Going Green

One of the things I love is when old words acquire new meanings over time. For example, take a look at Google. The word "googol" used to mean, "a rather large number to which no one wishes to count." However, now google has actually undergone a sort of metamorphosis and changed into a word that means, "a search engine on the internet that has become an expert at wasting my time and a valuable tool for procrastination."

The word "green" has also changed. Long ago, back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, it described the stuff triceratops could eat. During the time of Shakespeare (see picture of poetic dead guy), green was used to describe the unfortunate tights many actors were forced to wear during their performances. While the Revolutionary War was going on, green was the color of the woodland foliage that offset the red coats of the British, enabling us to win the war. In the rather awful decade of the seventies, green was a color used in many repetitive designs of paisley. Now, however, green describes something entirely new. "Green" is now a way of life. If you're green, that means that you:

• carpool to work
• take quick showers
• have a bottle floating in your toilet tank
• don't let the water run while you're brushing your teeth
• hug trees on a regular basis (I'm not criticizing anyone; I have actually hugged a tree myself)
• eat organic food (extra brownie points if it's organic granola)
• snip the little plastic ring that goes around your gallon of milk's spout before you throw it away (this prevents animals from getting it stuck on their mouths or paws)
• etc. (see video for a bit of et cetera)

Thanks for listening!

Maggs