Lost in translation

Use these English words abroad, and you are in for a big surprise

We Americans like to think that since we speak English, we can get by just fine anywhere from London to Bridgetown. But traveling abroad can quickly turn into a game of linguistic telephone! Imagine the sheer confusion of a tourist asking for a nice, warm biscuit with breakfast, only to be handed a chocolate chip cookie, or trying to pack their luggage into a boot instead of the trunk. It pays to think twice before you open your mouth overseas, or you might find yourself in some hilariously awkward situations. Here are 12 everyday words that mean something completely different once you leave American soil.

Picture yourself at a quaint London bed-and-breakfast, ordering gravy to go with your morning biscuit. The waiter returns, looking baffled, with a plate of crunchy chocolate chip cookies.

To us, a biscuit is that fluffy, buttery piece of heaven perfect for breakfast. To the British, a biscuit is what we call a cookie. Save the gravy for home, or you'll get some very strange looks!

You arrive at a London hotel, and the polite bellhop asks, "Shall I put your bags in the boot, sir?" You might look down at your leather footwear and wonder how on earth your suitcase is going to fit in there.

Don't worry, your shoes are safe. While Americans call the rear storage compartment of a car the trunk, the British call it the boot.

Imagine your Irish tour guide points to a menu and promises you a "classic banger" for lunch. You might expect the pub to start blasting a high-energy, catchy song right there at the table.

Instead, you'll be served a sizzling, savory sausage. In Ireland and the U.K., bangers are just sausages, famously paired with mashed potatoes for a comforting meal. It's a hit for your stomach, not your ears!

Next time you hear a Scotsman say he is "going for the messages," don't expect him to return with a handful of letters or a phone full of unread texts.

In Scotland, this delightful phrase simply means going grocery shopping. He’s just heading out to grab some milk, bread, and eggs, completely offline.

If an Aussie hotel clerk tells you your reservation is locked in for a fortnight, you might be taken aback. While we rarely use this old-fashioned word in the States, it is completely standard down under and in the U.K. It simply means a period of two weeks. Enjoy your long vacation!

Imagine ordering a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich in Auckland, only to watch the café worker stare at you in absolute horror.

In New Zealand and the U.K., jelly isn't a smooth fruit spread; it’s what we call Jell-O. Putting a wobbly, strawberry gelatin dessert between two slices of bread is definitely an acquired taste you might want to skip.

You’re celebrating a beautiful anniversary at a lovely restaurant in Montreal. Eager for the main event, you order a delicious-sounding steak from the entrée section of the menu, expecting a giant plate.

Unfortunately, you’ll be left scratching your head when a tiny appetizer arrives. In Canada and Europe, the entrée is the starter. The actual main course comes later, so pace yourself!

Imagine a stylish American gentleman telling his British colleagues that he bought a bright red pair of suspenders to wear to the office. The room will likely go dead silent with embarrassment.

To Americans, suspenders are just classy elastic shoulder straps that hold up trousers. In the U.K., however, suspenders are garter belts used to hold up women's stockings. That's one major office mix-up!

If you are relaxing on a beautiful beach in Barbados and a friendly local warns that someone might "give you a lick," please don't expect anyone to come over and run their tongue across your arm!

In the Caribbean, giving someone a lick means to hit or strike them. It’s an aggressive warning, a far cry from the completely innocent, sugary action we think of back home.

Imagine walking through London when an angry cyclist yells, "Get off the pavement!" You might look down, confused, thinking, "But I’m not standing in the middle of the street!"

In the U.S., pavement refers to the asphalt road where cars drive. In the U.K., the pavement is actually the sidewalk. He’s just asking you to clear the pedestrian path, so no need to dodge traffic!

Imagine complimenting a British gentleman at a formal dinner by telling him, "I love your pants!" Instead of a thank you, you'll likely receive a look of absolute horror.

To Americans, pants are simply trousers. But to the British, pants refer strictly to underwear. Telling someone you like their pants means you’re complimenting their briefs, which is a bit too much information for polite conversation!

Picture yourself walking into a London pub and ordering a burger with a side of potato chips. You might be disappointed when the waiter brings out a basket of steaming, thick-cut French fries instead of a crispy bag of Lay's.

In the U.K. and Ireland, chips are fries. If you actually want those thin, crunchy snacks from a bag, you have to ask for "crisps."

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.