You just never know what little nugget of new information you'll learn from day-to-day.

It might be scientific.

It could be historic.

The information could be of an artistic nature.

It could be all of the above.

The point is you just don't know.

There is no telling what you'll learn in the course of a day. Any day.

And that, my friends, is what makes life just so gosh-darn interesting.

For example, the other day, down at The Word Factory, my colleague John Edwards used the term "man crush".

Now in my nearly 31 years on this planet, man crush is a term that's never crossed my ears.

Man crush?

What in the hoo-haw is John talking about, I thought to myself.

Turns out that man crush is a fairly new word. Or new slang rather.

"It's where you really like another man but not in a sexual way," John said.

Now John's a bit younger than me, and certainly more hip, but I needed to check what he was telling me. Make sure he wasn't pulling my leg. But he was right. Right on the money in fact.

Urban Dictionary explains man crush this way: A strong and extremely complicated emotion that a straight male feels towards another male.

Urban Dictionary credits Detroit radio personality Greg Henson with coining the phrase.

"I've got one hell of a man crush on Hugh Hefner. He's made all the right moves," Henson reportedly said one day.

Man crush?

What's wrong with using the word admire?

Or how about respect?

Why not simply say you like someone.

To me 'man crush' sounds like you're trying too hard.

I guess I'm just too old fashioned.

Too square for these new-fangled words.
Too much of a hick.

And so, with the help of Urban Dictionary, I spent some time last week learning a few more slang words. Getting myself educated, so to speak.

Get this one: Daddy Badge. Basically it's a term for father's who have snot or vomit on their shirt from a child.

"Why that's some Daddy Badge on your golf shirt Fred."

Or how about this: Word Vomit, meaning a point in conversation where you say something that you really didn't mean to. Ie., "I told Robin that I saw Mike with some girl at the movie theatre last night. It just came out like word vomit."

And then there's Hulking Out, meaning: To become enraged; to lose one's temper, clothing and power of coherent speech before embarking on a spree of violence and wanton destruction.

Hmmm...I almost hulked out the other day when some weenie in a Honda Civic cut me off.

But I digress.

The point of all this - what got me going this week - is the term man crush.

And so I guess, despite my lack of enthusiasm for the word, I should confess that I too have a man crush.

Several, in fact.

Winston Churchill. I like the sound of his voice. I like the way he crafted his speeches. And I like the fact he had an affection for cigars and whisky.

Jack Benny. One of the funniest men of the 20th century.

Walter Cronkite. Talk about a career in journalism.

Glenn Miller. The best bandleader of the 1930s and 1940s.

And those are just a few of the folks I have a man crush on.

Or rather men I admire.

And in my best Cronkite imitation: That's...the way it was... last week.

Michael Gennings is community editor for The Stayner Sun. Feedback is welcome at mgennings@simcoe.com.