This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 24–January 30, 2026

Informal floating schools are anchored along the shore of Dal Lake near Srinagar, in the Kashmir Valley. These buoyant education hubs are easily accessible to local kids, many of whom live on houseboats or scattered islands. Previously, a lack of roads and ongoing conflicts between Pakistan and India, both of which claim the region, meant most children were unable to attend school. Buoyant derives from the Spanish boyar, "to float."

A powerful winter storm brought heavy snow, ice, and frigid temperatures to the Eastern U.S. At least 19 states got more than a foot of snow, and the dangerously cold conditions lasted days after the storm had passed. From the Northern Plains to New England, temperatures fell well below zero, and some regions were 30 degrees colder than average, with arctic wind chills. As many as 60 deaths are being blamed on the cold. The Latin root of frigid is frigere, "be cold."

Gladys West, a mathematician who was recognized as a "hidden figure" in the invention of GPS, died at the age of 95. West's work helped create accurate models of the earth that paved the way for the satellite navigation tool. In a 2020 interview, West confessed that she rarely used GPS, preferring to find her way around using paper maps. The Latin navis, “ship,” is the root of navigation.

A growing number of consumers are questioning the sustainability and safety of clothing containing polyester. Experts say that over time, more and more garments have been made with the synthetic fabric, which is a petroleum-based plastic that can be stretched into yarn. Polyester is popular because it resists wrinkling and is cheaper than natural fibers. Worries about plastic's effects on the environment and human health have many seeking out cotton, wool, and other alternatives.

Two Indian graduate students at the University of Colorado received a $200,000 settlement in a lawsuit after their food was described as too pungent for a shared office. Aditya Prakash was microwaving palak paneer when an administrative assistant told him he wasn't allowed to heat strong-smelling food. He and other Indian students continued to eat spicy homemade food there and said "retaliation" against them included ending their doctoral funding. The university denied liability.

When a 90-year-old Nebraska woman decided to put her family sauerkraut crock in an auction, she hoped to earn $100. Lois Jurgens was shocked to learn on her 91st birthday that it had sold for $32,000. The rare 30-gallon Red Wing crock, which had been sitting unused on Jurgens's porch for years, was originally used for fermenting cabbage in large quantities. The German Sauerkraut literally means "sour cabbage."

Investigators say two people schemed to steal high-end vehicles by posing as buyers interested in test drives. The pair's plot involved visiting car dealerships in five Connecticut towns, where they would swap or clone key fobs, then return later to take vehicles. Often, one of the thieves would start the car and switch the fob while the other distracted the salesperson. Over the course of a year, at least 20 cars valued at over $2.4 million were stolen using this ploy.

On January 25, U.S. rock climber Alex Honnold safely reached the top of a 1,667-foot tower in Taiwan. Honnold scaled the Taipei 101 skyscraper without using any protective gear or ropes, a style known as free solo climbing. A crowd watched from below during the 90-minute climb, which included difficult maneuvering around the 101-story building's ornamental structures. Before it came to describe a tall modern building, skyscraper was used for various high or towering things.

A snowplow with the sobriquet "Dolly Plowton" was one of five new plows that debuted this week in Nashville, Tennessee, the home of Dolly Parton. The moniker was chosen by public school students, along with the nicknames "Music City Plow," "Blizzard of Oz," "Snowella," and "Frosty the Snow Plow." In French, sobriquet means "nickname," from soubriquet, defined as "a jest" or literally "a joking chuck under the chin."

Researchers found that sonic booms reveal where space junk has landed, and that earthquake sensors can protect people from being harmed by it. When chunks of spacecraft debris fall to Earth, they move fast enough to emit the deep, thundering boom caused by shock waves. The many seismic sensors around the world detect and measure these powerful sounds. Using that data, scientists can track the path of toxic space junk that could be dangerous to people and the environment.