In the 17th Century, scientific research influenced the invention of English words relating to physics, chemistry, and anatomy.

The British Empire spread across the world starting in the late sixteenth century, bringing back many new words and phrases that were introduced into the English language.

A look at how lexicographers started creating the Dictionary of the English Language to ensure that everyone spelled words correctly and knew their correct definition.

A humorous look at American English from a British point of view.

The English language has changed in many ways over the centuries, but the internet has changed it in just a few decades. Why use a whole sentence when an abbreviation will do?

Hindi-English, Chinese-English, and Singaporean-English are discussed and we're introduced to some fun words, such as “badmash” (noun, a bad person in Hinglish) or “chope” (verb, to set aside a place in a fast food restaurant by setting down an object like a hankie or magazine in Singlish).

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a comedy science fiction series created by Douglas Adams. Deep Thought is a supercomputer that is asked to find out the meaning of the life, and doesn't exactly come up with the most satisfying answer.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams began as a radio show before it became a series of best-selling novels, a TV show, and finally a Hollywood movie. Here is the opening scene from the movie, as dolphins abandon a doomed Earth.

Director and producer Peter Jackson takes time out from filming The Hobbit to show us around the set and the busy wardrobe and props departments. We get an idea of the scale of the preparations that go into filming an epic blockbuster movie.

Peter Jackson, director and producer of The Hobbit, continues his video diary narrating the rather stunning scenes at the shoot. The dwarf and wizard actors have arrived and are talking through and visualizing their parts in the movie.

Pre-production is finally over, and today is the first day of the shoot. The cast and crew come together for a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony, and Peter Jackson and members of the cast offer words of thanks and encouragement.

There’s a magic in dwarves' song, and something stirs deep inside of Bilbo. For once in his life, might he be persuaded to leave the comfort of Hobbiton and see the great mountains, trees, and waterfalls that lie beyond the Shire?

The dwarves have long held great wealth, hidden in golden hordes. In verses of song, they tell their history of generations at work beneath the mountain who formed their gold, silver, and jewels into fine treasures and works of art.

The dwarves tell of the terrifying dragon, Smaug, his destruction of the human town of Dale, and how he drove them from their mountain, stealing their hoards of gold. Bilbo also learns the perilous nature of the adventure that awaits him.

The dwarves stumble across a group of trolls feasting on mutton. Instead of avoiding them, they send forward Bilbo, their “expert burglar," to steal the meat from under the trolls’ noses.