Snow in Pittsburgh 2010; from Wikimedia Commons

The poor folks of Washington DC — and many of us East Coast-dwellers — are preparing for Snowmageddon again. We’re buying bread, milk and D batteries (even though we’re all now gluten-free, lactose-free and we’re not quite sure what those batteries are for, but we think we know we need them): the Snowpocalypse is upon us …

Just when did we start adding –geddon and –pocalypse to identify and anticipate our most epic disasters? Whether real or imagined, extreme or banal, terrifying or funny (or all of the above — which many of them turn out to be), they’re invariably something to be feared and laughed about in equal measure, so mega and unreal and threatening are their proportions. Continue reading →