Five Fantastic Facts

Perhaps I should re-title this blog 'Facts in Multiples of Five.' But that would limit my scope of writing, somewhat.

1. Language. The letter 'Þ' in Old English is known as the 'thorn', and is responsible for the 'th' sound. Later texts transliterated it as 'y' because they lacked the 'Þ' character in their typesets. Hence 'the' was spelt 'Þe' and printed as 'ye' so those faux-archaic signs which read 'ye olde...' should be read 'the'.


2. Botany. The term 'gynoecium', referring to the female reproductive parts of a flower, in classical Latin meant a woman's apartment.


3. Food. Termites can eat wood only because of symbiotic microorganisms in their gut which help them digest cellulose. If these are killed, the termite starves.


4. Literature. The Chinese Shi Jing (Book of Odes) has 39222 words.


5. Chemistry. Hydrofluoric acid (aqueous HF) dissolves glass but can be kept safely in polythene containers.