Wednesday, February 04, 2015

The English Language Part 1

There are a lot of things about the English language that drive me nuts.  There are also a lot of things I just don't understand the where, why and how it came to be.

Lately there is a sign when I walk into my building that says "Ensure the door closes behind you."

Ensure: to make sure, certain, or safe :  guarantee (Webster's)

But what about assure?

Assure:  to make (something) certain

Left with more questions than answers I use the all powerful Google to find this cool site and reference:
Insure: protect with an insurance policy, as in Insure the car before your trip. To “assure” a person of something is to make him or her confident of it. According to Associated Press style, to “ensure” that something happens is to make certain that it does, and to “insure” is to issue an insurance policy.

When I see it put like that I know I have it.  And then I can ensure that the next time this comes up I'll use the wrong word.

Have a question about the English language you want to investigate with me?  Drop a comment.

Monday, February 02, 2015

Organic Cotton

I have a general question.  If you were to look at 2 t-shirts and one was organic cotton and the other was just cotton which one would you buy?  Would you spend a bit more for the organic cotton shirt?

I have a set of pjs and a shirt that are organic cotton.  They feel great, although I will honestly say they feel just like "regular" cotton to me.  Not softer and not too stiff.  But, here is my issue.  Both items (which I spent more than I would normally spend) have small holes throughout them now.  I wear and wash them just like my normal regular cotton clothing and out of no where there are little holes.  Is this something to do with it being organic cotton or just these items?  I don't have a good answer for it, but it makes me not want to buy organic cotton again.

I started wondering what is organic cotton. (from Wikipedia)
Organic cotton is generally understood as cotton and is grown in subtropical countries such as Turkey, China, USA from non genetically modified plants, that is to be grown without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides.[1] Its production also promotes and enhances biodiversity and biological cycles.[2][dead link] In the United States cotton plantations must also meet the requirements enforced by the National Organic Program (NOP), from the USDA, in order to be considered organic. This institution determines the allowed practices for pest control, growing, fertilizing, and handling of organic crops.[3][4] As of 2007, 265,517 bales of organic cotton were produced in 24 countries and worldwide production was growing at a rate of more than 50% per year.[5]

 

After reading what organic cotton is, I think I want to buy it more.  But, I'm worried about the longevity of the items I purchase.  I'd be interested to know if other people see the same small holes appearing in their organic cotton items.  Reading this thread hasn't helped at all.  I'm going to guess maybe small aliens are eating my clothing!