No student needs to be told that grammar is complex.  By changing word sequences and adding a range of auxiliary verbs and suffixes, we can turn a statement into a question, state whether an action has taken place or is soon to take place, and perform many other word tricks. All languages, even those of so-called ‘primitive’ tribes have clever grammatical components.  The Cherokee pronoun system, for example, can distinguish between ‘you and I’ and ‘you, another person and I’.  In English, all these meanings are summed up in the one, crude pronoun ‘we’.  So the question is – who created grammar?

At first, it would appear that this question is impossible to answer.  Many historical linguists are able to trace modern complex languages back to earlier languages, but in order to answer the question of how complex languages are actually formed, the researcher needs to observe how languages are started from scratch. Amazingly, however, this is possible.

Some languages evolved due to the Atlantic slave trade. At that time, slaves from different ethnicities were forced to work together.  Since they had no opportunity to learn each other’s languages, they developed a makeshift language called a pidgin.  Pidgins are strings of words copied from the language of the landowner. They have little in the way of grammar and it is difficult for a listener to deduce when an event happened, and who did what to whom. Interestingly, all it takes to become a complex language is for a group of children to be exposed to it when they learn their mother tongue.  Slave children did not simply copy the strings of words uttered by their elders, they adapted their words to create a new, expressive language.

Further evidence can be seen in studying sign languages for the deaf. The creation of such languages was documented quite recently in Nicaragua. Previously, all deaf people were isolated from each other, but in 1979 a new government introduced schools for the deaf.  Although children were taught speech and lip reading in the classroom, in the playgrounds they began to invent their own sign system, using the gestures that they used at home. Each child used the signs differently, and there was no consistent grammar.  However, children who joined the school later developed a quite different sign language.  Although it was based on the signs of the older children, the younger children’s language was more fluid and compact, and it utilized a large range of grammatical devices to clarify meaning.

The craft of perfumery has an ancient and global heritage. The art flourished in Ancient Rome, where the emperors bathe in scent. After its fall, much of the knowledge was lost, but survived in Islamic civilization. Persian pharmacists developed essential oils from the aromatic plants of the Indian peninsula. They developed the processes of distillation and suspension in alcohol, allowing for smaller amounts of raw materials to be used in the ancient process, by which flower petals were soaked in warm oil.

At first, the use of fragrances was primarily associated with healing. Aromatic alcoholic waters were ingested and used externally. Fragrances were used to purify the air, both for spiritual and health purposes. During the Black Death, the bubonic plague was thought to have resulted from a bad odor which could be averted by inhaling pleasant fragrances, such as cinnamon. The Black Death led to an aversion to using water for washing, and so perfume was commonly used as a cleaning agent.

Later on, the craft of perfume re-entered Europe because it was an important trade route and a center for glass-making. Having such materials at hand was essential for the distillation process.  In the late seventeenth century, trade soared in France, when Louis XIV brought in policies of protectionism and patronage. Here, perfumery was the preserve of glove-makers. The link arose since the tanning of leather required putrid substances. The trade in perfume flourished during the reign of Louis XV, as the master glove-and-perfume makers received patronage from the royal court.

During the eighteenth century, capitalist perfume industry began to emerge in Britain where there was a flourishing consumer society. In France, the revolution initially disrupted the perfume trade due to its association with aristocracy, however, it regained momentum later as a wider range of markets were sought both in the domestic and overseas markets. The guild system was abolished in 1791, allowing new high-end perfumery shops to open in Paris.

One of the significant changes in the nineteenth century was the idea of branding. Until then, trademarks had had little significance in the perfumery. Luxury fragrances were strongly associated with prestigious cities of London and Paris. Perfumers elsewhere tended to supply cheaper products and knock-offs of the London and Paris brands. The United States perfume industry, which developed around the docks in New York where French oils were being imported, began in this way. Many American firms were founded by immigrants, such as William Colgate, who arrived in 1806. At this time, Colgate was chiefly known as a perfumery. Its Cashmere Bouquet brand had 625 perfume varieties in the early 20th century.

Eating slowly could help you win the battle of the bulge. A study of more than 3000 Japanese adults ___(11)___ found that those who ate their meals quickly were about twice as likely to be obese that their slow-munching counterpart.

___(12)___ and who ate until they were full were three times more likely to be obese. The research ___(13)___ that people tend to consume more calories when they eat quickly, also that eating quickly is linked to obesity regardless of how many calories are eaten. Dr. Elizabeth Denney-Wilson, ___(14)___, says research suggest people recognize their internal cues for fullness. She adds that while it is known what drives us to eat quickly, behavior such as eating while distracted and eating fast food may be to blame.

___(15)___ and chatting between bites can help slow the rate of eating and allow your body to send fullness signals before you’ve overeaten.