Charles Hodgson

I literally just finished this book and I was nicely surprised! It's a great book to pick up at any page and read, or just read from start to finish. I've already started saying to my friends "did you know that...". When I first heard of the book I thought it would be slightly boring because it deals with the history/meaning of words but it's really interesting and sometimes downright funny.

This is a book that features almost every single word you can think of that is part of the human body (ie. ring finger, dimple, widow's peak, etc.) and details what it means and where it originated from. For instance, your Annulary is your ring finger, which was also known as a 'physician finger' because that's where they leeched blood from in the old days. They did this because the ring finger vein was thought to have a direct connection with the heat. "The supposed association between the heart and this finger is the reason that it is the finger we honor with our wedding rings." (p.9).

This is a fun read. I really enjoyed finding out why we call certain parts of our bodies certain things. Like where the word "adam's apple" came from. We take the words we use to describe body parts for granted and never really think of when/where the words originted and their significance or evolution. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in random trivia, the meaning of words, and anatomy.… (mehr)