Could something 'escalate' before the escalator? INVENTIONS

About this episode

Jess and Rob explore the etymology of words related to inventions and innovations.

Is necessity the mother of invention? NO! Latin is, etymologically speaking. That's just one of many revelations as Jess and Rob investigates words for innovations. 🛗 Could you 'escalate' something before the escalator? 🍞 When was sliced bread actually invented? 🩹 What connects zippers, band aids and aspirin? These questions answered – and many more – in another inventive episode of Words Unravelled. 👕 OUR MERCH 👚 US SHOP: https://wordsunravelledshop.myspreadshop.com/ EU/UK SHOP: https://wordsunravelledshop.myspreadshop.net/ 👀WATCH THIS EPISODE: https://youtu.be/qheviaPndXU

People in this episode

Hosts: RobWords, Jess Zafarris

Topics covered

• inventions
• etymology
• innovation
• necessity
• history of words

Keywords

• escalate
• invention
• sliced bread
• zippers
• band aids
• aspirin
• Latin

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Words Unravelled

Products: sliced bread, zippers, band aids, aspirin

Books & works: Latin

More episodes of Words Unravelled with RobWords and Jess Zafarris

• How did The Beatles get their name? | ROCK 'N' ROLL · June 3, 2026 · 41 min
• Spanish words hiding in English · May 27, 2026 · 43 min
• The origins of the alphabet · May 20, 2026 · 42 min
• Who should you hit with a 'slapstick'? | COMEDY WORDS · May 13, 2026 · 41 min
• The Arabic words hiding in English · May 6, 2026 · 49 min
• What was so "complex" about Oedipus? | PSYCHOLOGY TERMS · April 29, 2026 · 46 min