Oxford University Press has recently chosen their word of the year: hypermiling. According to their definition “Hypermiling” or “to hypermile” is to attempt to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving techniques. Rather than aiming for good mileage or even great mileage, hypermilers seek to push their gas tanks to the limit and achieve hypermileage, exceeding EPA ratings for miles per gallon.
Although I think this is quite a silly word, what is interesting is to look at the other words that made it into the finals:
- frugalista, a person leading a frugal lifestyle;
- moofer, a mobile out of office worker;
- topless meeting – a meeting in which the participants are barred from using their laptops, Blackberries, cellphones, etc.
- toxic debt, mainly sub-prime debts that are now proving so disastrous to banks.
So the total score is: money 2, hyperconnectivity 2 and environment 1. If we include the shortlist (go look at the website for yourself) hyperconnectivity clearly wins, with the environment taking second place. Not bad for Change.
