I'm Going To Have To Follow Up On This
One of my all-time favorite words is defenestration. I love it because somewhere along the line in the history, enough people were being thrown out the window that such a word was warranted. If I ever get to be a dictator, or even a professional revolutionary, that will TOTALLY be part of my m.o.
posted by The Goo at 8:16 AM
1 Comments:
I first learned what "defenestration" meant when I was 11, read a murder mystery where the word was used, and looked it up.
Here's one of my favorite anecdotes on the history of defenestration, quoted from Wikipedia.
"Historically, defenestration was used as an act of political dissent. Notably, the Defenestrations of Prague (1419 and 1618) helped trigger prolonged conflict within Bohemia and beyond. Catholics ascribed the survival of those defenestrated at Prague Castle in 1618 to divine intervention (often said to be done by angels catching them), while Protestants claimed that it was due to their landing in a large pile of manure."
I say the survivors were caught by angels. Definitely. No way manure's taking the credit for that.
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