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Pica is a medical disorder characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive (e.g., clay, coal, soil, feces, chalk, paper, soap, mucus, ash, gum etc.) or an abnormal appetite for some things that may be considered foods, such as food ingredients (e.g., flour, raw potato, raw rice, starch, ice cubes, salt). (via Mario)

Tijuana bibles (also known as bluesies, eight-pagers, gray-backs, Jiggs-and-Maggie books, jo-jo books, Tillie-and-Mac books or two-by-fours) were pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. Their popularity peaked during the Great Depression era. (via Bruno Santos)

An apparently scientific argument is said to be not even wrong if it is based on assumptions that are known to be incorrect, or alternatively, theories which cannot possibly be falsified or used to predict anything. The phrase was coined by the early quantum physicist Wolfgang Pauli, who was known for his colorful objections to incorrect or sloppy thinking. (via Sarah M Bruce)

Bockscar, sometimes called Bock’s Car or Bocks Car, is the name of the United States Army Air Forces B-29 bomber that dropped the “Fat Man” nuclear weapon over Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, the second atomic weapon used against Japan. The name painted on the aircraft after the mission is a pun on “boxcar” after the name of its aircraft commander, Captain Frederick C. Bock. (via jj)

In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as “real.” That is, the portrayal of professional wrestling as being genuine or not worked. Referring to events or interviews as being a “work” means that the event/interview has been “kayfabed” or staged, and/or is part of a wrestling angle while being passed off as legitimate.

Shm-reduplication is a form of reduplication in which the original word or its first syllable (the base) is repeated with the copy (the reduplicant) beginning with shm- (sometimes schm-). The construction is generally used to indicate irony, derision or scepticism with respect to comments about the discussed object: “He’s just a baby!” “Baby-shmaby. He’s already 5 years old!” (via @yjon)

Silbo Gomero (Spanish for ‘Gomeran Whistle’), also known as “El Silbo”, is a whistled language spoken by inhabitants of La Gomera in the Canary Islands to communicate across the deep ravines and narrow valleys (gullies) that radiate through the island. (via Eva)

Garum was a type of fermented fish sauce condiment that was an essential flavour in Ancient Roman cooking, the supreme condiment. For the Romans it was both a staple to the common diet and a luxury for the wealthy. After the liquid garum was ladled off of the top of the mixture, the remains of the fish, called allec, was used by the poorest classes to flavour their staple porridge. (via Carrie)

Skitching is the act of hitching a ride on the rear bumper of a car when there is ice or slick snow on the roads. It is also sometimes referred to as bumper hitching, bumpershining or hooky bobbing. This can also be done with a skateboard or roller skates in urban areas where there is no ice or snow. In addition, skitching can be performed on a bicycle. (via fext)

In medicine and medical anthropology, a culture-specific syndrome or culture-bound syndrome is a combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that are considered to be a recognizable disease only within a specific society or culture. There are no objective biochemical or structural alterations of body organs or functions, and the disease is not recognized in other cultures.