Egyptian hieroglyph pintail duck sign son sꜣ

A duck picture could spell “son”

In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a pintail-duck picture could stand for the sounds sꜣ, from the Egyptian name for the duck. The sign could therefore write “son”: hieroglyphs could use pictures for their sounds, not just for what they showed.

Burnt food is not likely to cause cancer

Baking, grilling, or broiling starchy foods until they form a toasted crust can create acrylamide. Research has found that acrylamide in burnt or well-cooked food is not likely to cause cancer in humans.

One damaged cable cut off most of Armenia's Internet

In 2011, a woman digging for scrap metal accidentally damaged an important communications cable. Armenia had only a few high-capacity connections, so the single cut knocked out most of the country's Internet access.

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Egyptian hieroglyph pintail duck sign son sꜣ

A duck picture could spell “son”

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