This week Shauna and Dan explore the phrase Light Years Ahead. Bonus: Science terms, surprise parties, and how to live your best life - through organizational development. Probably.
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Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
Episode 255: Light Years Ahead
Record Date: November 10, 2024
Air Date: November 20, 2024
Intro
Dan:
Welcome to Bunny Trails, a whimsical adventure of idioms and other turns of phrase.
I’m Dan Pugh
Shauna:
And I’m Shauna Harrison
Each week we take an idiom or other turn of phrase and try to tell the story from its entry into the English language, to how it’s used today.
Opening Hook
Do you ever feel like you are falling behind? It happens to most people at some point in life. I felt this way when I tried to get back into the workforce after my kids started school. I looked around and it felt like everyone was light years ahead me.
Meaning
The phrase "light years ahead" is a metaphor that means being significantly more advanced or ahead of the current standard, often in terms of technology, innovation, or thinking.
The phrase evolved somewhat naturally from the term light-year.
A light-year is a unit of distance in astronomy, representing how far light travels in one year. According to Albert Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity, nothing travels faster than light.
https://www.livescience.com/56115-what-is-a-light-year.html
The idea of the speed of light is even older, of course. And we will delve a little bit into this and a rather funny theory on what was happening in space travel from the 1950s - in our behind the scenes video which is available to all of our Patrons every Friday on Patreon. That’s Patreon dot com slash Bunny Trails Pod.
patreon.com/bunnytrailspod
According to Oxford English Dictionary, “light year” is a figurative term used to mean,
Quote
An indefinitely great distance.
Also: an indefinitely long time.
End quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/light-year_n?tab=meaning_and_use&show-all-quotations=true#1023697991
Light years ahead can apply to a person, a group, an object or even a concept. Examples of people, things, and ideas that can be light years ahead:
A club, team, company, or college
A city or country
An age group
A product or type of product
An industry
A particular sport or activity
A field of research
Now that we have the background, let’s talk about how the phrase got here. Knowledge takes some time to travel amongst people… far, far, far more time than light takes. And the understanding of what a light year is needed in order for the phrase to take hold.
1898
The Aberdeen herald, October 06, 1898, out of Aberdeen of Chehalis County in the state of Washington re-shared a story from a publication called “London Tit-Bits.” The story, titled “Wonderfully Good Sight,” is a clever way to teach the term light years and this style of educating the general public was common at the time.
Quote
Wonderfully Good Sight
The Duchess of X-- once went to Greenwich to see the marvels of the observatory. It was a lovely night and for the fair duchess' benefit the great telescope was duly leveled at the dazzling field of stars.
"What Is that star?" she said. pointing to a very dear one.
"Oh, that's Aldebaran, a star of the first magnitude!"
"Is it very far off?" asked her grace.
“About six or seven light years, your grace."
"What is a light year?"
"Merely an expression which one uses to convey an idea of the distance which light travels in a year. Roughly speaking, light travels at the rate of 190,000 miles a second, and there are about 31,000,536 seconds in a year. In one year, therefore, light travels above five billion, nine hundred and ninety-one thousand, eight hundred and forty millions of miles. The expression ‘light year' includes these figures."
"And is that star all these millions of miles away."
"Yes, your grace, as nearly as we can calculate.”
"Then, all I can say." remarked the Duchess, "is that you must have wonderfully good eyes to make out that star's name at that distance, even with this big telescope. It's really most marvelous."
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093220/1898-10-06/ed-1/seq-6/#date1=1850&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=light+year+years&proxdistance=5&date2=1900&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=light+year&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
1929
The Evening Sun, out of Baltimore, Maryland 28 March 1929, used the term light years in a figurative sense in an article. Here is that use,
Quote
Us who are countless light-years removed from the world of painters, sculptors and etchers.
End quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/light-year_n?tab=meaning_and_use#1263806380
There are other figurative uses such as this starting around this time but clearly, people still didn’t really understand the meaning of the term.
1935
This is highlighted by the term being shared with the populace using more straightforward methods such as the advice and adages sections of newspapers. Here is an example from The Harlem News, November 29, 1935 out of Harlem, Montana.
Quote
The Light Year - is an astronomical unit of measurement, the distance traveled by a ray of light in a year.
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86075250/1935-11-29/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=&index=11&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Light+light+year+Year&proxdistance=5&date2=&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=light+year&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1
1957
Journalist Norman Mailer used the term in a Letter which was published in the New Yorker, out of New York, New York, October 6, 1957.
Quote
My ambitions seem far beyond my talents, and light-years beyond the vicissitudes of my character.
End quote
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/light-year_n?tab=meaning_and_use#1263806380
1958
The Evening star January 19, 1958, included a quiz to help people test their knowledge and learn new terms. The answers were also provided with simple explanations. Several topics were covered that today would be considered common knowledge. Here are a couple of the answers:
Quote
Cassiopeia. A constellation is a group of stars.
Mass into energy. Einstein showed they were two forms of the same thing.
Distance. A light year is the distance light travels in one year - approximately 6,000,000,000,000 miles.
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-01-19/ed-1/seq-117/#date1=&index=2&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=light+year&proxdistance=5&date2=&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=light+year&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&page=1
This quiz highlights the fact that not all people were aware of the term’s meaning.
1960
The phrase light years ahead was very rapidly adopted into the lexicon. And we find evidence of this in the September 21, 1960 edition of The Sidney herald out of Sidney, Montana. The phrase appears in an ad for Light Bulbs,
Quote
NEW! and light-years ahead!
DURO-LITE BULBS®
300% longer life!
GLAMOROUS LIGHT EFFECTS!
3 DECORATOR STYLES
HIGH AVERAGE OUTPUT!
COOLING CROWN!
JAR-RESISTANT!
FULLY GUARANTEED!
Costs less in the long run!
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83004278/1960-09-21/ed-1/seq-23/#date1=1960&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=ahead+light+light-years+years&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=light+years+ahead&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
1963
It also appears in a piece about everyone’s favorite topic following politics and the weather. The article “Europe's Traffic Woes Something Like Ours” is found in the Evening star, November 24, 1963, out of Washington, D.C.
Quote
"They're light years ahead us," he noted, "in using uniform signs, signals and markings throughout the Continent— even though Europe has no integrated highway network such as our own Interstate Highway
System."
End quote
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1963-11-24/ed-1/seq-82/#date1=1960&index=2&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=ahead+light+years&proxdistance=5&date2=1963&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=light+years+ahead&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1
We have several modern uses to cover and we’ll get to those, right after we say thank you to our sponsors.
A Quick Thank You
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Modern Uses
1995, 2022
We are going to start our modern uses with The Disney Pixar movie Toy Story. It was originally released in 1995 and continues its success through more recent years.
If you’re unfamiliar with the movie - it’s an animated tale about a boy named Andy who loses his two favorite toys in the midst of moving to a new home. The story primarily follows the two toys - Spaceman, Buzz Lightyear, and the older, pull-string, Cowboy doll, Woody as they try to make their way back to Andy.
The character name Buzz Lightyear is a clever combination of both a space-related theme and a metaphor.
Buzz Lightyear - a space ranger who explores space and galaxies - is presented as a more advanced toy, both in terms of his technology and his status as a character in the "Toy Story" universe. Compared to Woody and the older toys, Buzz represents the cutting-edge of toy manufacturing, featuring modern gadgets, flashing lights, sound effects, and even a laser … though it’s really just a blinking light.
We should also mention a spin-off sequel to the Toy Story movies about Buzz titled “Lightyear” which was released in 2022 and tells the story of the hero Buzz Lightyear who inspired the creation of the toy. Note that the hero of the story is also fictional - he is from the Toy Story universe.
https://movies.disney.com/lightyear
1996
We have a cleverly titled book published in 1996 titled “Light Years Ahead: The Illustrated Guide to Full Spectrum and Colored Light in Mindbody Healing” with the credits: Brian Breiling - Editor, Barbara C. Thomason - Illustrator, Gabriel Cousens - Foreword, and contributors: Elson Haas, Bethany ArgIsle, Lee Hartley, Jerry A. Green. Here is part of the synopsis,
Quote
In this book, pioneering clinicians illustrate the important role of light in the emerging fields of Mindbody Healing and Subtle Energy Medicine. The chapters in this book describe the latest therapeutic uses of light in medicine, optometry, chiropractic, acupuncture, education and psychotherapy. Documented case histories successfully demonstrate the dramatic effects of light applied to a wide variety of mindbody problems…
End quote
https://www.amazon.com/Light-Years-Ahead-Illustrated-Spectrum/dp/0890877629
I’ve read about blue light and red light therapy and it’s pretty fascinating.
2021
Next, we look at an excerpt from the September 2021 article by Jens Meiners for Car and Driver titled, “Mercedes-Maybach EQS Concept Hints at Bright Electric-SUV Future for the Brand.”
Quote
The Mercedes-Maybach EQS is a concept car that makes two distinct points: First, there will be an SUV based on the fully electric EVA2 platform, shared with the EQS and the EQE. Second, Maybach has a great future ahead. In fact, the EQS SUV that is previewed with this concept is light-years ahead of Daimler's current electric SUV models, the dynamically challenged EQA and the similarly clumsy EQC.
End quote
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a37477843/mercedes-maybach-eqs-concept-revealed/
2023
Workplace Coach Blog posted an article in 2023 titled, “Left Behind: Everyone else is light years ahead of me.” Here is some of the advice that wraps up the article,
Quote
… Finally, stop evaluating yourself against others and instead measure yourself using the dual yardstick, “what do I want?” and “what am I doing to get it?”
End quote
https://workplacecoachblog.com/2023/07/left-behind-everyone-else-is-light-years-ahead-of-me/
Current
Light Years Ahead: Public Relations is a company that offers the following,
Quote
We are a cutting-edge public relations agency dedicated to propelling your brand beyond the competition and into the stratosphere of success. With a team of skilled strategists, creative visionaries, and media mavens, we craft personalized PR solutions that ignite your brand's brilliance.
End quote
https://www.lightyearsahead.com/
Current
Common Roots Brewing Company has a beer called Light Years Ahead, a West Coast Style India Pale Ale. The Light Years Ahead label is in orange and red hues, featuring a starry night sky over the ocean with the recognizable "Lone Cypress" on an island in the foreground. Here is what they have to say about the drink,
Quote
As we look to the possibilities and potential of the future, we often find great inspiration in what has come before. Taking a classic malt bill and adding an amplified dose of Nelson, Citra, and Mosaic hops, Light Years Ahead West Coast Style IPA pays homage to our past and continues to inspire us for what is yet to come.
End quote
https://commonrootsbrewing.com/menu/light-years-ahead-ipa/
Current
On the website The Chemist Tree, I found a simple but cute button which includes the speed of light. It reads,
Quote
299 792 458 m/s [meters per second]
light years ahead
End quote
https://chemisttree.com/products/light-years-ahead-button
Wrap up:
Sometimes it does feel like our dreams are light years away. Looking at the night sky - thinking of the beauty and majesty of the stars - there is awe and wonder there. The vastness, the unfathomable depth of the universe imparts an other-worldly sensation. And at times, it brings everything in life into perspective.
Shauna:
That’s about all we have for today. If you have any thoughts on the show, or pop culture references we should have included, reach out to us on Patreon, patreon.com/bunnytrailspod, or comment on our website, bunnytrailspod.com
Dan:
It’s patron poll time!
Recently we asked our Patrons, how do you feel about surprise parties?
Our listeners have mixed feelings with about a third saying “No, never” and another third saying, “I'd love to get a surprise party!”
The rest of you were evenly split between: “I'll help plan one, but I don't want one” and “I don't know how I feel about them”
Shauna
I’m in the ‘I don’t know how I feel about them’ camp. I generally don’t plan them for others unless I know the person really well. For myself, I probably wouldn’t be bothered by being thrown one… maybe. But I don’t have a desire to have one either. Lol. I’d lean towards, “no, thanks.”
Jan shared this thought on it,
Quote
No thanks. I like a little more control over my life.
End quote
Dan
I definitely don't want one. But I might participate if someone else wanted one. Maybe? I just don't know.
As a reminder, our silly polls mean absolutely nothing and are not scientifically valid. And patrons of all levels, including our free tiers, can take part. Head over to patreon.com/bunnytrailspod to take this week’s poll!
Outro
Dan:
Thanks for joining us. We’ll talk to you again next week. Until then remember,
Together:
Words belong to their users.
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