This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for December 1–December 7, 2024

A Chinese businessman bought an absurdist work — a banana duct-taped to a wall — by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan for $6.2 million. Days later, the buyer, Justin Sun, posted an online video that showed him eating the banana. The fruit at the center of the nonsensical conceptual piece, titled Comedian, originally cost 25 cents. While Sun pledged to buy 100,000 more bananas, the fruit stand worker who sold the multimillion-dollar banana won't benefit from the gesture.

Officials in Invergordon, Scotland, will sell a marble bust that had been purchased by the town council for five dollars in 1930. The sculpted head and shoulders, modeled after the town's namesake, Sir John Gordon, was displayed in his family's castle for years after it was carved in 1728. It was most recently found propping open a garden shed. The nearly $3 million in proceeds from its sale will benefit the community. Bust is from the Italian busto, "upper body."

The last living member of the U.S. Army's all-Black Ninth Cavalry Regiment died at 103. Robert W. Dixon Sr. was stationed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point during World War II. He was part of a group of Black cadets trained to fight on horseback. The mounted regiments were named "Buffalo Soldiers" by Native Americans inspired by their fierceness. Cavalry is from the Italian cavaliere, "mounted soldier," and the Vulgar Latin caballus, "horse."

President Biden used his power of executive clemency to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, of federal gun charges and tax evasion. The younger Biden was scheduled for sentencing this month, and he may have faced prison time. The president's decision to release his son from the legal consequences of his convicted crimes has been both criticized and defended by various experts. Biden is the third president, after Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, to pardon a member of his own family.

Scientists found that after Ethiopian wolves feed on prey, they treat themselves to a sweet dessert, licking tall, cone-shaped plants. As they enjoy the flowers' nectar, these otherwise carnivorous animals help to pollinate the plants, known as torch lilies or red hot pokers. The French word dessert, "last course," is from the verb desservir, "clear the table," or literally "unserve."

A British man who was inspired by an American TV show to be a double agent was arrested and charged with spying for Iran. Daniel Khalife modeled his actions on the series Homeland, which featured a character who pretended to spy for one country while sending classified information to another. Khalife was never employed by the British government, though he aspired to be an undercover agent for its intelligence service.

Insurgents took over Syria's largest city, Aleppo, in a surprise attack. The group, which calls itself Deterrence of Aggression, is a coalition of rebel factions that are united in opposing Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Iran-supported militias, and ISIS. Before the armed takeover, Assad held power in Aleppo for eight years, ever since his troops expelled opposition forces in 2016. Insurgent, "one who rises in revolt," is rooted in the Latin surgere, "to rise."

On December 2, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. It was part of an attempt to push back against the opposition party controlling Parliament. Overnight, armed soldiers, tanks, and military helicopters patrolled the streets of Seoul, surrounding government buildings as officials protested. The military only controlled South Korea for six hours; Yoon lifted his order the following day. Martial derives from Mars, the Roman god of war.

A new Danish law will tax methane emissions that directly result from the burps and manure of cows and pigs. Humans are vastly outnumbered by farm animals in Denmark, and farming produces the majority of the country's pollution. The climate measure is the first in the world to levy a fee on livestock belches. Methane is a colorless gas that contributes to global warming, and agriculture is one of its main sources.

At least 56 people were killed in a stampede at a soccer match in Guinea on December 2. After a referee's call drew angry protests in the Conakry stadium, chaos erupted and throngs of panicked fans tried to flee. The crush of spectators running toward the exit knocked dozens to the ground, where many were trampled. The Spanish estamper, "to stamp, press, or pound," is the source of stampede.

The U.S. Postal Service has started rolling out their new, improved electric mail trucks. It's the first time the delivery vehicles have been upgraded since the 1980s. Some postal workers and customers have commented that the vehicles' longer, lower "duckbill" hoods make the modernized trucks distinctively odd-looking. Even so, the new design includes vast improvements over the older version, with air conditioning, more interior space, 360-degree cameras, and sliding doors.

More than two feet of heavy snow caused whiteouts across the upper Midwest and Northeast this week. The Great Lakes region received punishing amounts of snow, with states of emergency declared in parts of New York and Pennsylvania. The National Weather Service warned that travel was very dangerous during the storm, with low visibility on roads and highways from blowing snow. Whiteout was first used in 1946 to describe extreme snowstorm conditions on Midwestern prairies.