Springfield Compounded
There are 8 places in the U.S. named Springfield. They are located in the following states: Massachusetts, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Vermont. Its origins are interesting and tie into a new phenomenon today.
Origins
The oldest Springfield in the U.S. is in Massachusetts and it was founded in 1636 by William Pynchon. Why? He wanted to stay connected to his hometown: Springfield in Essex, England. How old is it in Essex? No one knows for sure but it goes back to at least the 1100’s A.D. Evidently established near a spring, agriculture close by probably meant it didn’t have to rain cats and dogs for folks to live and get their nourishment.
What is interesting is the word springfield goes back nearly 1,000 years and yet it is not defined in the English dictionary. Bewildering, isn’t it? Compounding the issue we have playfield, airfield, outfield, and snowfield and we have springtime, springboard, and spring-water. To be sure, a spring field (two words) is land near a natural spring where there is groundwater (one word). Somehow the ground and water come together as one in a way that a spring and a field do not. Ground and water come together in other ways too, some surprisingly so.
Earth and Water
A recent article in Science published research on a landslide (one word) in Greenland a year ago. It caused a mega-tsunami in a narrow glacial inlet called a fjord. Since it was contained and free to bounce back and forth, this tidal wave went back and forth for nine days. Think of light bouncing between two mirrors facing each other. Then replace the mirrors with the tall sides of glaciers and light with water. Imagine that for a moment. You actually have to because no one saw it.
The result? Scientists were baffled for a year trying to figure out the source of some very unusual vibrations happening around the planet. That’s right, inexplicable global seismic signals confounded the world’s top scientists for a year. They finally figured out a glacial mountain peak collapsed in Greenland causing huge waves across a 6-mile fjord.
It took a team of nearly 70 scientists from 15 countries to figure out this mystery. It reminds me of what Princeton’s former Dean of Engineering Professor Emily Carter said once: “All the easy problems have been solved.” Teamwork (one word) is the future.
Oh My Slosh!
Water moving back and forth causing vibrations in the earth’s crust for over a week is a newly observed phenomenon. It shows how interconnected land and sea truly are. They are extremely so.
However, that is not enough to bring the words spring and field together. We can figure out causes of the earth’s crust’s vibrations but not the word springfield.
Here's to you and your awesome future.
Until then, keep your feet on the board and keep riding your wave!
Robert J. Khoury
CEO Agile Rainmakers