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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Simpson Has Mouth Full Of ‘Potato’

Really. The Sunlight Foundation's revamped "Capitol Words" rivals other online time-wasters. There's an Idaho page where you learn that the top five words spoken by Idaho members of Congress since 1996 are: Idahoans, Idaho's, Idaho, Boise and id. (Id? Is Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, a notoriously voracious reader, channeling Freud from the well of the House? Oh, ID, as in the postal abbreviation for Idaho!) "Nuclear," "agriculture" and "timber" are six, seven and eight, and "mountain" comes in No. 19. Also, you can search by legislator's name, and learn fun facts, including that "potato" is Simpson's 14th favorite word, ahead of No. 20 "dental," a mouthful for a former dentist. Speaking of "potato," Simpson ranks No. 3 in use of the word, trailed immediately by former Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Which word do you think you say most?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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