Sweating Like a Pig and Pig Iron

 

Pigs have given English several porcine-related phrases based on their perceived behaviors. Some make sense, such as “pigging out” or “happy as a pig in mud.” 

Pigs also have a reputation for excessive perspiration, given the popularity of the phrase “I’m sweating like a pig!” However, this seems to be just bad press. While swine do have some sweat glands, as all mammals do, they have relatively few for their size. As such, they have to roll in the mud or do another similar activity to cool their bodies on a hot day. So, where did “sweating like a pig” come from? 

The idiom actually has to do not with the animal but with the process of iron smelting. More specifically, it comes from the term “pig iron.” 

“Pig iron,” going back to 1665, refers to the “crude iron that is the direct product of the blast furnace.” It’s known as “pig iron” because of the way iron used to be cast. Hot iron was poured into sand molds in a way that visually resembled tiny piglets suckling at their mother’s teat. When the ingots cooled and were broken off, they were sometimes referred to as “pigs,” hence the term “pig iron.” 

As for the “sweating” element of the phrase, it has to do with the cooling process. As iron cools, the surrounding air begins to hit its dew point. In turn, this causes moisture to form on the iron, which looks like little droplets of sweat beading down the ingots (the pigs), and this is where we get “sweat like a pig.”

Baby Names from Television Shows: 1950s 1960s and 1970s

In the 1950s, television was still new, but as the decade progressed, a few popular shows had an impact on naming babies. Both the names of TV characters and TV actors saw an increase.

Ricky was popularized by Ricky Nelson on Ozzie and Harriet and by I Love Lucy's Ricky Ricardo and little Ricky. And Lucille Ball’s fame helped keep the name prominent, more often as Lucy (or Lucie after Lucille Ball named her daughter that).

Donna got a boost from The Donna Reed Show (1958).

Annette rose in popularity due to Annette Funicello on The Mickey Mouse Club (1955). Her career in recording albums and Disney and beach party films kept that name going.

Beaver was not widely used as a legal name, but Leave It to Beaver (1957) was a top show and the brothers Theodore and Wally saw bumps in popularity.

The 1960s saw the first major measurable spikes in baby names - particularly for girls - tied directly to TV characters. Search results confirm that celebrity‑influenced names surged most strongly in the 1960s. 

Samantha skyrocketed after Bewitched (1964). Also, the TV baby, Tabitha, from that program started to appear.

Ginger was a popular and glamorous character on Gilligan’s Island (1964).

Maryann, Gilligan, Ginger

Mary and Maryann were already common, but were probably reinforced by Maryann on that same island, and Mary Tyler Moore in The Dick Van Dyke Show, which also gave a boost to her character's name, Laura.

Who wouldn't want the dreamy name Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie (1965)?

Julia was given attention from Diahann Carroll’s groundbreaking show Julia (1968).

Sean is listed as a boy's name that increased in popularity and is credited to Sean Connery, though he was more of a film star.

Hart as Sabrina

The 1970s were “trendy and TV‑inspired.” This is the decade when TV characters directly shaped the top baby names.

Jennifer was the #1 girl name of the decade, boosted by multiple TV characters, including in the Love Story film, book, and TV adaptations.

Marcia and Cindy from The Brady Bunch (1969) saw increases.

TV characters named Sabrina consistently caused spikes. Sabrina Spellman appeared in the 1960s–1970s as the animated Sabrina the Teenage Witch in early Archie comics and cartoons, and from 1996–2003 in the sitcom Sabrina, as portrayed by Melissa Joan Hart. The character and name moved into the next century with a 1999–2004 animated series with Sabrina as a younger teen.

Cheryl was a popular name, and so was actor Cheryl Ladd (Charlie's Angels) and supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Later, Riverdale had one of the most recognizable modern “Cheryl” characters.

The old-fashioned 1950s name Laverne even got a little boost from Laverne & Shirley (1976) as did Shirley by the same show.

Rhoda was a character on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and then her own show, Rhoda.

Again, girls' names were more likely to come from TV. Like "Beaver," no one was really naming their little boy "Hawkeye," but Benjamin and Pierce saw bumps due to M*A*S*H (1972).

Clue

In mythology, Theseus built the labyrinth to trap the Minotaur. He built it so cleverly that he was afraid he would be lost in the maze. But Ariadne, a princess who had fallen in love with him, gave him a ball of string and told him to unwind it as he walked into the labyrinth and then follow it back out.  

That simple gift allowed Theseus to enter, slay the Minotaur, and find his way out.  

This hero myth became so well known that Ariadne's ball of yarn—called a "clew" in Old English—became synonymous with anything that helped to solve a problem. Over time, the spelling of the word changed to "clue."

 
A poem from Writing the Day | A Ronka Poetry Practice Since 2014

The convent labyrinth is covered with snow,
but some person and two small deer
have been walking Daedalus' circle without walls.
I follow the unseen path and pray
for a clue to lead me out.

Litha

Modern celebrants of Litha

As the Summer Solstice approaches this week, you may hear the name Litha mentioned.

Litha, also known as Midsummer, is a festival celebrating the Summer Solstice. It is one of the eight "Sabbats" in the Wheel of the Year, observed by Wiccans, Neo-Pagans, and various European folk traditions.

The name Litha is derived from the Old English word for June and June/July, specifically appearing in the writings of the 8th-century monk Bede in his work De Temporum Ratione (The Reckoning of Time). According to Bede, the Anglo-Saxons referred to this time of year as Līða, which essentially translates to "gentle" or "navigable." This name reflected the calm summer weather that made it safe and easy to travel by sea.

In the 20th century, the name was popularized as a designation for the Summer Solstice by Aidan Kelly, an influential figure in modern Paganism. He sought historical-sounding names for the "Lesser Sabbats" on the Wheel of the Year, and Litha was chosen to represent the solstice, distinguishing it from the Christianized "Midsummer" or "St. John's Eve."

Today, it serves as a bridge to ancestral traditions, honoring the time when the sun is at its most potent and the earth is in full bloom.

Utopia (band)

Utopia, 1977 L–R: Roger Powell, Willie Wilcox, Todd Rundgren, Kasim Sulton

Todd Rundgren's solo work (1972 onward) is a study in genre‑hopping with songs that feel like soul, pop, psychedelia, electronica, and even a cappella. 

With the pseudo-band Runt, he made two albums of experimentation, transitioning away from the style of his first band, Nazz.

He was writing more deeply personal lyrics. He was doing a lot of studio experimentation. He was playing nearly all the instruments and doing the vocals himself. The signature albums of that early solo period include Something/Anything?, A Wizard/A True Star, Hermit of Mink Hollow, and Healing.

On his 1973 album A Wizard, a True Star, Rundgren had sung the line "Wait another year, Utopia is here." That lyric predates the band’s formation and suggests Rundgren already envisioned “Utopia” as a concept — a kind of musical ideal or creative destination he wanted to reach. In other words, Utopia wasn’t just a band name, but a kind of mission statement for that time. 

One of those genre-hops came with forming the band Utopia. That was 1973, and they performed and recorded through 1986 with occasional reunions since.

During its first three years, the group was a progressive rock band with a somewhat fluid membership known as Todd Rundgren's Utopia. Most of the members in this early incarnation also played on Rundgren's solo albums of the period up to 1975. For a short period of time (1973–74), Todd Rundgren's Utopia consisted of Rundgren and included Hunt Sales and Tony Fox Sales who had been in his former band, Runt. 

By 1976, the group was known simply as Utopia and featured a stable quartet of Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Roger Powell, and John "Willie" Wilcox. This version of the group gradually abandoned progressive rock for more straightforward synth‑pop and a touch of new wave. 

This is the one band where it seems that Todd is a bandleader, not just a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist.

The band played long, complex compositions early on with long instrumental passages. The band evolved later into doing tight, hooky, electronic pop closer to Todd's solo work. 

In 1980, they had a top 40 hit with "Set Me Free". Though often thought of as a Rundgren solo project, all four members of Utopia wrote, sang, produced, and performed on their albums; "Set Me Free", for example, was sung by Sulton.