Nov

Culture Smart: What’s the Trouble with Translations?

by Sheron Long on November 3, 2013

The word to say when you miscommunicate in another language

Communicating Across Cultures

An oft repeated story faults Chevrolet in marketing the Chevy Nova in Latin America because “no va” means “does not go” in Spanish. The only problem with this classic international business blunder is that it’s just not true.

Sheron Long 2 Comments

Language & Culture

Nov

Aha Moment Maker: Teddy Bear Tug of War

by Your friends at OIC on November 2, 2013

ONWARD, MISSISSIPPI, 1902—The iconic “teddy bear” was so named for an incident involving America’s 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt. On a brief vacation in Mississippi, his hunting party managed to subdue a black bear and tie it to a tree. Roosevelt declined to shoot it on the grounds that it would not be the sporting thing to do.

News articles about how the big game hunting President refused to shoot a bear caught the attention of political cartoonist Clifford Berryman, who decided to poke fun at the President. In the cartoon, Berryman illustrated the bear as a cute and fuzzy little cub. People enjoyed it so much that he continued to symbolically insert the bear in his cartoons throughout Roosevelt’s presidency.

In Brooklyn, NY, candy shop owners Morris and Rose Michtom saw the cartoon and were inspired to create a stuffed version of the bear cub. They dubbed it “Teddy’s bear” and put it on display in their store window. People were soon asking to buy their creation, so they sent the original off to Roosevelt as a gift for his children and asked for permission to use his name for the stuffed toy.

It wasn’t long before the Michtoms closed the candy store and went into the stuffed bear business full-time. What remains a matter of some debate, however, is whether Berryman or the Michtoms should rightfully be credited as the teddy bear’s creator.

What’s the aha moment you see?

Image © iStockphoto

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Your Own Aha Moments

Oct

Halloween Traditions: Spooks, Saints, and Souls

by Meredith Mullins on October 31, 2013

Trick-or-treating shows Halloween traditions that are cultural traditions in America

Trick-or-Treating the American Way

My first Halloween life lesson was at age 10. My tiger costume was purrfect. Visions of the candy haul were dancing in my head. My friends and I could get a month’s stash of sugar and chocolate in a few hours.

Without remorse, we judged each house on the quality of the treats. Apples and pennies were disdained. And even the grouchiest neighbors gained popularity points if they offered the coveted large-size chocolate bar instead of a few meager kernels of candy corn.

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/France/Mexico/USA

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