Merriam-Webster dictionary interesting factoid:

[slightlv]

5. I don't know if it's true, but I've heard

that English is one of the hardest languages to learn. So many rules in our language, but also a more number of exceptions to those rules... as well as weird little factoids like this one.

When I was a kid at home, like so many I'd go to bed at night with a flashlight, reading under the covers so nobody would see I was still awake. Thing is, instead of reading the latest fantasy or Sci Fi novel, I'd go to bed with this enormous Unabridged Funk and Wagnell's Dictionary. The book must have been 6" thick, and was like 12x11 in width and height. A good 1/3 of the book was about words... factoids, history of, and other miscellaneous about words. I loved it. In fact, when my Mom died earlier this year and we were going through boxes of her stuff, I found that same Funk and Wagnells dictionary. I brought it home with me. It's like I'd discovered a long-lost friend! (LOL)