Word Fun

Occasionally I get interested in word puzzles and oddities. A few months ago I was on a hunt for flippable compound words such as these...

houseboat | boathouse
handoff | offhand
gunshot | shotgun
outsell | sellout
hangover | overhang
layout | outlay
huntsman | manhunts
workout | outwork
sidetrack | trackside
oversleep | sleepover
guesthouse | houseguest
outbreak | breakout
outlook | lookout
outwork | workout
layover | overlay
Passover | overpass
sleepover | oversleep
bucksaw | sawbuck
overturn | turnover
bookwork | workbook
woodworm | wormwood

I think I have them all, but it would be incredible if you could come up with another one.

If you get bored of that, there is always this puzzle. It took me probably 15 minutes to figure it out. After which I felt dumb for not getting it sooner. Can you do it?

Random:
"The five boxing wizards jump quickly" is one of the shortest sentences that uses all the letters of the alphabet.

In Turkish there is this one:
Pijamalı hasta yağız şoföre çabucak güvendi.
(The patient in pajamas trusted the swarthy driver quickly)

Misa's Map

Farthest North: Vlieland, North Holland, Europe
Farthest South: Isla Bridges (Ushuaia), South America
Farthest East: Bali, Indonesia
Farthest West: Waialua, Oahu, Hawaii


... so clearly my sister kicks my butt :)

See the post below if you don't know what this is about.

Perspective, part 2: Travel

The extremes of where I have been:

North: Lyngby, Denmark
East: Ankara, Turkey
South: Orlando, Florida, USA
West: Tuscon, Arizona, USA
Shown above is the smallest rectangle you could draw on a world map that includes all of the places I have been. As a percentage of the world, it is still a bit small, but I am doing better than a lot of people in history. Also, I know some people who have never left New England, so that makes me feel fortunate. What does your rectangle look like? What would you like it to look like?

If you want me to make a map like this for you, just let me know the extremes of the places you have been, and I will see what I can do.

Anyway, all of this thought about travel makes me wonder... do I know the half of what things are like in China or what a Chinese person thinks about? I have never been to China so how could I? Is it even fair to use a term like "Chinese person"? Aren't they all different? When I was in Turkey and Denmark, I was very interested in what the Turks and Danes thought about Americans. Inevitably I was always asked early in a conversation where exactly I was from. I got sort of a strange feeling when I told them I am American because I don't feel like I am just an American. Or just any other one thing. I don't consider myself a typical American or an accurate representative of an American. But what is a typical American? Clearly, I have been reading the book "On Identity" by Amin Maalouf lately. (Read it.) In the book, the author describes some of the dangers of categorizing people and deep-rooted loyalties based on local societal expectations. I like to think of sports fanhood in this regard.

A diehard Redsox fan is so because he/she was raised this way and all their closest friends are also fans. A diehard Redsox fan has less repect for a stranger who is a Yankeees fan, than a stranger who is a Redsox fan based soley on this one thing. But the Yankees fan is a Yankees fan for very much the same reasons that the Redsox fan is a Redsox fan. It is all about their local societal expectations. The Yankees fan probably grew up in New York, the Redsox fan probably grew up in or near Massachusetts. And so conflict and discrimination arise out of almost nothing.

Fan violence in baseball is not very noteworthy, but when these sorts of tensions arise over something like religion or who was on the righteous side of a violent conflict, a lot of strife can ensue. It takes someone with a more open mind to see the other side. If that other side is a country that one that one has never visited, then I think paying a visit to that country and living like the people there can really help to see their view.

Is there a word for something that is obvious but still needs to be stated?

Let me know what you think about all this. Also, if you haven't emailed me your colors from the post below, go ahead and give it go when you have a moment.

Perspective, part 1: Colors

I associate people with colors. When I think of a friend, such as you for instance, there are colors in my head that are unique to you. I imagine that everyone does this to some extent. Most of the colors in my mind are like the ones in the picture at the right.

What I ask you to do is, send me an email* or just post a comment, and say which three colors from the picture you associate the most with me. Go ahead and put them in order if there is an order. In return, I will tell you which three colors I associate with you.

When the data is in, I will post a chart showing which ones were most popular. I wonder how closely the colors you pick for me will match the ones that I would pick for myself. Remember that of course this is not a contest of any kind, and the specifics of the answers are of no consequence. There are no rules. If you find only two colors that work, go with those. If you find four, so be it. I am just really curious to see which colors you think of when you think of me. Perhaps patterns will emerge, maybe one color will come out well above all the others. Ok, I am getting really curious now.

*jeremyrchapman@gmail.com