What is the Most Common Phrase in the English Language?

"Google" peaked in the '40s, thanks to Barney Google cartoons, and again in the 1990s (image used with permission from Google)You probably already know the most common letter in the English language is the letter e. It accounts for about 12% of all the letters you’re likely to see on a given page (go ahead…count ’em!). On your keyboard, only the venerable space bar gets more of a workout than the letter e. On a [more…]


Why do they shout “Hear Hear!” in the British Parliament?

Houses of Parliament (photo by victoriapeckham CC-BY)The British Parliament is steeped in history and tradition, and parliamentary debates in the House of Commons are often very lively and noisy with Members of Parliament calling out to the opposition party, waving order papers, exaggerating laughter or deriding the speeches of the opposition members. Critics liken it to a bear pit or a [more…]

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