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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: un·der·uti·lize

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: un·der·uti·lize:


un·der·uti·lize

Underutilize is one of those fabricated words, like fiscal cliff, that politicians grab onto when they want to do nasty things to us. According to Mirriam-Webster, the first known use of the term took place in 1951. The dictionary doesn't say where or why the term was used was first used, but I suspect it had to do with somebody taking something away from somebody because they didn't think they were using it enough.

1951
Let's see, 1951 -- OK in 1951 U.S. nuclear scientists set off the world's first thermonuclear reaction in a test at the mid-Pacific atoll, Eniwetok. They probably thought that the Marshall Islanders were underutilizingEniwetok anyway, so they used their homes and magnificent coral reefs as an atomic testing ground and used them and their children as radiation guinea pigs. I guess you could say, Eniwetok was turned around.

OK, I'm not really equating nuclear testing with Chicago school closing, some of which may be