Definition: (noun) A selfish person who is unwilling to give or spend.
Synonyms: scrooge, churl, niggard.
Usage: He had earned for himself the reputation of an awful skinflint, of a miser in the matter of living.
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“What? No, I sell propane!”
“What? No, I sell propane!”
Hank Hill (King of the Hill).
Hank Hill Quotes All ‘King Of The Hill’ Fans Should Know By Heart
lariat
Definition: (noun) A long noosed rope used to catch animals.
Synonyms: riata, lasso.
Usage: He spent his days chasing after fleeing cattle, roping them with his lariat and bringing them back to the ranch.
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Treacle Mining
Treacle mining is the fictitious mining of treacle (similar to molasses) in a raw form similar to coal. The subject purports to be serious but is an attempt to test credulity. Thick black treacle makes the deception plausible. The topic has been a joke in British humour since the mid-19th century.
Read More at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treacle_mining
The Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype, an early form of photograph, was invented by Louis Daguerre in the early 19th c. He collaborated with J. Nicéphore Niepce, who created the first permanent photograph, but completed the design alone following his partner’s sudden death. A daguerreotype, produced on a silver-plated copper sheet, produces a mirror image photograph of the exposed scene. Daguerre’s process made portrait photography possible for the first time. How did the French government describe the invention? Discuss
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Endocrine System
The pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands are all part of the endocrine system, a bodily system that is instrumental in regulating metabolism, tissue function, and growth and development. The endocrine system is an integrated network of small glands located throughout the body that release extracellular signaling molecules known as hormones. Hormones travel in the blood to distant targets, where they cause specific physiological responses. What diseases result from endocrine system problems? Discuss
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Mung
verb
past tense: munged; past participle: munged
manipulate (data).
“you could do what anti-spammers have done for years and mung the URLs”
See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mung_(computer_term)
“Well, I didn’t expect the Spanish Inquisition!”
NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spanish_Inquisition_%28Monty_Python%29
The Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo, developed by the Australian Aborigines, is perhaps the world’s oldest wind instrument. Though the exact age of the didgeridoo is unknown, studies of rock art in northern Australia suggest that the Aboriginal people have been using it for approximately 1,500 years. Didgeridoos measure about 4 ft (1.5 m) in length and are made from branches that have been hollowed out by termites. A 2005 study found that practicing the didgeridoo can help reduce what sleep-related conditions? Discuss
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Trepanation
The practice of drilling a hole into the skull to expose the dura mater surrounding the brain is an ancient surgical procedure dating back to prehistoric times. It is the oldest surgical procedure for which evidence (in the form of human remains) has been discovered. Modern physicians continue to perform trepanations, though the medical rationale surrounding the surgery has since evolved.
Which artist gained notoriety for performing a self-trepanation and then screening a film of the procedure?
refractory
Definition: (adjective) Obstinately resistant to authority or control.
Synonyms: fractious, recalcitrant.
Usage: He still made a naughty or refractory lad stand with one arm stretched out for anything from ten minutes to half an hour.
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Seizure Response Dogs
When their epileptic handlers experience seizures, these response dogs come to the rescue by pulling away dangerous objects, attempting to rouse them if they lose consciousness, and even summoning aid by finding another person or activating a medical alert or pre-programmed phone. Because epilepsy is such a wide-ranging condition, each dog is trained for a specific individual’s needs. Studies in which dogs were trained to anticipate their owners’ impending seizures have shown what? …read more
Mountaintop Removal Mining
More than half of the electricity generated in the United States is produced by coal-fired power plants. Generally, only a small percentage of the coal used in those plants comes from the controversial practice of mountaintop removal mining, or MTR, which involves the use of heavy explosives to blast away up to 1,000 vertical feet of a mountain after its surface has been cleared of timber. What 1970s crises first sparked an increase in the demand for coal and triggered the widespread use of MTR? …read more
Dry Quicksand
Considered a mythic substance until recently, dry quicksand is loose sand that behaves like ordinary quicksand but contains no water and operates in a different manner. Though accounts of whole caravans being swallowed up by the substance have been discounted as folklore, researchers have demonstrated that aerating fine sand reduces its bulk density and creates a dry quicksand that could envelop an entire vehicle. How did fear of dry quicksand affect the planning of the Apollo moon missions?
mettlesome
Definition: (adjective) Full of mettle; spirited and plucky.
Synonyms: spirited, game, gritty, spunky.
Usage: Joe, being a mettlesome fellow, returned the stranger’s angry glance with a steady look. …read more
The reason the Moon warmed up? Blame the astronauts
Scientists have finally figured out the reason behind a small but noticeable uptick in the temperature of the moon’s subsurface while it was under study by astronauts of the Apollo missions in the 1970s. The culprit? Blame those very same astronauts. The … Discuss
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kuebiko
n. a state of exhaustion inspired by an act of senseless violence, which forces you to revise your image of what can happen in this world—mending the fences of your expectations, weeding out invasive truths, cultivating the perennial good that’s buried under the surface—before propping yourself up in the middle of it like an old scarecrow, who’s bursting at the seams but powerless to do anything but stand there and watch.
haberdasher
haberdasher – (noun) – A dealer in men’s furnishings.
Synonyms: clothier.
Usage: The young boy excitedly entered the haberdasher’s shop, ready to purchase his first suit.
fecund
modal
adjective
relating to mode or form as opposed to substance.
of or denoting the mood of a verb.
noun
a modal word or construction.
See also
and
Gerardus Mercator (1512)
Mercator was a Flemish geographer, mathematician, and who perfected the first map using the Mercator projection, the translation of the spherical earth to a two-dimensional flat plane. In it, parallels and meridians are rendered as straight lines spaced to produce an accurate ratio of latitude to longitude at any point. It permits mariners to steer a course over long distances without continually adjusting compass readings.
What map-related term was coined by Mercator?
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hackneyed
Definition: (adjective) Repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse.
Synonyms: banal, old-hat, stock, threadbare, timeworn, trite, well-worn, tired, shopworn, commonplace.
Usage: For God’s sake do not thrust upon me your hackneyed remarks, repeated to nausea, that “I was only a dreamer,” while they even then had an understanding of life.
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inglenook
Definition: (noun) A nook or corner beside an open fireplace.
Synonyms: chimney corner.
Usage: Yet no one had retired, except the children and “old Feyther Taft,” who being too deaf to catch many words, had some time ago gone back to his inglenook.
the Pine Burr Quilt
In observation of Black History Month, we (STATE SYMBOLS USA) are featuring the Pine Burr Quilt, the official state quilt of Alabama. The Alabama legislature designated the quilt an official symbol in honor of the Black women of the Freedom Quilting Bee. In 1966, Black workers were losing their jobs in retaliation for registering to vote, so the women formed a cooperative to sell their quilts, raising money for the Civil Rights movement and to help support their families. The quilts became famous, were sold all over the country, and have been displayed at the Smithsonian.
“What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”
“What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”
R.E.M.’s song title refers to an incident in New York City in 1986, when two then-unknown assailants attacked journalist Dan Rather, while repeating “Kenneth, what is the frequency?”
Read More about the incident here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=What%27s+the+frequency%2C+Kenneth%3F
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. from their 1994 album Monster. It was the first single taken from the album, released three weeks later. It peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, and was the first song to debut at number one on Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.
See Also on Wikipedia: Dan Rather#”Kenneth, what is the frequency?”.
shivaree
Definition: (noun) A noisy mock serenade for newlyweds.
Synonyms: belling, callithump.
Usage: The clamorous shivaree stood in stark contrast to the refined, reserved marital ceremony it followed.
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granger
Definition: (noun) A person who operates a farm.
Synonyms: sodbuster, farmer, husbandman.
Usage: Their lands had been bought long ago, and the grangers moved to the city to find work as manual laborers.
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A ‘Bat Bot’ Takes Flight
Bat wings have intrigued scientists for centuries. And now, engineers have created “Bat Bot,” a small aircraft that mimics the flight patterns of the small, rodent-like flyers. Bat Bot exposes the complicated mechanics of bat flight and simultaneously provides…
annulus
Definition: (noun) A toroidal shape.
Synonyms: doughnut, anchor ring, halo, ring.
Usage: He was reclining on the red couch, blowing annuli of smoke that would slowly ascend and disappear into wisps.
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Does It Pass the ‘Smell Test?’
smell test (plural smell tests)
- (idiomatic) An informal method for determining whether something is authentic, credible, or ethical, by using one’s common sense or sense of propriety.
- An inspection of an object using the sense of smell, as for freshness of food.
- (physiology) An assessment of a subject’s ability to detect and distinguish odors.