Ripped from the Headlines: May 2023: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for April 29–May 5, 2023

A new study suggests that being bilingual can help prevent dementia late in life. German researchers found that among a group of 746 people between the ages of 59 and 76, those who had spoken two languages since childhood scored higher on a variety of cognitive tests. Memory, language, and learning were all stronger in people who were fluent in more than one language. Bilingual is from Latin roots bi-, "two," and lingua, "tongue."

At the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on April 29, President Biden interspersed self-deprecating jokes with a serious message about the importance of a free press to a free society. The annual event brings journalists who cover White House news together with comedians and celebrities, including this year's headliner, Roy Wood Jr. The dinner is a fundraiser for journalism students as well as a ceremony to recognize members of the press with awards for excellence.

Ugandan farmers are cultivating an obscure coffee variety that can withstand punishing climate conditions, including drought and excess heat. Long spells with no rain are threatening the two most popular types of coffee, arabica and robusta. Now growers have introduced the little-known Liberica excelsa variety to buyers, touting its tolerance for dry conditions and "aromatic, smooth" flavor. Drought derives from a Germanic root that means "dry."

The Met Gala, an extravagant fundraiser held annually by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, took place on the night of May 1. This year's soiree celebrated a new exhibit by fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Celebrity attendees dressed in glamorous, glittering, and sometimes outrageous outfits inspired by Lagerfeld's designs. The original meaning of gala was "festive attire," possibly from the Arabic khil'a, "fine garment."

The Blackpool Zoo in England is seeking applicants for a job that involves donning an eagle costume and chasing away pesky gulls. Zoo officials described the ideal candidate as "outgoing," adding "you need to be comfortable wearing a bird costume!” Deterring gulls is a high priority, as visitors have been injured when the seabirds snatch food from their hands. Although the origin of gull is unclear, we do know its first cited use was in a 15th-century cookbook.

A new hospital in New York's Coney Island was built to be resistant to hurricanes and entirely flood-proof. The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital was built on the site of the former Coney Island Hospital, badly damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The storm's brutal wind and torrential rain flooded the hospital's emergency room and forced the evacuation of 400 patients. The new facility is equipped with backup generators, a barrier wall, and a second-story E.R. above the floodline.

The World Wide Web was invented in 1989, but most people couldn't use the internet until 1993, when it was launched into the public domain. Experts say the this event, 30 years ago, was the start of a truly accessible online space, in which anyone with a computer could theoretically build a website and add hyperlinks to send users to other websites. These connections between computers are the heart of internet, from inter-, "between," and networks.

Television and movie writers went on strike this week. The unionized members of the Writers Guild of America are picketing outside major studios in New York and Los Angeles after they failed to reach a contract agreement with a Hollywood trade association. Demonstrators say they're striking for higher pay and better working conditions. Picket has been used in the context of labor strikes since the late 19th century.

For the first time, scientists found evidence of a frog that pollinates flowering plants. Researchers studying Brazilian tree frogs noticed them dipping their bodies into the blossoms of a milk fruit tree to eat its pulp and nectar. When the frogs emerged, they were covered in pollen, which they transported from flower to flower as they fed. In other words, they were pollinating the plant and spreading its seeds — the first amphibians ever to be observed doing this.

A man who created the technology behind artificial intelligence left his job at Google so he can openly share his concerns about A.I.'s potential to harm humans. Geoffrey Hinton spent 50 years developing the science of computer systems that can learn by analyzing data. Today he fears that same technology could be used to glut the internet with fake photos and videos, making it impossible to tell what is true; and that ultimately A.I. will become smarter than humans.

The Florida Panthers upset the Boston Bruins in the NHL playoffs, eliminating the record-setting team in Game 7. After a season in which the Bruins won 65 games and outscored their rivals by 128 goals, the loss stunned fans. The Boston team had previously been favored to win the series. A popular theory says the origin of upset in a sports context was the 1919 surprise win of a racehorse named Upset, but experts say the game-winning meaning dates from the 1800s.