Word of the week: "phthisiologist," whose first two syllables sound like "thizzy." It is the study of tuberculosis. Lest you think you'll never see that word outside of a medical-school textbook, it appears on a 76-cent U.S. stamp issued last May. The stamp honors phthisiologist Dr. Edward Trudeau, founder of the American Lung Association.

"Lather, rinse, repeat" update: Thanks to Dave Evans of Bellingham, Wash., who led us to a 1999 article in Forbes magazine, in which a Big Apple hairdresser states that "repeat" isn't necessary with today's shampoos. The article also cites the Benjamin Cheever novel "The Plagiarist," in which a fictional marketing executive is credited with adding "repeat" to shampoo directions.

Time magazine has been choosing its Person of the Year (formerly called Man of the Year) since 1927. Multiple people have been honored in some years, and abstract individuals (like 1956's "The Hungarian Freedom Fighter") in others. The first time the award went to a nonhuman, in 1982, the awardee was a:
A) Mechanical device
B) Country
C) Company
D) Laboratory animal

Previous answer: As stated by a character in the George Bernard Shaw play "Back to Methuselah," "Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn."

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