Month: January 2017

How would you explain what it means to think? This act, though central to our very humanity, is an incredibly abstract process. Behind many of our thinking words, however, are some concrete Latin etymologies, and they show how we like to understand our mental activity through very physical metaphors.

1. PONDER

The origin of ponder is the Latin pondus, “weight,” used even in Ancient Rome as a metaphor for something of importance and influence. Pondus is related to the verb pendere, “to weigh,” which is why a pensive thinker really seems weighed down.

2. DELIBERATE

The metaphor of thought as weighing different matters appears in deliberate too. The ultimate root of deliberate is the Latin libra, “a pair of scales” or “balance.” A deliberate action, then, is one well weighed before undertaken.

3. CONCENTRATE

When we concentrate, we are bringing our mental efforts towards a “common center,” as the verb joins Latin’s cum (together) and centrum (center).

4. FOCUS

The central place in many homes was once the hearth or fireplace, called focus in Latin. Mathematicians and scientists used focus for a point where various phenomena (e.g., rays of light) converge, an idea later extended to thinking.

5. RUMINATE

When you ruminate, you are literally (or figuratively) chewing on something. The verb derives from Latin’s ruminare, “to chew cud,” which is ultimately why strong-stomached mammals from cows to wildebeests are known as ruminants.

6. MUSE

While the classical Muses may have caused poets to muse, the two muse words are etymologically unrelated. The absorbed-in-thought muse comes from an Old French word mus, referring to a muzzle. As the theory goes, a dog sticks its snout into the air to sniff about, to muse, for a scent. Late Latin picked up this mus as musare, “to stare” or “waste time,” which helped make the word’s way into English.

7. CONSIDER

Our noses are also skyward when we consider. According to some etymologists, consider fuses Latin’s cum (together) and sidus (constellation). The idea, here, is of an astrologist divining human affairs from the stars.

8. CONTEMPLATE

Ancient astrologists weren’t the only ones looking for answers in the sky. In Ancient Rome, augurs tried to predict the future in various natural events, especially from the flight of birds. To do so, they would mark out a special space, called a templum, with a staff to observe the sky—hence the Latin verb contemplari, “to gaze attentively.” Templum also gives English its sacred temples.

9. COMPUTE

Centuries before laptops, compute simply referred to calculating. Its root verb, the Latin computare, features that same cum (together) and putare (to think). In a much older Latin, putare actually meant “to prune,” this act of trimming back likened to “clearing up,” thus counting, final amounts. Impute, repute, and putative also feature the root putare.

10. REFLECT

Reflect’s Latin root, reflectere, involved the physical act of bending or turning back. (Re- means “back,” and flectere means “turn” or “bend,” also showing up in words like deflect, flex, and inflect.) In the late 16th century, English turned this reflect into “turning one’s thoughts back on the past.”

11. SPECULATE

Mirrors reflect our images back to us—and in Ancient Rome, the word for a mirror was speculum. This speculum, as with speculate, goes back to the Latin specere, “to see,” making speculation an act of looking more deeply at some phenomenon.

12. CONJECTURE

To conjecture, in Latin, literally means “to throw together” various bits of facts and information in coming to an explanation. Forms of its base verb, iacere, also appear in eject, interject, reject, with different prefixes specifying in what direction, exactly, something is being thrown.

13. COGITATE

To cogitate is also a kind of “tossing about” in the mind. The verb derives from the Latin cogitare, blending co- (a form of cum) and agitare (to put into motion), source of agitate.

14. MEDITATE

Deep meditation is good for the body and soul—and making a careful decision, if we look to its etymology. The base of meditate, from Latin’s meditari, is an Indo-European root med-, “to take appropriate measures,” related to me-, “to measure.”

15. SAPIENS

Anthropologists call us, modern humans, homo sapiens, or “wise person.” But sapiens (“wise”) comes from a base verb, sapere, literally meaning “to taste.” For Julius Caesar, apparently, in tasting there was sense, discrimination, understanding, and, ultimately, wisdom.

As connected as we all are to our various mobile devices, it seems impossible that outlets aren’t a standard feature up at 30,000 feet (especially when you can still often find ashtrays). Travel is stressful enough without having to worry whether you’ll have access to a charging port, and now, you can prevent your phone from dying on a plane, train, or automobile with a special charger that can be used anywhere there’s sunlight.

This power-up device is able to harness solar power using solar panels that are embedded into a small suction cup that can be affixed to most windows. The 4.5 volt, 0.4 watt solar panel charges an internal 2000mAh Lithium-Ion battery. The battery, which can also be charged through traditional means when the sun’s down, offers phones up to a 40 percent battery increase. The cable comes with four different plugs, so it’s compatible with most smartphones. LED lights that flash blue and green let you know when it’s charging and when it’s powered up.

Obviously, this isn’t the ideal external charger, but it’s great for emergencies and long plane rides. You can grab one on Amazon, where it’s conveniently on sale.

Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers, including Amazon, and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we only get commission on items you buy and don’t return, so we’re only happy if you’re happy. Good luck deal hunting!

Dolly Parton—who turns 71 years old today—is a prolific songwriter, performer, and businesswoman. She’s been nominated for 46 Grammys (and won eight) and has sold over 100 million albums. But over the years, Dolly has become famous for not just her music but also her clever one-liners, self-deprecating jokes, and encouraging advice, all told with her trademark smile and good-natured giggle.

1. ON TODAY’S MUSIC INDUSTRY

“Everything’s high-tech and I’ve just been dragged screaming and kicking into the 21st century. But I try to surround myself with folks that keep up with it. It’s completely different now, but it’s wonderful that I’m still here. I say that I’m as old as yesterday, but hopefully as new as tomorrow.”

— From a 2014 interview with Today Show

2. ON HER FAMILY’S HUMBLE ORIGINS IN RURAL TENNESSEE

“The kids peed on me every night … There were so many of us. We slept three and four in the bed. I would wash every night, and as soon as I go to bed, the kids would wet on me and I’d have to get up in the morning and do the same thing … That was the only warm thing we knew in the winter time. That was almost a pleasure to get peed on because it was so cold. Lord. It was as cold in the room as it was outside. We’d bundle up to go to bed.”

— From a 1978 interview with Playboy

3. ON HER CLOTHING CHOICES

“I like all that frilly stuff. Like I’ve always said, it’s a good thing I was a girl, or I’d definitely have been a drag queen! Most definitely.”

— From a 1999 interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

4. ON WEARING CONSERVATIVE ATTIRE FOR HER ROLE IN 9 TO 5

“It’s really a totally different look for me … I loved the movie and I enjoyed doing it, but I couldn’t wait to get out of those little suits and get into my trashy stuff.”

— From a 1992 interview on Live with Regis & Kathie Lee

5. ON HER GUILT COMPLEX

“I have a guilt complex about being the one that’s so successful when so many of them [other performers] are so much more talented than me. And so many friends that I know in Nashville that have twice the talent that I’ve had, that I’ve seen them come and go through the years and never see their dream come true.”

— From a 2012 interview with NPR

6. ON HER SECRET TO STAYING MARRIED FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS

“I stay gone. [Laughs] … He’s a good guy; we know each other so well. I know every line in his face, and he knows every hair in my wig.”

— From a 2014 interview with Today Show

7. ON ACHIEVING HER DREAMS

“Now the night I graduated from Sevier County High School, back in 1964, we were all asked to stand up and talk about what we were going to do with the rest of our lives. And everybody had a different story. And when it came my time I stood right up there. I said I’m going to Nashville and I’m going to be a star. Well the whole place laughed out loud. And I was so embarrassed, cause I thought, ‘How odd. Why is everybody laughing? ‘Cause that is what I’m going to do.’ But as bad as I felt at that moment and as embarrassed as I was, it did not shake me from my dreams. So I guess I showed them, huh?”

— From her 2009 University of Tennessee, Knoxville commencement speech

8. ON HOW SHE KEEPS HER ENERGY UP

“I just depend on a lot of prayer and meditation. I believe that without God I am nobody, but that with God, I can do anything.”

— From a 1980 interview with Roger Ebert

9. ON STARTING DOLLYWOOD

“I really wish that y’all could have seen the look on my lawyer’s face 24 years ago when I told him I wanted to start a theme park and call it Dollywood. He thought I’d already taken the train to Crazywood.”

— From her 2009 University of Tennessee, Knoxville commencement speech

10. ON WHETHER SHE WEARS IN-EAR MONITORS ON STAGE

“No, I have too much hair! And too much other stuff going on. I can’t stand that in my ear. I figure I’ll be wearing hearing aids soon enough.”

— From a 2003 interview on Oprah

11. ON HER DECISION TO WEAR ATTENTION-GRABBING WIGS AND EXTREME CLOTHES

“It’s certainly a choice. I don’t like to be like everybody else. I’ve often made the statement that I’d never stoop so low as to be fashionable. That’s the easiest thing in the world to do.”

— From a 1977 interview with Barbara Walters

12. ON HER LEGACY

“Now people are always asking me, What do you want people to say about you 100 years from now?’ I always say I want them to say ‘Dang, don’t she still look good for her age’.”

— From her 2009 University of Tennessee, Knoxville commencement speech

13. ON BEING A HILLBILLY

“I’m proud of my hillbilly, white trash background. To me that keeps you humble; that keeps you good. And it doesn’t matter how hard you try to outrun it—if that’s who you are, that’s who you are. It’ll show up once in a while.”

— From a 2014 interview with Southern Living

14. ON THINKING LIKE A MAN

“I grew up in a family of 12 children and six of those kids were boys. I was very close to my dad, and my uncles and my grandpas, and my brothers, so I relate to men. I understand the nature of men. I always say that I look like a woman, but I think like a man, or I can think like a man.”

— From a 2014 interview with Bust

15. ON BELONGING

“I never felt I belonged. Never belonged in my whole life, even as a little kid. I was just different and so I never really found my place till I moved to Nashville and got in the music business. That was my real place, so I fit in.”

— From a 1977 interview with Rolling Stone

16. ON HOW MANY WIGS SHE OWNS

“I don’t know, I’ve got better things to do than count them. But I wear one every day of the week, so probably 365.”

— From a 1984 interview with Interview Magazine (conducted by Andy Warhol)

17. ON HER FLAMBOYANT COSTUMES

“I never let a rhinestone go unturned!”

—From a 2015 tweet by Dolly Parton

18. ON EMOTIONS

“I’m a very sensitive person. I’m a songwriter, so I have to live with my feelings on my sleeve. I have to not harden my heart, because I want to stay open to feel things. So when I hurt, I hurt all over. And when I cry, I cry real hard. And when I’m mad, I’m mad all over. I’m just a person; I like to experience whatever the feeling is and whatever I’m going through.”

— From a 2014 interview with Southern Living

19. ON ALL THE REFERENCES TO HER BIG BUST

“It don’t bother me so much unless people dwell on it. Get tacky and all. It’s part of the act. If someone gets really carried away, well, I sort of pity him. Cause it’s his problem, not mine. Other than that, I’m a good sport. I know some of the best Dolly Parton jokes. I made ’em up myself.”

— From a 1980 interview with Roger Ebert

20. ON HER RUMORED TATTOOS

“People say that the reason I wear sleeves is because I have snakes tattooed all over [my arms]. I say ‘No, I don’t!’ I do have a few little tattoos, but they were mostly done to cover scars because I’m so fair.”

— From a 2014 interview with Today Show

21. ON WHAT ACTRESS SHOULD PLAY HER IN A MOVIE

“Hmmmm. I dunno. Maybe if Sissy Spacek made enough money off of playin’ Loretta Lynn, she could get herself a boob job.”

— From a 1980 interview with Roger Ebert

22. ON CHOOSING BETWEEN BIG BOOBS OR BIG HAIR

“Uhhhhh … I couldn’t pick one. I’d have to pick three.”

— From a 2014 interview with Southern Living

23. ON SONGWRITING

“It’s therapy. It’s fun. It’s creative. I love getting on a big writing binge and staying up a couple days working on a song and knowing at the end of those two or three days that I’ve created something that was never in the world before. It’s like a feeling of creating, not that the same stories ain’t been told before, but it ain’t been told through my point of view. And it’s my way of relaxing. Songwriting is a hobby and to me it’s therapy. It’s a joy. It’s a thrill. It’s like mind exercises or something.”

— From a 1990 interview with American Songwriter

24. ON BEING A LIVING LEGEND

“I don’t know! Am I livin’? Am I a legend? You never know how people are going to look at you till you’re older and you look back at your life. So far I’ve been very pleased that, you know, my life has turned out the way it has, and I don’t take it for granted. I owe a lot of credit to God and folks for helping me along the way, so I didn’t do this all by myself.”

— From a 2015 interview with Mashable

25. ON OTHER ARTISTS COVERING HER SONGS

“I’m always flattered that anybody would record my songs, even if they change them. Certain ones of my songs, I’ll hear somebody do it and I’ve had mixed emotions. I think either ‘Wow, that’s great. I never thought of hearing it like that’ or I’ll think ‘Oh Lord, they’ve ruined that song.’ But you’re still glad as a writer that they did it, no matter how it turns out. You’re just glad that somebody liked your song enough to record it. But you do have your favorites. I guess the ones I’d like to record my songs right now are the ones having hits and make me the most money.”

— From a 1990 interview with American Songwriter

26. ON HER IMAGE

“It costs a lot of money to look this cheap!”

— A oft-used quote, as in this Vanity Fair article

An estimated 5.7 million Americans suffer from heart failure, or an inability to pump a sufficient amount of blood throughout the body. Many submit to drug therapy, with resulting side effects; a small percentage receive heart transplants, though there aren’t nearly enough hearts to cover the demand for a healthier organ.

Now, researchers at Harvard, Cambridge, and other leading universities may have found an alternative solution: an implantable “soft” robot made of elastic material that can fit over the heart like a sleeve and assist it in pumping.   

According to a study published today in Science Translational Medicine [PDF], the robotic sleeve seeks to supplement—not replace—the heart’s natural motions. Silicone materials mimic cardiac tissue and conform to the heart’s surface anatomy; using compressed air delivered by a tethered line, the sleeve can twist itself, compress, or decompress to aid the organ in maintaining normal rhythms.

In the image below, you can see how the muscle fiber orientations of the outer layers of the heart (A) are mimicked by the device’s design (B).

In order to test the sleeve, the researchers implanted it in six sedated pigs who were put under general anesthesia and experienced drug-induced cardiac arrest. The result was an 88 percent restoration of cardiac output.

The device is also customizable to the individual, they write: “Our device could potentially be turned off when no longer required, and clinicians could tailor the device as a passive restraint device, partial support, or full support.”

The study’s authors acknowledge that this is an early and limited trial, and more information is needed on how the sleeve will perform over long periods of time. But if they’re successful, the implantable sleeve could eliminate potential complications from drug therapies, serve as a bridge treatment for patients awaiting transplants, and help usher in a new era of “soft” robotics that could support other physical functions.

You started the new year with the best intentions, but somehow life just got in the way of your fitness goals. The gym was packed, your kids were sick, you worked too late, it was raining—the excuses are easy to come by. But you can still do this! You don’t need to rely on pricey classes and personal trainers to get fit this year, all you need is your phone and a little bit of motivation. We’ve compiled a list of 10 of the best free apps to get you moving this winter.

1. RUNKEEPER

Runkeeper is one of the original fitness tracking apps, but don’t write it off just because it’s not the “hot new thing” anymore. Runkeeper allows you to set goals, create a fitness plan, and then track your runs, walks, and cycling sessions with your phone’s GPS system. It’s the perfect tool for staying accountable and motivated, since you can track your progress over time as well as connect with friends in order to cheer (or heckle) each other on.

Find it: iOS; Android

2. THE JOHNSON & JOHNSON OFFICIAL 7 MINUTE WORKOUT

 
No time to exercise? Forget hour-long spin classes and 10 mile runs. All you need for an effective workout is a chair and seven minutes. The Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout helps you squeeze fitness into your day when it works for you. If you choose to include the warm up and cool down sections, each workout is about 11 minutes. You can choose the intensity level, and the app will coach you through the entire workout.

Find it: iOS; Android

3. PACT

 
If you’ve ever dreamed of a world where you’re rewarded for choosing carrot sticks over doughnuts and you actually get paid to work out, the Pact app could be for you. This free app allows you to commit to a set workout schedule or health goal each week—and then you bet (with real money) that you’ll be able to follow through. If you don’t hit your goal, your credit card gets charged. If you crush it, you’ll reap the rewards (financed by other app users who didn’t achieve their goals). Finally some motivation you can take to the bank!

Find it: iOS; Android

4. BLOGILATES

 
YouTube sensation Cassey Ho’s energy and spunk will distract you from the fact that your abs are on fire during her pilates-inspired workout videos. The free Blogilates app provides workout videos, recipes, and a supportive community forum, and you can always upgrade to receive weekly workout schedules for $0.99 per month.

Find it: iOS; Android

5. CHARITY MILES

Charity Miles combines the ease and convenience of a typical fitness tracker with the warm fuzzies of doing something good for others. Just open the app any time you set off on a run or walk to get coffee and you’ll earn money for the charity of your choice (choose from over 30) for each mile you move. The app has already raised over $2 million from its sponsors.

Find it: iOS; Android

6. YOGA WAKE UP

If you’re tired of hitting the snooze button five times every morning, check out the Yoga Wake Up app. It’s designed to help you ease into your day by providing free yoga routines that you can do right from your bed. The 10-minute audio classes lead you as you set a daily intention, stretch, stretch, and meditate. You may even start looking forward to that alarm going off.

Find it: iOS

7. ZOMBIES, RUN!

 
Do you love to run but have a bad habit of quitting halfway through your planned route? The Zombies, Run! app keeps you moving by putting a pack of blood-thirsty zombies hot on your trail. It streams your usual running music, but when you hear zombies running and breathing down your neck, you know it’s time to pick up the pace. The game even allows you to collect supplies and help fellow apocalypse survivors.

Find it: iOS; Android

8. MYFITNESSPAL

Let’s be honest: Getting fit and staying healthy is not all about the workouts. If you celebrate your five-mile run by wolfing down an entire pizza, you’re not going to hit your goals. The MyFitnessPal app helps marry your nutrition and exercise goals. This tracking app allows you to log your workouts as well as all your meals and snacks for the day. Their food database contains over 1,000,000 items, so it’s easy to log your store-bought or restaurant meals, too. They also have free discussion forums where you can connect with other health seekers.

Find it: iOS; Android

9. YONDER

Some of us will just never be gym people. If you dread the drone of the treadmill or smell of those locker rooms, get out into nature for your workout instead. Once you download Yonder, simply enter your location and the app will pull up suggestions for hiking, biking, kayaking, and skiing in your area. It even includes reviews of each trail from fellow users. So grab your phone and get some vitamin D while you work up a sweat this winter.

Find it:  iOS; Android

10. FREELETICS

 
If you purged half of your belongings during your minimalist phase last year, no sweat: You don’t need any fancy equipment to get in a great workout with the Freeletics app. It contains over 900 bodyweight workouts that are tailored to you and your fitness level.

Find it: iOS; Android