On this episode of Our American Stories Andrew Thompson shares another slice of his guide to understanding the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language The book is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases Support the show https www ouramericanstories com donate See omnystudio com listener for privacy information [... more]

A popular restaurant in Bangkok serves soup from a broth that has been cooking for forty-five years and is replenished a bit each day The practice called ldquo perpetual stew rdquo dates back to medieval times Just as some ldquo leftovers rdquo taste better a few days later the extended cooking time blends and creates unique flavors The restaurant has won multiple awards for the most delicious broth in Thailand Good things often take time but our human nature struggles with patience The question ldquo How long rdquo occurs throughout the Bible One poignant example is from the prophet Habakkuk [... more]

The small country of Iceland is a nation of readers In fact it rsquo s reported that each year it publishes and reads more books per person than any other country On Christmas Eve it rsquo s a tradition for Icelanders to give books to family and friends and then read long into the night This tradition dates back to World War II when imports were restricted but paper was cheap Icelandic publishers began flooding the market with new titles in late fall Now a catalog of the country rsquo s new releases is sent to every Icelandic home in [... more]