Spark your creativity with the Sims. Sometimes you might feel like you're not creative

and you have to go in search of your creative spark again. Maybe this is catching up with

creative friends, experimenting with a new look or trying out a new recipe.

And thanks to The Sims, inspiration is just one game and one spark away.

Ready to spark something? Download the Sims 4 and play for free. Welcome to the first Away With Words mini cast of the Summer. I'm Martha Barnett.

My co-host Grant Barrett is away. He's off competing in the finals of the North American Pediddle Championships.

Lots of luck, Grant.

I know you're going to bring home the big one.

This summer, of course, we're hearing lots of talk about political candidates and their ambitions. But did you ever stop to think about where the political candidates and their ambitions, but did you ever stop to think

about where the word candidate comes from?

Well I'll tell you, but first you might want to put on your sunglasses.

The story of the word candidate goes all the way back to ancient Rome.

In those days if you took a stroll around the forum in the weeks leading up to an election,

you'd have an easy time picking out the candidates for political office.

Just look for the guys wearing bright white togas.

And I don't mean just any white togas, I mean dazzling white togas, togas that were bleached or even rubbed with chalk to make

them brighter.

These togas not only help candidates stand out in a crowd, they were an early form of subliminal advertising.

The fact that these candidates were dazzling white helped reinforce the message,

hey vote for me, I'm a morally pure upstanding citizen.

So what does the word candidate have to do with election time attire in ancient Rome?

Well, get this, the Latin word for brilliant white is Candidus. And those guys running around in white?

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