Vocal fry

Vocal fry, or glottalization, is a low, staccato vibration during speech, produced by a slow fluttering of the vocal  chords: listen here  http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/vocalfryshort.mp3

According to Science Now:

"A curious vocal pattern has crept into the speech of young adult women who speak American English: low, creaky vibrations, also called vocal fry. Pop singers, such as Britney Spears, slip vocal fry into their music as a way to reach low notes and add style. Now, a new study of young women in New York state shows that the same guttural vibration—once considered a speech disorder—has become a language fad.


Since the 1960s, vocal fry has been recognized as the lowest of the three vocal registers, which also include falsetto and modal—the usual speaking register."


Here's a full blown example: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/

Riffle & Faro

The standard way to mix a deck of playing cards—the one used everywhere from casinos to rec rooms—is what is known as a riffle (or "dovetail") shuffle.


(you have to shuffle seven times before a deck becomes truly scrambled.)


A perfect (or "faro") shuffle, meanwhile, wherein the deck is split precisely in half and the two halves are zippered together in perfect alternation, isn't random at all. In fact, it's completely predictable. Eight perfect shuffles will return a 52-card deck to its original order, with every card cycling back to its starting position.


More here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204826704577074501731476934.html?mod=WSJ_Books_LS_Books_8