Rob Words: Before the Roman alphabet, English was written out using runes
Rob explores how runes were used in the distant past, how they've been abused by groups like the Nazis, and how they could be used in the future.
Britain’s Celtic languages explained
The Celtic languages have been in Britain since long before the English language even existed. In this video I speak to speakers of 5 different Celtic languages: Cornish, Welsh, Manx,…
Rob Words: The hidden logic behind keyboard symbols
Did you know #, &, @, § and ¶ are all made up of letters? In fact, they each represent specific words. In this video, I'll explain where these little…
Your body parts have mad literal meanings.
In this video, we take a tour of the body and discover the surprising true meanings of our names for body parts. Find out why some words are ancient, some…
COLOUR WORDS: The astounding origins of “blue”, “black”, “orange”, “red” & other colors
Prepare to be amazed by the surprising origins of the English words for colours (or colors for our American friends).
Where the $ symbol actually comes from
Why is the $ sign an S? What does 'dollar' even mean? In this video, I answer both of those questions, while also explaining what the British pound is a…
Almost no names are ‘English’
Did you know there are only a handful of truly English names? In this video, let's explore where our names really come from: from the Anglo-Saxon 'Edward' and 'Alfred' to…
The English words nobody can explain
Some of the most ordinary words in English have origins that no one can explain. Among them: "dog", "big", "bird", "donkey", "boy", "girl" and "puzzle".
The entire history of English in 22 minutes
In this video you'll learn about where English came from, what impact the Vikings had on our language, what the Normans did to English, why Middle English is so weird,…
Time words don’t mean what you think
What is a second the "second" of? What time should noon actually be? And how can "hour" and "year" mean the same thing (because they do!)?