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Today I learned about circulation policy at OSU, namely who can and cannot come in and check things out. From the OSU site:

Who can check out books?

OSU students, faculty and staff have borrowing privileges, as do patrons who have a valid ID from any OhioLINK school.

If I am not affiliated with OSU, is there any way I can check out books?
If you are an OSU alumni and belong to the alumni association, you have borrowing privileges. You simply need to apply for a Courtesy Card at the Sullivant or Ackerman Libraries Circulation Desks. OSU graduates must belong to the alumni association in order to obtain borrowing privileges.

You can join the Friends of the Library for an annual fee of $45, which will entitle you to a Courtesy Card.

Please inquire at the circulation desk for more information about Courtesy Cards.

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1.) There was some discussion today on the meaning of the word "vase," mainly weather when pronounced to rhyme with "face" it means something different than when pronounced to rhyme with "bras." It was suggested that "rhymes-with-bras" refers to a decorative object while "rhymes with face" is just any old thing you stick flowers in. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if it was true. It turns out not to be, though. None of the sources I checked (Wikipedia, the OED, and Merriam-Webster online) says anything other than that they are variant pronunciations. MW actually breaks it down pretty well, while also throwing in "rhymes-with-days" as a third pronuciation (fucking Canadians): US oftenest ˈvās; Canada usually & US also ˈvāz; British usually, Canada also, & US sometimes ˈväz.

2.) I also learned today, kind of, about tides. The Wikipedia article is a freaking 90-page report on the subject, and therefore was not particularly helpful to me since I would have to spend more than 4 seconds reading it. I also checked on Howstuffworks.com. It still does not fully make sense to me with regard to the water actually moving around on the Earth and rising up higher on whatever particular beach you happen to be standing on, but I get that the pull of the moon bulges out the Earth on the sides closest to and farthest away from the moon. This happens, for the most part, twice a day: two high tides and two low tides. Eh. Thinking is hard.

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Yesterday I learned that the word "stanchion" means a vertical support post or beam. Thus, if one were to use this word in reference to those little stands and ropes they use to control lines (think of the ticket line at the Easton movies), one would be wrong. You could argue that the little vertical posts that connect the ropes are stanchions, but they aren't really being used to support anything (such as a porch, a ceiling, or a railing) in the correct sense. So suck on that, snooty post-it writers of the world.

Today I learned that that sound I thought was a mourning dove really is a mourning dove. That might seem like lame learnings to you, but you try looking that shit up on the internet. Googling "woo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo" probably sets of some kind of national security alarm for crazy.

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Yesterday I learned that the bassist currently touring with Nickel Creek is Mark Schatz. He clogs. Awesome.

Today I learned what a "merkin" is. Yeah. Thanks to my roommate for filling me in on that one. We're weird.

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Today I learned why barns are red. It was in the Dispatch's "who knew" article where they take interesting reference questions that the library has been asked and puts them in the paper.

Q: Why are barns painted red?

A: Centuries ago, European farmers sealed the wood on their barns with a mixture of linseed oil, milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint -- more of a burnt-orange red than the fire-engine red of today -- that dried and hardened quickly. Two main theories explain how the oil mixture became traditionally red: Either blood, from a recent slaughter, or rust was added. Rust -- plentiful on farms -- acts as a poison to many fungi, including wood-decaying threats such as mold and moss. Red on barns became fashionable in the 1800s, when red paint was the most inexpensive; it remained in favor until whitewash became cheaper.

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Friday I learned that generalized itching without a rash can be a symptom of Hodgkin's lymphoma, so now I'm convinced that I have that.

Saturday I learned that season 3 of The Office is coming out on DVD on September 4. Season 3 was kind of disappointing to me, but I will still buy the DVD. They always have good extras. BUT GUESS WHAT ELSE. 30 Rock also comes out on DVD that day! Now that I'm excited about.

Today I learned the recipe for a "brandy Alexander:" 1.5 ounces of brandy, 1 ounce dark creme de cacao, 1 ounce of half and half or heavy cream, and 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg. Brandy Alexander is also an awesome, awesome song off of Feist's latest CD, The Reminder. Give it a listen.

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Yesterday I learned how bumper cars work. I'm pretty tired, you can look it up yourself if you're curious. I don't remember what all I looked at.

Today I learned about cryptozoology and some awesome imaginary/extinct/super-rare animals that you can learn about here. Some of that shit that sounds totally crazy, you can bet those mofos are or were living out there deep in the jungle our way the hell out in the middle of nowhere, and we're all like "yeah, sure, THAT'S a real thing." But you know some of them are.