nocto

when did gone west turn into going south:

go west … suggesting something had terminally broken down …: the big Oxford English Dictionary has no examples before 1919. …

Contrast that with go south, which is first recorded in the 1970s, though it was uncommon until the beginning of the 1990s, after which it experienced explosive growth.

and there’s plenty more fascinating stuff at world wide words.

an attempt at a clear out: my amazon book sale

i’ve always wondered how bidendum (known to many as simply “the michelin man”) got his name:

In 1898, O’Galop created according to André Michelin’s directions a poster in which one sees, at a banquet table, an imposing character composed of tires raising his glass filled with broken glass and nails, and offering a toast declaring: “Nunc est bibendum” (translated very approximately as: “To Your Health! Michelin tires drink obstacles”).

[found via metafilter]