Word Origins

 

*DAISY

One can hope coming generations will show imagination and poetry in the coining of names as in the past in the likes of such words as telephone, automobile, airplane, radio, or television. But consider the common field plant, the daisy. Even a thousand years ago it was observed that the white rays of its flower opened with the rising sun, exposing its golden disk through the day, and folded again in the evening. They called it daeges eage, “day’s eye,” (especially in Australia). Quoting the great philosopher, Drew Barrymore, who once quipped, “Daisies are like sunshine to the ground.”

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)

School Bus Closeup

 

Originally called National School Bus Chrome, the yellow used on school buses was specifically formulated for use in North America in 1939 by Dr. Frank W. Cyr, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York. His conference established national school bus construction standards for the US including the standardized yellow color. Yellow was chosen because it attracts attention and is noticed quickly in peripheral vision, faster than any other color according to scientific research at the time. National School Bus Glossy Yellow is the current official designation.