The beautiful Mysteries of Vernacular is a word-nerd’s delight,
a series of animations delving into the origin of words, using
exquisite paper craft animation to spin an etymological yarn.
The animations are narrated in authoritative British, giving
each story the feel of the 1970s show, Connections, in which
science historian James Burke unwound the links between small
moments in history and modern life. In this way, Mysteries of
Vernacular, created by Myriapod Productions, lays out the
connections between an ancient word for wolf, a triangular rake,
a frame that held candles in funerals and, finally, a carriage
(or car) that conveys coffins. All of these things come together
to bring us the modern-day word hearse. Watch above. The words
covered so far are not in alphabetical order: assassin, clue,
hearse and pants. Click on one of the videos for a beautifully
non-linear story about how words shift and change as human
societies do. There are connections, of course, between the
early spelling and meaning of a