What Does the Acronym PIP Stand For?

Pip, which is a unit of counting, is actually an acronym that stands for “percentage in point.” In the world of market finance, a pip is the smallest move that a stock or exchange can make, or 1/100th of 1%. Informally, pip means a mark to be counted. Both the dots on a pair of dice and the dots on dominoes are called pips because they represent the marks to be counted toward a total. Pips are even found on playing cards. In addition to the number, pips in the shape of the suit are arranged in center of all the non-face cards. The reason why pips are used on dice, dominoes, and cards is not clearly known, but it is believed that it is a way to make it harder to tamper with the pieces.

What Does P.S. Mean?

The next time you’re writing a letter—or hey, even a text message—keep this in mind.  Post script iis the term abbreviated as P.S.  In Latin, “post scriptum” means “written after.”  Since post scripts are placed at the end of correspondence, it makes sense that “written after” is the definition behind the term.  More than one P.S. can be used after the end of correspondence.  However, while many people think the proper abbreviation would then be P.S.S., the proper abbreviation is P.P.S.:  post-post scriptum.

The Four Official Languages of Switzerland

Switzerland is a land of polyglots.  Multiple languages are spoken in the country, four of them official.  These four are German, Italian, French, and Romansh.  Although the first three are Swiss dialects of their origin countries, they’re understood in Germany, Italy, and France, and vice versa.  Romansh, on the other hand, is spoken in no other country and is barely spoken in Switzerland.  Only one percent of the 7 million-strong Swiss population speaks the ancient language, which is exclusively spoken in a single region:  canton of Graubünden.  So, if you’re traveling to Switzerland, brush up on one of these languages…or go ahead with English, as despite not being official, it’s widely spoken there.