Serendipity and Syzygy: Fortunate Accidents

<p><span>How did a country's name end up inside the word, “serendipity"? And what’s a “syzygy"? And, more importantly, why does it have so many y’s?   </span></p> <p><span>Over the past year, several listeners have written to us asking about these two words. Now, we answer—with a little help. </span><a href="https://twitter.com/StoriesByEli?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor"><span>Eli Chen</span></a><span> and <a href="https://justineparadis.com" target="_blank">Justine Paradis</a></span><span> join us for a round of Diction Dash, where Johanna tries (and usually fails) to guess the correct origin or meaning of a word. </span></p> <p><span>If you want us to cover a word on the show, get in touch! Give us a call, leave a message, and we might play it on the show. The number is </span><strong>929-499-WORD, </strong><span>or</span><strong> 929-499-9673</strong><span>. Or, you can always send an email to </span><a href="mailto:podcasts@sciencefriday.com"><span>podcasts@sciencefriday.com</span></a><span>. </span></p> <h3><strong>Guests: </strong></h3> <p><span>Justine Paradis is a reporter and producer for </span><a href="http://outsideinradio.org/"><span>Outside/In</span></a><span> from New Hampshire Public Radio. </span></p> <p><span>Eli Chen is senior editor of </span><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/podcasts/overheard"><span>Overheard at National Geographic</span></a><span>. </span></p> <h3><strong>Footnotes &amp; Further Reading: <br></strong></h3> <p>More on <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-a-supermoon-helped-free-the-giant-container-ship-from-the-suez-canal-11617040923">how a syzygy helped free the Suez ship</a> at the Wall Street Journal</p> <p>Read <a href="https://www.acropolis.org/en/selected-stories/480-the-three-princes-of-serendip">The Three Princes of Serendip</a></p> <h3><strong>Credits: </strong></h3> <p>Science Diction is produced by Johanna Mayer and Senior Producer and Editor Elah Feder. Daniel Peterschmidt composed all our music. Fact checking by Robin Palm