Scrubs
Published November 5th, 2010 | 
I was channel-surfing the other night and came across that sitcom, Scrubs, the episode where traded-in his scrubs for a lab coat. It got me thinking about why doctors wear scrubs to begin with (or lab coats for that matter).
After a fairly good night’s sleep and a spot of breakfast, I tackled the job of answering that question. I was aware that the name for scrubs is derived from the phrase “scrubbing in”, be didn’t know when the practice of wearing scrubs became common. It seems that doctors didn’t always wear scrubs. Until the 20th century, doctors wore regular clothes. Subsequent advances in antiseptic techniques led doctors to wear white scrubs in operating rooms. But, since white was hard on the eyes and darker colors reminded people of blood, the practice of wearing green scrubs emerged. Eventually, doctors and nurses alike started wearing scrubs for comfort and cleanliness. Many hospitals even use a color-coding system similar to Star Trek to differentiate between departments.
Lit Fun #7: The Equestrian
Published September 24th, 2010 | My niece, who has a horse show tomorrow, has been riding horses for years. She’s been riding for almost ten years, I think. She’s seventeen now, almost eighteen.
Me, I’ve never been into horses. Rode a couple of ponies when I was very small and once rode an elephant (true story), but, unlike my niece, I’m not what you’d call an equestrian.
Equestrian . . . there’s an interesting word. The word is Latin in origin. Dates back to the first century of the Roman Republic if I remember my 9th grade World History correctly. Roman cavalry officers. Somewhere along the line the definition changed from a specific reference to a class of Roman aristocrat to a broader meaning — one who possesses the skill of horsemanship.
Lit Fun #6: Tongue Twisters
Published June 6th, 2010 | respironics oxygen concentrators — try saying that three times fast. Yes, tongue twisters are fun and have a long history in the English language (as well as every other language/culture in the world).
Typically, a tongue-twister is a phrase consisting of words that are difficult to pronounce when strung together. This is due to the order, number of syllables, use of rhyme, and/or alliteration.
Many famous tongue twisters have appeared throughout literature. A number of writers, from Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss have employed tongue twisters. When the first tongue twister first appeared is difficult to date as a number of early tongue twisters were known in common folklore long before any were ever written down.
