Hangul

Hangul is the name of the Korean script. Its name literally means "great script."  There are 24 nbasic letters.  The consonant characters are formed with curved or angled lines. The vowels are composed of vertical or horizontal straight lines together with short lines on either side of the main line.  Hangul was created in 1443 CE by King Sejong the Great.

Conjunctions

The thing I learned today is the classification of conjunctions.

• A coordinating conjunction (which I knew about) joins two main clauses, such as "I saw the bird and she saw the cat."  Examples are: and, but, or, yet, as soon as.
• A subordinating cunjunction (which I'd forgotten) joins a subordinate (or dependent) clause to a main clause, such that one of the clauses is given more importance, as in "Although I saw the bird, she saw the cat." Examples are: after, though, unless, until, while, if.
• A correlative conjunction (new to me!) is a pair of words such as either.. or, neither... not, and not only... but also, which joins two clauses, as in "Neither she nor I saw any animals."

The term "atomic bomb"

The thing I learned today is that the term "atomic bomb" was first coined in 1914 by H.G. Wells in The World Set Free, thirty-one years before "The Gadget" was first tested in New Mexico.

The word "time" is the most common noun in the English language, according to the Oxord English Dictionary.

Stile

A stile is the vertical component on the outside of the door – on both sides. It's where you will find the lock, latches, and whatever hinges your project requires. Rails are the horizontal sections of the door panel at the top and bottom of the door.

Siderodromophobia is the fear of trains. The word comes from Greek roots meaning "iron" and "running" (as in dromedary).

The word "school" derives from the Greek word for "discussion," originally "leisure, spare time." Seems reasonable, as only those with leisure time on their hands would think to fill their days with otiose dialectics and disputations.

Nephrite is a mineral, also called jade, which was once thought to cure kidney stones (the name comes from the Greek "nephros," or kidney).

The word "yoga" is taken from the cognate Sankrit word originally meaning a yoke, from a root meaning to join or attach. It is thus typically translated as "union."

The modern day trampoline was invented by an American gymnast called George Nissen who purportedly got the idea after seeing trapeze artists fall into safety nets. He named it after the Spanish word for diving board.

Pan-pan is a radiotelegraph call sign indicating a state of urgency with no immediate danger to life, which is one degree less urgent than a call of Mayday.

Criosphinx

In Egyptian mythology, a criosphinx is a sphinx with the head of a ram instead of a human. This comes from the Greek word krios for ram.

Benihana is named after the coffee shop that the founder's parents owned in Tokyo. "Benihana" means "red safflower." Many of the restaurants have plates that feature a stylized image of this flower.

The Passat, which is German for trade wind, is a make of car by Volkswagen.

Cooler

A "cooler," in gambling, is a person whose luck is consistently bad and can bring down a whole table by his or her very presence.

Asado is a term for barbecue and its techniques in Argentina and other South American countries, including Brazil.

Firefox

The red panda is also known as the firefox in English.

The term "bok choy" (Chinese cabbage) comes from the mandarin baicai, or "white vegetable."

Rimmel is a cosmetics brand founded by Eugene Rimmel in London in 1834. In French, "le Rimmel" refers to mascara.

The word "judo" is literally translated as "gentle way." Its cardinal priciple is never to oppose force with force, but to yield to force in order to disrupt the attacker's balance.