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Rubber-necking
Rubbernecking is a derogatory term primarily used to refer to bystanders stopping previous activity to stare at accidents. More generally, it can refer to anyone staring at an object of everyday interest compulsively. The term ''rubbernecking'' derives from the neck's appearance while trying to get a better view, that is, craning one's neck. Rubberneck is associated with morbid curiosity. It is often the cause of traffic jams, sometimes referred to as "gapers' block" or "gapers' delay", as drivers slow down to see what happened in a crash. ''Rubberneck'' is considered as of 2007 unconventional English or slang. Etymology The term ''rubbernecking'' was coined in America in the 1890s to refer to tourists. H. L. Mencken said the word ''rubberneck'' is "almost a complete treatise on American psychology" and "one of the best words ever coined". By 1909, ''rubbernecking'' was used to describe the wagons, automobiles and buses used in tours around American cities, and through their C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Party Line (telephony)
A party line (multiparty line, shared service line, party wire) is a local loop telephone circuit that is shared by multiple telephone service subscribers. Party line systems were widely used to provide telephone service, starting with the first commercial switchboards in 1878. A majority of Bell System subscribers in the mid-20th century in the United States and Canada were served by party lines, which had a discount over individual service. During wartime shortages, these were often the only available lines. British users similarly benefited from the party line discount. Farmers in rural Australia and South Africa used party lines, where a single line spanned miles from the nearest town to one property and on to the next. History Telephone companies offered party lines beginning in the late 1800s, although subscribers in all but the most rural areas may have had the option to upgrade to individual line service at an additional monthly charge. The service was common in s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badaud
The ''badaud'' is an important urban type from 18th and 19th-century French literature, one that has been adapted to explain aspects of mass culture and modern experience. The term ''badaud'' (plural: ''badauds'') comes from the French and has the basic meaning of "gawker", or more neutrally, "bystander". The term usually carries the connotation of idle curiosity, gullibility, simpleminded foolishness and gaping ignorance. It was an old inheritance, but was elaborated as an urban type in the eighteenth and nineteenth century to describe the street crowds that were an essential feature of the Parisian landscape. Like the ''flâneur'', to which it has been frequently contrasted, the ''badaud'' has been construed as an emblematic figure of the modern, urban experience and of mass culture. The term ''badauderie'' (though not frequently used) refers to the act of gathering in a street crowd or gawking. Origins and definition ''Badaud'' was in usage from the 16th century, if not earli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online news coverage. The service has over 5,500 journalists working across its output including in 50 foreign news bureaus where more than 250 foreign correspondents are stationed. Deborah Turness has been the CEO of news and current affairs since September 2022. In 2019, it was reported in an Ofcom report that the BBC spent £136m on news during the period April 2018 to March 2019. BBC News' domestic, global and online news divisions are housed within the largest live newsroom in Europe, in Broadcasting House in central London. Parliamentary coverage is produced and broadcast from studios in London. Through BBC English Regions, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department For Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland that have not been Devolution#United Kingdom, devolved. The department is led by the Secretary of State for Transport. The expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department of Transport are scrutinised by the Transport Committee. Responsibilities The Department for Transport has six strategic objectives: * Support the creation of a stronger, cleaner, more productive economy * Help to connect people and places, balancing investment across the country * Make journeys easier, modern and reliable * Make sure transport is safe, secure and sustainable * Prepare the transport system for technological progress and a prosperous future outside the EU * Promote a culture of efficiency and pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly''. In December 2024, Tortoise Media acquired the paper from the Scott Trust Limited, with the transition taking place on 22 April 2025. History Origins The first issue was published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, making ''The Observer'' the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
M6 Motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of the A14 road (England), A14 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby, Warwickshire, Rugby before heading north-west. It passes Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Preston, Lancashire, Preston, Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster and Carlisle, Cumbria, Carlisle and runs between Manchester and Liverpool before terminating at Junction 45 near Gretna, Scotland, Gretna. Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74(M) and M74 motorways, A74(M) which continues to Glasgow as the M74. Its busiest sections are between junctions 4 and 10a in the West Midlands, and junctions 16 to 19 in Cheshire; these sections have now been converted to Active traffic management, smart motorways. It incorporated the Preston By-pass, the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auto Accident On Bloor Street West In 1918
Auto may refer to: Vehicles * An automobile, or car * An autonomous car, a self-driving car * An auto rickshaw Mechanisms * Short for automatic * An automaton * An automatic transmission Media * Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play * ''Auto'' (film), a 2007 Indian comedy film * Auto (play), a subgenre of dramatic literature * ''Auto'' (Italian magazine), an Italian magazine and one of the organizers of the European Car of the Year award Fictional characters * Auto (''Mega Man''), a character from ''Mega Man'' series of games * AUTO, a fictional robot who serves as the main antagonist in the 2008 film ''WALL-E'' Locations * Auto, American Samoa * Auto, West Virginia Programming keywords * A keyword in the C programming language used to declare automatic variables * A keyword in C++11 used for type inference Other uses * Motorists for Themselves (, formally abbreviated AUTO), a political party in the Czech Republic See also * Otto (other) Otto is a giv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker (trade)
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stationary or mobile, hawkers often advertise by loud street cries or chants, and conduct banter with customers, to attract attention and enhance sales. Definition A hawker is a type of street vendor; "a person who travels from place-to-place selling goods." Synonyms include huckster, peddler, chapman or in Britain, costermonger. However, hawkers are distinguished from other types of street vendors in that they are mobile. In contrast, peddlers, for example, may take up a temporary pitch in a public place. Similarly, hawkers tend to be associated with the sale of non-perishable items such as brushes and cookware while costermongers are exclusively associated with the sale of fresh produce. When accompanied by a demonstration or detailed explanati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geese
A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyptian goose, Orinoco goose) are commonly called geese, but are not considered "true geese" taxonomically. More distantly related members of the family Anatidae are swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller. The term "goose" may refer to such bird of either sex, but when paired with "gander", "goose" refers specifically to a female one ("gander" referring to a male). Young birds before fledging are called goslings. The collective noun for a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team, or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump. Etymology The word "goose" is a direct descendant of Proto-Indo-European ''*ǵʰh₂éns''. In Germanic langu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Sloan
John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight (Ashcan School), The Eight. He is best known for his urban genre scenes and ability to capture the essence of neighborhood life in New York City, often observed through his Chelsea studio window. Sloan has been called the premier artist of the Ashcan School, and also a realist painter who embraced the principles of Socialism, though he himself disassociated his art from his politics. Biography John Sloan was born in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, on August 2, 1871, to James Dixon Sloan, a man with artistic leanings who made an unsteady income in a succession of jobs, and Henrietta Ireland Sloan, a schoolteacher from an affluent family. Sloan grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he lived and worked until 1904, when he moved to New York City. He and his tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
