Here are 50 facts from FunFact's “Books & language” topic, all checked. Each one cites its source (fr.wiktionary.org, etymonline.com, web.archive.org…) and the date it was checked. This topic is part of FunFact Premium.
Hangul was created in the 15th century to eradicate illiteracy among the Korean people.
Commissioned by King Sejong the Great to replace complex Chinese characters, the alphabet graphically depicts the position of the mouth and tongue when speaking.
Source: National Institute of Korean Language — Hangeul History · Checked on October 24, 2026
The “vert” (green) meant the meadow, the grassland; working animals were put “au vert” to graze and rest.
The expression was later applied to humans: withdrawing to the countryside to rest or escape city life. Here “vert” means fresh grass, not the color.
Source: Wiktionnaire · Checked on October 24, 2026
Born Frédéric Sauser in 1887, he lost his right arm at the front on September 28, 1915, after volunteering in 1914.
His family hails from Sigriswil, in the canton of Bern. Under his pen name, his poem “Les Pâques” (1912) impressed the poet Apollinaire. In 1958, the French writer André Malraux presented him with the insignia of Commander of the Legion of Honor, France's top decoration.
Source: Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse · Checked on October 26, 2026
Excessive religious or sporting zeal has ancient roots tied to sacred places.
In Latin, the term described inspired or frenzied people living or serving in a temple (“fanum”), before being applied to any excessive passion.
Source: Online Etymology Dictionary — Fanatic · Checked on October 24, 2026
The German language’s tendency to string together long compound words has its administrative limits.
The word “Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz” was the name of a Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania law on supervising beef labeling, repealed in 2013.
Source: Legal Tribune Online — RkReÜAÜG außer Kraft: Juristendeutsch mit 63 Buchstaben · Checked on October 24, 2026
A popular expression among Munich artists won over international art critics.
Appearing in the 1870s on the Munich art market to describe cheap works aimed at tourists, the word now describes excessive sentimentality in art.
Source: German Language Society — Kitsch History · Checked on October 24, 2026
UNESCO chose this date in 1995. It matches the Catalan Saint George's Day (Sant Jordi) and the anniversaries of Cervantes and Shakespeare.
In Catalonia, tradition has it that people give a rose and a book: it is the “Day of Books and Roses.” According to Wikipedia, the Catalan holiday has merged with the global event.
Source: SA News — World Book Day 2021: Theme, Quotes, History, Significance · Checked on October 26, 2026
Joseph Heller's agent asked him to change the title to avoid confusion with Leon Uris's “Mila 18,” published shortly before.
The first chapter had been published in 1955 under the title “Catch-18.” The book came out in October 1961. Since then, “Catch-22” has entered everyday language for an absurd no-win situation.
Source: Lapham's Quarterly — Heller · Checked on October 26, 2026
Writing an entire book without the most common letter is a lipogram feat: a text that deliberately avoids one letter.
This book of more than 50,000 words was written under a strict lipogram, a writing challenge that demanded absolute mastery of English vocabulary.
Source: Library of Congress — Lipogrammatic Literature · Checked on October 24, 2026
This verb, from the Miami-Illinois language, was borrowed from Ojibwe, then transcribed by the French.
The name is sometimes thought to mean “tribe of superior men,” but that is a false etymology. The word referred to the Illinois people, as their neighbors called them.
Source: Myaamia Project (David Costa) — Three American Placenames: Illinois · Checked on October 26, 2026
Poirot first appears in “The Mysterious Affair at Styles,” published in 1920, four years after it was written.
Christie got the idea in August 1914, when Belgian refugees were living in Torquay, her town. She wondered what a retired policeman who was a refugee would be like.
Source: Agatha Christie (site officiel) · Checked on October 26, 2026
The manuscript handed to the printer bore that title, changed to “Dracula” before publication in 1897.
An “un-dead” is a dead person who does not rest in peace, that is, a vampire. The title was probably changed to put the count at the forefront.
Source: Mental Floss — 10 Blood-Curdling Facts About Dracula · Checked on October 26, 2026
Each language can be translated into the other 23: 24 × 23 = 552 combinations, hence the huge body of translators and interpreters.
Citizens have the right to write to the EU institutions in any of the 24 languages and to receive a reply in the same language. To limit direct combinations, the institutions often use “pivot” languages.
Source: Parlement européen (Service de recherche, Multilingualism) · Checked on October 24, 2026
King Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh (7th century BC) held the Epic of Gilgamesh, among thousands of cuneiform texts.
The texts, mostly in Akkadian, covered literature, medicine, astrology and religion. The king had texts gathered and copied throughout his empire. The tablets were found in the ruins of his palaces.
Source: National Geographic — The greatest library in the world was built by this ruthless king · Checked on October 24, 2026
Louis Braille developed his system in the 19th century from a military tactile code.
Different combinations of dots can represent letters, numbers and punctuation marks.
Source: American Printing House for the Blind — History of Braille · Checked on October 24, 2026
An estimated 17 to 21 million Americans suffer from it. The word is sometimes spelled “paraskavedekatriaphobia” or replaced by “friggatriskaidekaphobia.”
The word comes from Greek: paraskevi (“Friday”) and dekatreis (“thirteen”). It is a learned term coined to name this fear, not a medical diagnosis recognized everywhere.
Source: Slate — When a full moon and a lunar eclipse collide with Friday the 13th, do more accidents really happen? · Checked on October 26, 2026
Greek mythology gave divine drinks the power of immortality.
In Greek mythology, nectar combined “nek-” (death) and “-tar” (to overcome), naming the magical drink that gave the gods of Olympus immortality.
Source: Online Etymology Dictionary — Nectar · Checked on October 24, 2026
The famous cold sauce made of egg yolk and oil claims maritime roots.
According to local legend, the sauce was named in Mahón, Menorca, in honor of a military victory (1756). Other linguists favor a derivation from the Old French word “moyeu” (egg yolk).
Source: Online Etymology Dictionary — Mayonnaise · Checked on October 24, 2026
The “Hundred Acre Wood” matches the real “Five Hundred Acre Wood,” in Ashdown Forest (East Sussex), near the home of the author, A. A. Milne.
Christopher Milne, the author's son and the real Christopher Robin, wrote that Winnie's forest and Ashdown are one and the same. The real wood is therefore called “Five Hundred Acre Wood” (five hundred acres, not a hundred).
Source: BBC Media Centre — BBC Radio 4 marks the centenary of Winnie-the-Pooh with a special week of programmes · Checked on October 26, 2026
The “gorge chaude” (literally “warm throat”) was the still-warm flesh of an animal, given to a bird of prey so that it could gorge itself.
“Faire des gorges chaudes” of someone means to mock them with relish, like a raptor feasting on its prey. The meaning shifted from “feasting” to “mocking.”
Source: Wiktionnaire · Checked on October 24, 2026
The list of dishes offered to diners shifted in meaning toward culinary detail.
From the Latin adjective “minutus” (small, minute), the word originally meant a detailed list of small dishes before being applied to the bill of fare.
Source: Culinary History Society — Menu History · Checked on October 24, 2026
One of the greatest sea-adventure hits at first concealed its real author.
When it came out, readers believed it was the genuine autobiography of a shipwrecked sailor, so striking was the realism of the desert-island journal.
Source: British Library — Robinson Crusoe First Edition · Checked on October 24, 2026
Arabic “kāfir” (“unbeliever”) gave French “cafard” (1512), meaning a falsely pious person, and then, around 1542, the insect, probably because of its dark color.
The “cockroach” sense probably comes from the black clothing of the devout, or from the insect's habit of fleeing the light. “Avoir le cafard” (to feel down) comes from the verb “cafarder,” itself derived from this word.
Source: Wiktionnaire · Checked on October 24, 2026
Forbes estimates she had given $160 million before 2012. High taxes in the United Kingdom also played a part.
She returned to Forbes’ billionaires list in 2025. According to Forbes, her donations between 2005 and 2025 would exceed $250 million.
Source: Forbes — J.K. Rowling profile · Checked on October 26, 2026
This 12th-century poem, composed by Lambert le Tort, is linked to the 12-syllable line that took its name.
The exact origin of the name remains uncertain: it may refer to the hero, Alexander the Great, or to Alexandre de Bernay, who continued the poem. This line, with a pause in the middle (the caesura), later dominated classical theater and poetry: Racine, Molière and Hugo used it extensively.
Source: Larousse — Alexandrin · Checked on October 24, 2026
The printer Aldus Manutius used it for the first time in 1501, in a collection of small-format books (octavo).
These handier books cost less than big folios: you could slip them into a pocket or a satchel. The slanted, narrow typeface fits more text on the page. Its name recalls its Italian origin.
Source: Textes rares — Alde Manuce · Checked on October 24, 2026
In the novel, the creature has no name: he is called “monster,” “creature,” “demon” or “wretch.”
The scientist is named Victor Frankenstein and builds a living being from body parts. The mistake is very widespread: “Frankenstein” is often used to mean the monster.
Source: Frankenstein Electronic Archive (UPenn) — Wade: Shelley and the Miltonic Element in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein · Checked on October 26, 2026
In May 2020, it justified this gender by the word’s meaning: “covid” refers to a disease, a feminine word in French (“la maladie”).
The WHO uses “la COVID-19” (feminine) in French, but usage remains divided: according to a March 2021 Ifop poll, 56% of French people say “le covid” exclusively in the masculine. In French-speaking Canada, the media follow the feminine.
Source: Académie française — Le covid 19 ou La covid 19 · Checked on October 24, 2026
Solomana Kanté created this script, which is written from right to left; “n'ko” means “I say” in Manding languages.
It is used for Maninka, Bambara and Dyula, in Guinea, Mali and Côte d'Ivoire. It was added to the Unicode standard in July 2006, which allows it to be displayed on computers.
Source: Unicode Consortium — The Unicode Standard, Chapter 19: Africa (N'Ko) · Checked on October 24, 2026
The English word for a French “préservatif” is “condom”; “preservative” is what keeps foods or products from spoiling.
A classic mistake when traveling or translating a label: on packaging, “no preservatives” means “sans conservateurs” in French. It has nothing to do with contraception.
Source: Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary · Checked on October 24, 2026
The highest possible score with the cowrie shells (used as dice) was 25, hence the name sometimes translated as “Twenty-five.”
Some versions of the game use 30 as the maximum score. The game is very old: the Indian epic Mahabharata describes a form of it, called “Pasha.”
Source: Wikipédia (Pachisi) · Checked on October 26, 2026
He drew mainly on Aesop, Babrius and Phaedrus, and also on Eastern fables, between 1668 and 1694.
His talent lies in the versification, the rhythm, the humor and the moral. He wrote 243 fables, collected in twelve books. Imitating the ancients was then a respected art.
Source: Encyclopædia Universalis — Fables (J. de La Fontaine), fiche de lecture · Checked on October 24, 2026
A governor found it insulting to make animals speak like humans. The books were banned in Hunan province.
The censor reportedly said that giving animals human language was an insult to humans. He also feared that children would treat animals and humans as equals.
Source: J. Willard Marriott Library — Banned: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland · Checked on October 26, 2026
The Hebrew Yeshua was transcribed into Greek as “Iēsous” in the Septuagint, then into Latin as “Iesus.” From that come “Jésus” in French and “Jesus” in English.
Yeshua is related to the biblical name Joshua. The Greek Iēsous is the transcription found in the Septuagint; Latin wrote it IESVS. From there come the French and English forms.
Source: GodWords — Jesus in Every Language · Checked on October 26, 2026
At Trinity College, dogs were forbidden; since the rules said nothing about bears, Byron adopted one and reportedly even proposed enrolling it for a fellowship.
Byron loved animals: besides cats, dogs and horses, he kept a fox, monkeys, an eagle, a falcon, peacocks and even a badger and a goat, according to his biographers.
Source: University of Cambridge — Lord Byron and the bears beneath Cambridge · Checked on October 26, 2026
Depending on the country, the at sign is called a monkey’s tail, a snail or an elephant’s trunk.
In French it is “arobase,” in Dutch “apenstaartje” (little monkey’s tail), in Italian “chiocciola” (snail), in Danish “snabel-a” (an “a” with an elephant’s trunk), and in Finnish “miukumauku” (a cat’s meow).
Source: Big Think — Strange Maps #669: Digital Monkeys and Virtual Ducks: What to Call the @ · Checked on October 24, 2026
Turkish “tülbent” (“turban”), which came from Persian, gave French “tulipe” (“tulip”) in the 17th century; the flower looks like a turban.
The tulip comes from Central Asia and the Ottoman Empire. In 1593 a Latin text calls it “tulipa,” and the word then becomes “tulipe” in French. In Persia, the flower is called “lâla,” a different word.
Source: Wiktionnaire · Checked on October 24, 2026
The word “dekichatta kekkon” (できちゃった結婚) is a casual term for a marriage decided after an unplanned pregnancy.
It is lighter in tone than the English expression “shotgun wedding” (a forced marriage, at gunpoint): in Japanese, nothing suggests coercion, only an unexpected event.
Source: Population Reference Bureau — Shotgun Weddings a Sign of the Times in Japan · Checked on October 26, 2026
Italian theater plays dressed up European clothing vocabulary.
Pantalone was an old, miserly Venetian character who wore distinctive long tight stockings, giving his name to garments that cover the legs.
Source: Theatre History Museum — Pantalone · Checked on October 24, 2026
The root “yuj” means “to attach, join, yoke.” Yoga is a cousin of the English word “yoke.”
Some authors see this as an allusion to the earliest practices, which involved reining in the senses. Another root, meaning “to concentrate,” is also proposed by tradition.
Source: Princeton University Press — Yoga in Practice (chapter) · Checked on October 26, 2026
The play premiered on December 27, 1904, at the Duke of York's Theatre. J. M. Barrie turned it into the novel “Peter and Wendy,” published in 1911.
So it was the play that made the character famous; the novel, originally titled “Peter and Wendy” rather than “Peter Pan,” prolonged his success. Barrie himself adapted his play into a novel.
Source: Great Ormond Street Hospital — Peter Pan at Great Ormond Street Hospital · Checked on October 26, 2026
At Bloomsbury, they judged that young boys, the target audience, would hesitate to read a book written by a woman, and advised using two initials.
Joanne Rowling has no middle name: she chose the K for Kathleen, her paternal grandmother’s first name, partly because those two letters are easy to say in a row.
Source: J.K. Rowling — About · Checked on October 26, 2026
On February 14, 842, Louis the German and Charles the Bald, grandsons of Charlemagne, allied against their brother Lothair; one of the oaths is written in a Romance language.
Each king swore in the language of the other's army so that he would be understood by that army's soldiers. We know the text through the historian Nithard. Older glossaries exist, but they are only lists of words: this is the first written trace of a continuous text in Old French.
Source: Internet History Sourcebooks Project — Livre des sources médiévales: L'ASSEMBLEE DE STRABOURG (14 février 842) · Checked on October 24, 2026
Some Polynesian languages make do with a small number of written phonemes.
The Hawaiian alphabet uses only five vowels and eight consonants, making its written form especially streamlined and phonetic.
Source: University of Hawaii — Hawaiian Orthography · Checked on October 24, 2026
The word combines “hana” (flower) and “hi” (fire), written 花火. The “h” of “hi” becomes “b” in the compound word.
Where English stresses the fire, Japanese chooses the image of a flower blooming in the sky. Fireworks festivals, the “hanabi taikai,” are a summer classic in Japan.
Source: Wiktionnaire (花火) · Checked on October 26, 2026
Making sacred texts accessible to ordinary people was long considered a serious crime.
William Tyndale translated the New Testament directly from Greek; printed in 1526, the text became a landmark. Convicted of heresy, he was strangled and then burned at the stake in 1536 near Vilvoorde.
Source: Westminster Abbey — William Tyndale · Checked on October 24, 2026
According to his biography, the Irish writer never visited Eastern Europe; he did his research in London, mainly at the London Library.
He drew on travel books and maps. He had first set his story in Styria, in Austria, before choosing Transylvania. His novel appeared in 1897 and launched the modern figure of the vampire.
Source: Mental Floss — 10 Blood-Curdling Facts About Dracula · Checked on October 26, 2026
The origin of the word “Kyrgyz” is uncertain; one hypothesis sees “forty tribes” in it, and the Persian suffix -stan means “land.”
These forty tribes would be the clans of the legendary hero Manas. The forty-rayed sun on the national flag is said to allude to this, with the tunduk, the crown of a yurt, at its center.
Source: Encyclopedia.com — Kyrgyz · Checked on October 26, 2026
According to Ethnologue, about 3,000 languages are “endangered” (3,045, or 42%, in one of its counts): they are passed on to children less and less.
A language dies when no one passes it on anymore. Most endangered languages have few speakers, often in isolated regions. The figure varies with the calculation method and changes every year.
Source: Ethnologue · Checked on October 24, 2026
Some human languages get by with a minimal set of consonant and vowel sounds.
Rotokas has one of the smallest sound inventories in the world, with just five vowels and six basic consonants.
Source: Linguistic Society of America — Phoneme Inventories · Checked on October 24, 2026
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