Who'd have predicted that one of the most popular online video channels on YouTube would focus on something called philology - the study of words and their meaning? But Marina Orlova's HotforWords.com and the link to her Sexy Marina Orlova, Almost Too Hot for Words, Uses Her Charms to Promote PhilologyYouTube channel has gotten as many as 43 million hits in eight months. One look at her website and it is easy to see why viewers don't mind watching her. Her site is aptly named. Marina is indeed quite attractive or "hot". Her mission, however, is to make people hot for words and not just hot for her. It can be a bit difficult, however, to understand the difference, especially when watching Marina and her teaching methods.
Marina doesn't seem to mind using her physical assets. Her cleavage is often clearly displayed, often in scanty or low-cut clothing, along with her Russian accent, wide smile and her enthusiasm.Her physical and intellectual charms are also displayed at her Hot for Words website Links to her lesson plans and homework. The lessons are real. The homework allows viewers to sign up for report cards and other fun items from Marina.
It can be a bit surprising to hear someone who looks like an attractive model tossing around terms like Pecksniffian and sesquipedalian as easily as other people say, "Huh?" Even better, she actually explains what the words mean. Whether anyone is learning anything is another point. But they are flocking to her website and videos, although whether they are more eager to view the teacher or learn words meanings is unclear. As of this writing, over 74 million people have watched Marina discuss words and their meaning.
Of course, put a scantily clad woman in front of a video camera, one with a site called Hot for Words and you have controversy. But Marina seems bent on proving that she is not just hot... but truly hot for words as well. Being sexy and intelligent is certainly a contrast to the "dumb blonde" image that seems to be a cultural stereotype. Marina doesn't seem dumb. If anything, she has learned how to make both herself and the study of words quite popular and her strategy seems to be paying off.
Very little is actually known about Marina Orlova and her background before Hot for Words became famous
Although she has among the "most viewed" and "most subscribed" when it comes to YouTube, she seems be fairly secretive for someone so popular. She does list her name, age (27) and occupation (philologist) on her website. Still, very little seems to be out there about her. Some of the Sexy Marina Orlova, Almost Too Hot for Words, Uses Her Charms to Promote Philology
information is very cryptic. Her biographical info notes that she is from the Republic of Lexicon and her hometown is Etymologia. She actually seems to have come from Russia if her accent is any indication of her country of origin.What is truly mind-boggling is that someone who basically discusses words, however attractive she may be, gets up to 5 million views a week. People are hot for words - or Marina - or both!
Why Hot for Words may be more than just a gimmick
Marina manages to make words not only hot but fun. By clicking on the entire word list at her site, viewers can discover the meanings for terms like "raining cats and dogs" or single words like "cabriolet". There is even a section where students can request report cards. The Hot for Words teacher also hots a bi-weekly radio show on Maxim Radio. Also, no matter how scantily she may be clad, she does tend to be clothed while on YouTube or her website. Even a mention of her in Cosmopolitan wasn't accompanied by a photo but simply information about her Hot for Words channel.
I saw some of her earliest videos on YouTube and her more recent ones have come a long way. They are more professional and have special effects and other qualities (besides Marina herself) to hold viewer interest. Not being male, I can't speak to the typical viewer reaction but I actually had fun learning the meanings behind some often used terms as well as common words where I didn't know their origin. Like any good entymologist, Marina will often break a word into its parts, noting whether the roots are Greek, Latin, Spanish or whatever. She seems to know her subject matter.
More About the Woman Who is Currently Wired Magazine's Sexiest Geek and Her Popular Website
In addition to her appearances on YouTube, the Hot for Words video star seems to be branching out into new venues. Along with former child star and recent reality show celeb Danny Bonaduce, she has linked up with CoComment, a way of keeping track of her comments as well as those made Sexy Marina Orlova, Almost Too Hot for Words, Uses Her Charms to Promote Philology about her. She also had a book and set of DVDs in the works, both focusing on her life and the study of words. Sexy or not, she does seem to care passionately about entymology or all things word-related. She answers viewers' questions with a smile but with the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) firmly by her side. There is even a link to the OED website on her Hot for Words site and it is noted as being the entymologist's standard reference book.
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