Archive for April, 2006
The halteres are a pair of organs in a fly that "function as sensory flight stabilizers." (To quote from MW10.) Now that I write that, I have a vague idea...
According to Wikipedia, a statite is a hypothetical type of artificial satellite that employs a solar sail to continuously modify its orbit in ways that gravity alone would not allow....
I don't usually open 419-scam emails, but I happened to glance at this one, and was amused at a particular phrase: Dear Sir/Ma, My name is Mr.Gat Butu I am...
There's been some discussion on a mailing list lately about pronunciation of "ogle." I've always pronounced "ogle" to rhyme with "mogul," and it bugs me every time I hear it...
I always used to mix up Limbo and purgatory. Well, okay, to be honest I still do. But now at least I know that "Limbo" is called that because the...
A "craton" is a part of the Earth's crust that's particularly old and stable. They're apparently often found at the heart of a continent or ocean. I don't know that...
I've known what caltrops were since I was a kid: those four-pointed metal things, scattered in roadways to damage tires or hooves or feet. But as with so many words,...
A USA Today blog entry from Kevin Maney, dated 5 April 2006, has the following headline: Apple and XP: Has hell frozeth shut? I'm wondering whether this was an intentional...
I've been mentioning a lot of British idioms and slang that I hadn't previously encountered; now here's an American one. The compromise proposal [...] was introduced last night and "has...
Scientific American reports on a new fossil that bridges the gap between fish and four-limbed land creatures. It's thought to have lived primarily in shallow streams. The creature has been...