Victorians were enamored of the new science of statistics, so it seems fitting that these pioneering data hounds are now the subject of an unusual experiment in statistical analysis. The titles of every British book published in English in and around the 19th century — 1,681,161, to be exact — are being electronically scoured for key words and phrases that might offer fresh insight into the minds of the Victorians. Dan Cohen and Fred Gibbs, the two historians of science at George Mason University who have created the project, have so far charted how frequently more than two dozen words — among them “God,” “love,” “work,” “science” and “industrial” — appear in British book titles from the French Revolution in 1789 to the beginning of World War I in 1914.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/books/04victorian.html?_r=1

pleonasm (PLEE-uh-naz-uhm) noun The use of more words than those necessary to express an idea; redundancy.
Example: free gift. From Latin pleonasmus, from Greek pleonasmos, from pleonazein (to be in excess), from pleon (more). First recorded use: 1610.
apophasis (uh-POF-uh-sis) noun Allusion to something by denying it will be said.
Via Latin from Greek apophanai (to say no), from apo- (away from) + phanai (to say). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bha- (to speak) that is also the source of fable, phone, fame, boon, and infant. First recorded use: 1657. A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

Both Australia and New Zealand regard the pavlova as their "national" dessert, but the identity of its creator is a source of intense dispute. The only thing both sides have been able to agree on is that it was named in honour of the Russian prima ballerina Anna Pavlova, who caused a sensation when she toured both countries in the 1920s. Now the Oxford English Dictionary online edition, which has just been relaunched a decade after it first appeared, comes down squarely on New Zealand's side. A recipe for little pavlovas – small, coffee-flavoured meringues with walnuts – appeared in a weekly newspaper in Christchurch in 1928. "But the first recipe everyone agrees is a pavlova appeared in 1929, in the New Zealand Dairy Exporter Annual. Unfortunately, the author used a pseudonym," she said. Dr Helen Leach, who has published her research in a book called "The Pavlova Story", said: "I can find at least 21 pavlova recipes in New Zealand cookbooks by 1940, which was the year the first Australian ones appeared."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/8173666/New-Zealand-wins-pavlova-debate-thanks-to-OED.html

Q: Is there a way I can properly dispose of an American flag at home or do I need to take it somewhere? If I can't dispose of it at home, where do I take it?
A: Yes, you can dispose of it at home. Just do it "in a dignified way." Federal law says, "The flag, when it is such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning." If you would like someone else to do it, many veteran and scout groups dispose of flags. www.ushistory.org, Peter Mattiace.
Q: Are there other rules of note about the flag?
A: Federal law on displaying the flag often is ignored, in part because it has no enforcement provisions and in part because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that use of the flag is protected as free speech under the First Amendment. So, consider it a guide.
Despite patriotic intent, the flag should not be:
• draped over a vehicle, train or boat.
• displayed at night without "proper" lighting.
• "carried flat or displayed horizontally," as sometimes happens in parades or sports events.
• "used as wearing apparel," including "as a costume or athletic uniform."
• "have placed upon it...any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature."
• "be used for advertising purposes in any matter whatsoever."
• or, used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything. Various sources, Peter Mattiace.
http://www.thecourier.com/Opinion/columns/2010/Dec/JU/ar_JU_120610.asp?d=120610,2010,Dec,06&c=c_13