its existence.

So, what happened to Isla Bermeja? Was it a cartographic error? Did it sink due to a tidal wave? Because of its geopolitical significance, some have even suggested that it was blown up by the CIA! A 2009 study by the Autonomous University of Mexico concluded that Isla Bermeja does not exist today, nor were any traces found at its supposed coordinates. Yet, it will forever remain a mystery that will surely keep many entertained.

Image: Credit: Big Ear Radio Observatory and North American AstroPhysical Observatory (NAAPO)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope, used in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, detected a signal now known as the Wow! signal. While reviewing the data, astronomer Jerry R. Ehman noticed a sequence represented as "6EQUJ5." Baffled by the anomaly, he circled it and wrote "Wow!" in the margins.

The signal lasted 72 seconds and, unfortunately, has never been repeated. To this day, no one can fully explain the phenomenon, although some suggest it may have come from a man-made source. Still, the Wow! signal remains one of the strongest candidates for potential extraterrestrial contact ever detected.

Image: Edward S. Curtis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

How is it possible for an entire village to vanish without a trace? Believe it or not, this is said to have happened nearly a century ago. According to lore, a small Inuit village in Canada was well known among fur trappers who visited regularly to trade. But in 1930, something very strange supposedly occurred.

A hunter named Joe Labelle claimed he visited the village one day and couldn’t find a single person. Reports said there were guns and food left behind, and even claims that the graves in the cemetery were empty. A thorough investigation, however, found no conclusive evidence of what happened to the villagers. Some witnesses from nearby towns even reported seeing a huge green light. Theories ranged from mass migration to extraterrestrial abductions. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has since dismissed the case as an urban legend. Some still believe the story to be true.

Image: bbb

We know thousands of shipwreck stories, but this one is quite unique. The MV Joyita, designed to be nearly unsinkable, was found adrift in the South Pacific, practically unharmed, but the crew had disappeared completely.

In October 1955, the American merchant vessel left the port of Apia in Samoa with 16 crew members and 9 passengers bound for the Tokelau Islands. After days without news, a rescue mission was launched. Five weeks later, the Joyita was spotted more than 600 miles west of its intended route. The vessel was partially submerged, and there was no sign of the passengers or crew. Four tons of cargo and all three life rafts were missing. They were never seen again.

Image: Gary Todd from Xinzheng, China, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Do you know where one of the best-preserved mummies was found? Hint: not in Egypt. Xin Zhui, the Marquise of Dai during the Western Han Dynasty in China, was discovered in her tomb at Mawangdui 2,000 years after her death, along with hundreds of valuable documents and artifacts.

What makes this mummy so extraordinary is how well-preserved her body is. Her organs and veins remain intact, and she still has hair and even eyelashes. Scientists analyzed the fluid present in the coffin and discovered it was acidic and contained salt and magnesium. They believe this mysterious liquid may have been responsible for preserving Xin Zhui so well. What they don’t know is whether it was intentionally poured into the coffin or came from the body itself.

Image: Yoichi Okamoto, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The United States has its fair share of presidents who died while in office, but none of our 45 presidents have ever disappeared without a trace. Did you know that this actually happened in The Land Down Under?

Harold Edward Holt was the Prime Minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He loved the ocean and spearfishing. During a weekend trip with friends, Holt visited the remote Cheviot Beach to take a swim. Rough sea conditions that day caused him to be swept away by the waves, and he never reappeared. Despite an intensive search, his body was never found, which has given rise to numerous conspiracy theories. Ironically, Australians built the Harold Holt Memorial Swimming Centre in Melbourne in his honor.

Image: FBI, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Many famous criminals have managed to remain unidentified for decades, but the D.B. Cooper case is something else entirely. In 1971, Cooper boarded a flight from Portland to Seattle. Shortly after takeoff, he showed a flight attendant a device he claimed was a bomb and demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in cash.

The crew landed to meet Cooper’s demands in exchange for the passengers and then took off again. As the plane flew over southwestern Washington, Cooper jumped into the cold, rainy night carrying his haul. His whereabouts and true identity were never discovered, although it is likely he didn’t survive the jump. In 1980, some of the ransom money was found near the Columbia River. Although the FBI officially closed the case in 2016, amateur sleuths continue to try to crack it.

Image: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Can you imagine an epidemic where the main symptom is uncontrollable dancing? Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it? Yet this really happened during the Middle Ages. In 1518, a dancing plague struck Strasbourg, Alsace, in what is now France. This strange condition affected up to 400 people, making them dance frantically for weeks. It is said that some even died of heart attacks, exhaustion, or strokes.

Doctors and authorities tried all kinds of measures to stop the spread. They even banned music for a while! To this day, scientists are not certain what caused this bizarre condition: it may have been food poisoning from toxins in the ergot fungus, or perhaps a case of stress-induced mass hysteria.

Image: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Voynich manuscript is a codex written roughly 500 years ago in an unknown language and writing system by an anonymous author. Known as Voynichese, the manuscript was named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish bibliophile and antiquarian who purchased it in 1912.

Radiocarbon testing has shown that it dates to the early 15th century. Many cryptographers and codebreakers have attempted to decipher its roughly 240 pages without success. The manuscript contains diagrams and illustrations of unknown plants and astrological symbols. Some believe it may be a made-up language, a secret code, a work of fiction, or even a hoax. If you think you can solve this mystery, the Voynich manuscript is available for viewing at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Image: Bernhard

Similar to the Voynich manuscript, the Phaistos Disc is a fired clay disc believed to have been created during the Bronze Age. It was discovered by an Italian archaeologist in the basement of a palace in Crete, Greece, in 1908.

What makes this disc fascinating is that it contains a mysterious message. Stamped into the clay is a set of signs, forming a text that many scientists have tried to decipher—without success. It is considered an early attempt at printing, a technological innovation that would not become widespread for several centuries. While enthusiasts still hope the enigma can be solved, this is unlikely unless other documents are discovered to provide context.