Static Electricity Ball

If you try looking up "Static Electricity Ball" in a trusted Dictionary or website you may have a difficult time, as I found out, of actually encountering a satisfactory description of what it is. After being unable to explain what it was through my own words or through other resources our client simply said "I think I know what you mean." I was left wondering if indeed the iconic "Static Ball" of my youth still held any resonance with people today (especially GenYer's), or did I do a disservice to our city's beloved Science Centre in using 'the ball' as a symbol of the Centre.
The following day she arrived at the school with a Japanese tourist brochure that had a picture of a child, similar to the one above, doing pretty much the exact same thing. So I was left to ponder "without the smiling child with the static charged hair standing straight up, what would happen to the lonely Static Ball?" Obviously, it cannot stand alone like other great entertaining duos: Abbott and Costello; Laurel and Hardy; Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, they are a package deal. As the old Sinatra tune said ".......you can't have one without the other."

Photo courtesy of: http://www.stockphotofinder.com/stock-photos/h/hair_static.html

Creating New English Words

English is probably the only language that creates words and than often discards them just as quickly. A great example of this is the word "homicide bomber". It was created just after 9/11 and quickly lost traction. "Homicide Bomber" was created and disseminated by the US government to replace the word "suicide bomber", because it better explained the true nature of that act. Whether they were correct in their assertion or not is of course a matter of opinion. Nevertheless, it does provide an interesting case study for English Language Learners into a variety of topics, such as: the construction; changing meaning, and usage of words.