Smithsonite, or zinc spar, is zinc carbonate ZnCO3, a mineral ore of zinc. Historically, smithsonite was identified with hemimorphite before it was realised that they were two distinct minerals. The two minerals are very similar in appearance and the term calamine has been used for both, leading to some confusion. The distinct mineral Smithsonite was first described in 1832 and named for British chemist and mineralogist, James Smithson (1754-1829), whose estate financed the Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonite is a variably colored trigonal mineral which only rarely is found in well formed crystals. The typical habit is as earthy botryoidal masses. It has a Mohs hardness of 4.5 and a specific gravity of 4.4 to 4.5.
I have a couple of these stones, one male and one female, as ridiculous as that may sound...it boggles my mind that someone can have a registered trademark for an element of Nature.
Boji® stones are concretions composed of either iron sulfide, i.e pyrite and marcasite, or in some cases jarosite, which are found in outcrops of the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation within Gove County, Kansas. They are typically associated with thin layers of altered volcanic ash, called bentonite, which occur within the chalk comprising the Smoky Hill Chalk Member. A few of these concretions enclose, at least in part, large flattened valves of inoceramid bivalves. The "female" Boji® stones are smooth concretions, which range in size from a few millimeters to as much as 12 mm (6 inches) in length. Most of these concretions are oblate spheroids in shape. The "male" Boji® stones are small polycuboidal pyrite concretions, which are as much as 7 cm (0.23 foot ) in diameter (Hattin 1982). These concretions will explode if thrown in a fire. Also, when they are either cut or hammered, they produce sparks and a burning sulfur smell.
Tiger's eye (also Tigers eye, Tiger eye) is a chatoyant gemstone that is usually yellow- to red-brown, with a silky luster. It is a fibrous silicified crocidolite (blue asbestos), a classic example of pseudomorphous replacement. An incompletely silicified blue variant is called Hawk's eye. A member of the quartz group, its physical and optical properties are identical or very near to those of single-crystal quartz.
Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is the name for the person — typically a youth — who works the soda fountain in a drugstore. The term refers to the person who made an ice cream soda. This was made by putting flavored syrup into a specially designed tall glass, adding soda water and, finally one or two scoops of ice cream. The result was served with a long handled "soda spoon" and straws. The name soda jerk came from the jerking action the server would use on the soda fountain handle when adding the soda water. Very few drugstores still serve ice cream and soda, which reached its peak in the 1940s.
A small eating establishment, common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often within a drug store or other business, serving soda beverages, ice cream, and sometimes light meals.
The ice cream soda, float or spider (as referred to in Australia and New Zealand) is a treat that is typically made by mixing ice cream with either a soft drink or flavored syrup and carbonated water. The microscopic bubbles present in the ice cream act as "nucleation sites" which trigger the formation of large bubbles of carbon dioxide. The drink originated in the United States in the late 19th century.
Frozen custard is a cold dessert similar to ice cream, made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. It typically contains 10% butterfat and 1.4% egg yolk.
Using a process called overrun, air is blended into the mixture of ingredients until its volume increases by approximately 20%. By comparison, ice cream may have an overrun as large as 100% - meaning half of the final product is composed of air. The high percentage of butterfat and egg yolk gives frozen custard a thick, creamy texture and a smoother, softer consistency than ice cream. Frozen custard is most often served at 26 degrees Fahrenheit (a full 16 degrees warmer than the 10 degrees Fahrenheit at which ice cream is served).
A s'more is a traditional campfire treat popular in the United States and Canada, consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a slab of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker.
S'mores are associated with recreational camping. Part of the enjoyment of this simple dessert is the way in which it is made on such camping trips. A marshmallow is skewered on the end of a long stick and held just above the campfire until (according to personal preference) its outer surface starts to brown, char, or even catch fire. Once heated, the inside of the marshmallow becomes soft. The marshmallow is quickly pinched off its stick with the waiting graham crackers, one of which has a piece of chocolate on it (typically a section of a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar). Ideally, the heat from the roasted marshmallow partially melts the chocolate into a gooey mess.
S'more appears to be a contraction of the phrase, "some more". Because once you have one you always want s'more.
The Cream Puff is one of the main attractions at the Wisconsin State Fair. Since their introduction in 1924, cream puffs have grown to be a signature Fair item, selling more than 365,000 annually. The Wisconsin State Fair dairy bakery operates around-the-clock during the Fair to meet the ever-growing insatiable demand.
Some fairgoers wait all year for a chance to indulge in the rich sweetness of a State Fair cream puff. They are made from the ingredients Wisconsin is famous for — milk, cream, butter and eggs. These cream puffs are huge not dainty like their cousin the profiterole.
Cannoli are Sicilian pastry desserts. The singular is cannolo, meaning “little tube�?, with the etymology stemming from the Latin "canna", or reed. Cannoli originated in Sicily and are an essential part of Sicilian cuisine. They are also popular in Italian American cuisine.
Cannoli consist of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta cheese (or alternatively, but less traditionally, sweetened blended with some combination of vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, Marsala wine, rosewater or other flavorings.
The versions Americans are most familiar with tend to involve variations on the original concept. This is possibly due to adaptations made by Italians who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1900s and discovered limited availability of certain ingredients. The cannoli sold in Italian-American bakeries today usually still contain ricotta, but mascarpone is a less common alternative. Sometimes the filling is a simple custard of sugar, milk, and cornstarch. In either case, the cream is often flavored with vanilla or orange flower water and a light amount of cinnamon. Chopped pistachios, semi-sweet chocolate bits, and candied citrus peel or cherries are often still included, dotting the open ends of the pastry. Chocolate sprinkles are sometimes used as a garnish for cannoli in the United States.
Crème brûlée (French for "burnt cream"; pronounced /ˌkrɛm bru�?ˈleɪ/ in English) is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill, or with a blowtorch or other intense heat source. It is usually served cold in individual ramekins.
The custard base is normally flavoured with just vanilla, but it can be enhanced with chocolate, a liqueur, fruit, etc. Sometimes the hardened sugar on top will be given a Maillard reaction, or caramelization, by igniting a thin layer of liqueur sprinkled over the top.
Crème caramel, flan, or caramel custard is a rich custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top.
Both 'crème caramel' and 'flan' are French names, though 'flan' more commonly means a custard tart in French. The dish has spread across Europe and the world, and is known as 'flan' in Spanish-speaking countries. In the United States, the dish is now best-known in a Latin American context, so is called flan; in Europe, it is generally known as crème caramel.
In Louisiana when one cooks just about anything, from say gumbo to etouffe to a pot of beans, they use what is called the trinity...onion, celery and bellpepper. Chopped and sauteed.
There are lots of recipes for crab cakes and they're all yummy.
Lump crabmeat, sauteed trinity (chopped celery, onion and bell pepper), a little garlic, a little cayenne, salt and pepper and a very little oregano and thyme, some bread crumbs and some mayonnaise...fry up neat little palm size flattened cakes in a blend of extra virgin olive oil and butter.
Many baby boomers remember the wildly popular JAMS shorts of the 1960s and 1980s. JAMS were closely associated with the California and Hawaii surf scenes. The JAMS brand still exists, and has grown into today's Jams World clothing and accessories line.
_Wikipedia
Growing up in southern California among surfers I know this word as a generic term spelled without capital letters. It was used for any baggy knee length swim shorts with drawstring waist that came in loud floral patterns. Jams is short for pajamas and the comfort of pajamas is implied.
Ska is linked with punk in my mind for many reasons The Mighty Mighty Bosstones being one of them. See Free Associate
Ska (pronounced /ska/ or in Jamaican Patois /skja/) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was a precursor to rocksteady and reggae.
Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line, accented guitar or piano rhythms on the offbeat, and in some cases, jazz-like horn riffs. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant musical genre of Jamaica, and it was also popular with British mods. Many skinheads, in various decades, have also enjoyed ska (along with reggae, rocksteady and other genres). Music historians typically divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican ska scene of the 1960s, the 2 Tone ska revival that started in England in the late 1970s, and the third wave ska movement, which started in the 1980s.
Fine textured, light green, tuft-forming sedge with a fine fibrous root system. It is found in wet prairies, bogs and marshes. Flower/seed head is a small, round, bristly structure found at the tip of the culum or blade.
Barkcloth is a soft, thick, slightly textured fabric so named because it has a rough surface like that of tree bark. This barkcloth is usually made of densely woven cotton fibers. Historically, the fabric has been used in home furnishings, such as curtains, drapery, upholstery, and slipcovers. It is often associated with 1950s and 1960s home fashions.
Equisetum is a genus of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds. The genus includes 15 species commonly known as horsetails and scouring rushes. It is the only living genus in class Equisetopsida, formerly of the division Equisetophyta (Arthrophyta in older works), though recent molecular analyses place the genus within the ferns (Pteridophyta). Other classes and orders of Equisetopsida are known from the fossil record, where they were important members of the world flora during the Carboniferous period.
Forbs are herbaceous flowering plants that are not graminoids (grasses, sedges and rushes). The term is frequently used in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands, to refer to broad-leaved (dicot) herbs. Forbs represent a guild of plant species with broadly similar growth form, which in ecology is often more important than taxonomic relationship.
In addition to its use in ecological studies, the term forb may also be used for subdividing popular guides to the wildflowers of a region, together with other categories such as ferns, grasses, shrubs and trees. This approach is not followed in formal regional floras, which are usually organised taxonomically.
My Little Pony is a line of colorful toy ponies marketed primarily to young children and produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. It was introduced in 1981. "My Little Pony" became immensely popular during the 80s, at one point even outselling Mattel's Barbie.
Barrel of Monkeys is a toy game first created by Lakeside Toys in 1965. Today it is produced by the Milton Bradley Company. Milton Bradley's editions consist of a toy barrel in either blue, yellow, red, or green. The barrel contains 12 monkeys, their color usually corresponding to the barrel's color. The instructions on the bottom of the barrel state "Dump monkeys onto table. Pick up one monkey by an arm. Hook other arm through a second monkey's arm. Continue making a chain. Your turn is over when a monkey is dropped." In addition to these basic instructions, the barrel also contains instructions for playing alone or with two or more players.
Raggedy Andy is a boy rag doll, the friend of Raggedy Ann. The character was created by Johnny Gruelle in 1920. Raggedy Andy wears blue pants that button to a plaid shirt with a collar and a bow tie. He has the characteristic red and white striped legs and orange yarn hair. He wears a sailor cap. He has the famous "I love you" heart on his chest just as Raggedy Ann does.
Raggedy Ann was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2002. Raggedy Andy joined her in 2007.
A squirt gun (or water pistol or water gun) is a type of toy designed to shoot water. It works on the same principle as a spray bottle. The body of the toy is essentially a container for water, and the "trigger" is attached to a pump which squirts water out of a tiny hole at the "muzzle."
Candy Land is a simple racing board game. It has become a cultural icon in the U.S., where it is often the first board game played by children because it requires no ability to read and only minimal counting skills.
The game was designed in the 1940s by Eleanor Abbott, while she was recovering from polio in San Diego, California.
The game was bought by Milton Bradley Company (now owned by Hasbro) and first published in 1949.
A December, 2005 article in Forbes magazine analyzed the most popular American toys by decade, with help from the Toy Industry Association. Candy Land led the list for the 1940-1949 decade.
Clue is a crime fiction board game originally published by Waddingtons in the United Kingdom in 1948. It was devised by Anthony E. Pratt, a solicitor's clerk and part-time clown from Birmingham, England. It is now published by the United States game and toy company Hasbro, which acquired its U.S. publisher Parker Brothers as well as Waddingtons.
The game is set in a mansion, with the board divided into different rooms. The players each represent a character who is a guest staying at this house, whose owner, Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the North American version), has been found murdered. Players attempt to solve the murder. The solution to the murder requires the three components of Suspect, Weapon, and Room.
The Koosh ball is a toy ball, unique in its possession of rubber filaments around a center core as opposed to a smooth, consistent surface. (see photo.)
The Koosh ball was developed in 1986 by Scott Stillinger to be easy for his daughter and son (5 and 8 years old respectively) to hold and throw. It was named after the sound it made when it landed. Stillinger started the OddzOn Products Inc. company with his brother-in-law, Mark Button (who had previously been a marketing manager for Mattel), in 1987 in order to sell it. The Koosh ball was one of 1988's hot Christmas toys, appealing considerably to all ages. The company later expanded their product line to include 50 other Koosh-related products, including keyrings, baseball sets, and yo-yos. The number of Koosh Balls sold is estimated to be in the millions.
The ball consists of approximately 2000 natural rubber filaments, and has been released in a variety of color combinations.
Liddle Kiddles is a range of toy dolls produced by Mattel that was introduced in 1965 and by 1966 they began to hit the store shelves. Until then most of the dolls were 8" to 12" fashion dolls or baby dolls, so these tiny Kiddles with their large heads were quite different. They became so popular that other toy companies tried to produce their own versions of the Liddle Kiddle to cash in on Mattel's success.
The original Kiddle doll was made of a soft vinyl with painted facial features and rooted hair that could be combed. The first, second, and thired series (bigger bodies as collectors call them) range from 2 3/4" to 3 1/2."
The bigger bodies ( first 10 dolls) are designed to resemble typical neighborhood children at play. The name Liddle Kiddles was actually taken from the words little kid. Each of the first 24 dolls had detailed clothing and accessories that perfectly matched their theme and size. Wire skeletons inside the vinyl bodies enable the dolls to be posed and reposed realistically.
Pop beads are made of polyethene and other soft plastics. A knob at one end fits into a corresponding hole on a neighboring bead to link together and create necklaces and bracelets. They came in many colors and were a fad during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Vintage sets fetch good prices. Fisher-Price made a large colorful type of pop beads called Snap-Lock beads.
Breyer Animal Creations (or just Breyer), a division of Reeves International, is one of the oldest model animal companies to date. The company specializes in model horses, although various wildlife and domestic animal models have been made in the past. It's model horses are some of the most renowned model horses in the hobby, being as the models are both inexpensive and realistic. It manufactures well over 5 million models annually.
The company specializes in realistic, scale animal models made from cellulose acetate. Most of the company's products focus on model horses and the tack and accessories (such as stables, barns, grooming implements) that accompany horse care.
Each horse is cast in a mold, then the seams are sanded and polished. Markings and color patterns are usually obtained by using a stencil, although most older models were airbrushed by hand, with markings such as undefined socks or a bald face merely left unpainted. Most detailing, such as eyewhites (common on 1950s and 1960s models and enjoying a resurgence in modern models), brands, or other individual markings are painstakingly handpainted.
Boohbah is a 2004 television show aimed at children between three and six years old. It premiered in 2003 on ITV in the United Kingdom, and on 19 January 2004 in the United States on PBS.
The Boohbahs are five furry, gumdrop-shaped creatures played by actors in full body costumes. Their thick, shimmery fur sparkles with tiny lights; their Kewpie doll style heads are hairless and feature big eyes with rows of lights for eyebrows. They do not speak, but instead make noises like squeaks, squeals, and clicks. The Boohbahs can retract their heads into their furry necks. Each Boohbah is a different color. They are:
Humbah (Yellow)
Zumbah (Purple)
Zing Zing Zingbah (Orange)
Jumbah (Blue)
Jingbah (Pink)
The Boohbahs can fly; part of their routine is to assemble into a circle, holding hands like skydivers. Each then emits a different musical note as a flash of colored light (matching the Boohbah's color) is sent out from their heads to a central point.
Spirograph is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc., for a geometric drawing toy.
The Spirograph produces mathematical curves of the variety technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids.
The Spirograph was invented by British engineer Denys Fisher who exhibited it in 1965 at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair. It was subsequently produced by his company. Distribution rights were acquired by Kenner, Inc., which introduced it to the United States' market in 1966.
Etch A Sketch is a registered trademark for a mechanical drawing toy manufactured by the Ohio Art Company.
An Etch A Sketch resembles a thick, flat gray screen in a plastic frame, and is equipped with two knobs on the front of the frame in the lower corners. The knobs move a stylus that displaces gray powder on the back of the screen, leaving a dark line as the stylus is moved. The knobs can thus be used to create lineographic images. One knob moves the stylus horizontally, and the other vertically.
Introduced near the peak of the Baby Boom, the classically simple Etch A Sketch is one of the best-known toys of that generation, and remains popular to this day.
Weebles is a trademark for several lines of children's toys originating in Hasbro's Playskool division on July 23, 1971. Shaped like eggs with a weight at the fat, or bottom end, they wobble when pushed, but never fall completely over, hence the name. Some Weebles were designed to look like humans.
The popular catchphrase, "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down", was used in advertising during their rise in popularity in the 1970s and during the relaunch in the 2000s.
A summertime outdoor water fun toy manufactured by Wham-o.
The toy was a seven-foot plastic hose attached to an aluminum water-jet nozzle. The nozzle was covered with a bellshaped plastic head with a silly expression. The toy was attached to a regular garden hose and when the water was turned on it danced and spun and squirted water over a wide and unpredictable area.
The Water Wiggle was voluntarily recalled by Wham-o and all manufacturing stopped in 1978 because of two separate deaths of children due to drowning.
SuperBall (originally "Super Ball") is an example of a bouncy ball invented by Norman Stingley, and manufactured by Wham-O in 1965. It is an extremely elastic ball made of Zectron, which contains the synthetic rubber polymer polybutadiene, vulcanized with sulfur at a temperature of 165 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of 80 atmospheres. The Super Ball has an amazingly high coefficient of restitution. Dropped from shoulder level, Super Ball snapped nearly all the way back; thrown down, it could leap over a three-story building.
After watching his kids play with a Super Ball, Lamar Hunt, founder of the American Football League, coined the term Super Bowl.
A ticker-tape parade is a parade event, held in a downtown urban setting, allowing the jettison of large amounts of shredded paper products from nearby office buildings onto the parade route, creating a triumphal effect by the snowstorm-like flurry.
The term originated in New York City after a spontaneous celebration held on October 29, 1886 during the dedication of the Statue of Liberty and is still most closely associated with New York City. The term ticker-tape referred originally to the use of the paper output of ticker tape machines, which were remotely-driven devices used in brokerages to provide updated stock market quotes. Nowadays, the paper products are largely waste office paper that have been cut using conventional shredders. The city also distributes paper confetti.
In New York City, ticker-tape parades are not annual events but are reserved for special occasions. Soon after the first such parade in 1886, city officials realized the utility of such events and began to hold them on triumphal occasions, for extraordinary events, and to honor heads of state.
A slap bracelet (or snap bracelet) is a bracelet consisting of layered, flexible stainless steel bi-stable spring bands sealed within a colorful fabric cover. The bracelet can be straightened out, creating tension within the springy metal bands. The straightened bracelet is then slapped against the wearer's forearm, causing the bands to spring back into a curve which wraps around the wrist, securing the bracelet to the wearer. The slap bracelet was a popular fad among children, pre-teens and teenagers in the early 1990s and was available in a huge number of then-popular patterns and colors.
The original "Slap Wrap" bracelet was invented by Stu Anders & Phil Bart at Main Street Industries, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Baton twirling was popular among little girls in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Since then classes are available to young kids in much the same way as dance lessons are. A twirling baton was considered a toy even though it was also an instrument used by adults in marching bands.
The word tricycle has been in use since the early 19th century and stems from the Greek tri (treia), meaning three, and kyklos, meaning a circle or wheel. The abbreviation trike has been in use since 1883.
The most common type of tricycle today is the child's toy pedal tricycle.
Alphabet Block sets were wooden blocks with primary colored letters, numbers, and pictures. The best were embossed (not just printed) on 1 3/4" basswood blocks. Some sets were sold in wooden wagons pulled by a string.
A slot car (sometimes, slotcar) is a powered miniature auto or other vehicle which is guided by a groove or slot in the track on which it runs. A pin or blade extends from the bottom of the car into the slot. Though some slot cars are used to model highway traffic on scenic layouts, the great majority are used in the competitive hobby of slot car racing or slot racing.
Hot Wheels is a brand of die cast toy car, introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel acquired rights to the Matchbox brand from Tyco.
The original, and now famous, Hot Wheels logo was designed by California artist Rick Irons, who at that time worked for Mattel.
Little Golden Books is a popular series of children's books. The first 12 titles were published October 1, 1942.
The Little Golden Books, which initially sold for 25¢, were published by Simon and Schuster in cooperation with the Artist and Writers Guild, Inc.
Western Printing and Lithographing Company in Racine, Wisconsin, was Simon and Schuster's partner in the Little Golden Books venture. Western handled the actual printing. In 1958, Simon and Schuster sold its interest in Little Golden Books to Western.
Ownership and control of the series has changed several times since. In 2001, Random House acquired Golden Books for about 85 million dollars.
_Wikipedia
These are small picture books with cardboard covers and characteristic gold foil spines.
Crayola Crayons were invented by cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith. Binney's wife Alice coined the word "Crayola" by combining the French word for chalk (craie) and the "ola" part of "oleaginous" (oily).
The first box of Binney & Smith crayons, produced in 1903, sold for a nickel and contained eight colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and black. While it was widely known that the 8 count box was the box they initially sold their crayons in, they carried a full line of boxes in different sizes and colors for many uses.
Matchbox is a die cast toy brand currently owned by Mattel, Inc. Matchbox toys were so named because the original models were packed in boxes similar in size and style to boxes of matches. The series became so popular that the Matchbox name was once widely used by the public as a genericized trademark for all die cast toy cars measuring approximately 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) in length, regardless of brand. In the 1970s, Matchbox switched to the more conventional, plastic and cardboard "blister packs" used for other die cast cars such as Hot Wheels, although the box style packaging was re-introduced for the collector market in recent years, particularly successfully with the release of the "35th Anniversary of Superfast" series in 2004.
Lionel Corporation's trains, produced from 1901 to 1969, are the most famous toy trains in the United States and among the most famous in the world. Lionel Trains were inducted in the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2006.
The National Toy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years. Established in 1998, the National Toy Hall of Fame is in the Strong Museum (now the Strong - National Museum of Play) in Rochester, New York.
Thirty-nine toys have been enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Corn pone (sometimes referred to as "Indian pone") is a type of cornbread, made of a thick, malleable dough made of cornmeal or hominy grits, shaped by hand and then baked or fried in butter, margarine, lard or bacon grease. Corn pone has been a staple of Southern U.S. cuisine, and has been discussed by many American writers, including Mark Twain. Typically corn pone is formed in two to three inch oval shapes and features a crunchy and/or chewy texture.
The term "corn pone" is sometimes used as a noun to refer to one who possesses certain rural, unsophisticated peculiarities ("he's a corn pone"), or as an adjective to describe particular rural, folksy or "hick" characteristics (e.g., "corn pone" humor). The term is sometimes intended as a pejorative, often directed at persons from rural areas of the southern and midwestern U.S.
reesetee, I wish we had Picadoos when I was a kid...we just had the boy stuff...to make cars and boats and snakes and bugs. Picadoos sound much cooler.
A prairie skirt is an American style of skirt, an article of women's and girls clothing.
Prairie skirts are slightly flared to very full, with one or more flounces (deep ruffles) or tiers, and are often worn over a ruffled eyelet or lace-trimmed petticoat. They were introduced to fashion by Ralph Lauren in his fall 1978 Western-themed collection.
Prairie skirts are so-called after their resemblance to the home-sewn skirts worn by pioneer women in the mid-nineteenth century, which in turn are a simplified version of the flared, ruffled skirts characteristic of high-fashion dresses of the 1820s.
In keeping with their design inspiration, traditional prairie skirts are usually made of "country" fabrics such as denim and flowered calico. Prairie skirts are a staple of women's western wear, and very full prairie skirts are worn for square dancing.
Mid-calf length, button-front denim prairie skirts with a single flounce, worn with a petticoat that was slightly longer than the skirt, became a mainstream fashion in the 1970s and early '80s following Lauren's introduction.
Creepy Crawlers is the best-known name associated with an activity toy made by Mattel beginning in 1964. A more generic term for the toy is "Thingmaker".
A Thingmaker toy consists of a series of die-cast metal molds, into which are poured a liquid chemical substance called Plasti-Goop, which came in many colors and varieties. The mold is then heated atop an open-face electric hot plate oven. The Plasti-Goop is cured by the heat, and when cooled, is removed from the mold, forming solid, rubbery replicas.
The concept of the Thingmaker was actually introduced in 1963, as part of Mattel's "Vac-U-Maker" set. This omnibus toy combined the new "molds and Plasti-Goop" technology with the existing "Vac-U-Form" machine, which molded simple sculptures by heating thin sheets of plastic, then using a vacuum pump to form the softened plastic over hard plastic forms. Following this introduction period, the Thingmaker portion was "spun off" as a separate set, and the "Creepy Crawlers" line began in earnest.
Mattel produced many Thingmaker sets as follow-ups to the original "Creepy Crawlers" throughout the 1960s, utilizing a variety of themes, aimed at both boys and girls.
Creepy Crawlers is the best-known name associated with an activity toy made by Mattel beginning in 1964. A more generic term for the toy is "Thingmaker".
A Thingmaker toy consists of a series of die-cast metal molds, into which are poured a liquid chemical substance called Plasti-Goop, which came in many colors and varieties. The mold is then heated atop an open-face electric hot plate oven. The Plasti-Goop is cured by the heat, and when cooled, is removed from the mold, forming solid, rubbery replicas.
The concept of the Thingmaker was actually introduced in 1963, as part of Mattel's "Vac-U-Maker" set. This omnibus toy combined the new "molds and Plasti-Goop" technology with the existing "Vac-U-Form" machine, which molded simple sculptures by heating thin sheets of plastic, then using a vacuum pump to form the softened plastic over hard plastic forms. Following this introduction period, the Thingmaker portion was "spun off" as a separate set, and the "Creepy Crawlers" line began in earnest.
Mattel produced many Thingmaker sets as follow-ups to the original "Creepy Crawlers" throughout the 1960s, utilizing a variety of themes, aimed at both boys and girls.
Shrinky Dinks were invented in 1973 by Kate Bloomberg and Betty Morris from Wisconsin. The first kits were manufactured by the major toy companies of the time such as Milton Bradley, Colorforms, Western Publishing and Skyline Toys. The shrink plastic is still available from many retailers and can be used for anything from charms to pins.
Prior to heating, the thin, flexible polystyrene plastic sheets can be coloured with felt-tip pens, colored pencils or crayons and cut into shapes. When heated in the oven or with a heat gun, the plastic shrinks by about 5/8ths and becomes thicker and more rigid, while retaining the colored design.
Although Shrinky Dinks is considered to be an arts and crafts product for children, many adult crafters find the product to be suitable for jewelery making and other projects.
When you turn a tight nut too hard with your wrench and it suddenly lets go and your knuckles slam into the machine you are working on and graze the skin. Ow!
Cimaruta (Chee-Mah-Roo-Tah): Also called Mallocchio, Spring of Rue, Jettatura, Witch’s Charm, and Cima di Ruta. A very ancient protective charm dating back to 4500-3000 B.C.E., depicting a bird, fish, serpent, and spiral.
Steeped in history and witchcraft, a version of the Cimaruta, or Italian Witch Charm, was mostly used in ancient Italy. “Cimaruta,�? means “spring of rue�? and the branches of the charm are the branches of that most sacred plant. From the rue branches at each end is a sprout; out of the sprout comes forth many occult symbols, such as the key, dagger, blossom, and moon. All Cimaruta are different according to region of origin, and the symbols vary. Some of the variations include: a rose, a hand holding a wand or sword, a flaming heart, a crescent moon, a snake, an owl, a plumed Medieval helmet, a Vervain flower blossom, a dolphin, a cock, and a crow.
The Cimaruta was always made of silver, and was traditionally double-sided. The Cimaruta was often placed upon the breasts of infants, as a protection (evoking the goddess Diana whom ancient Roman women gave offeings to for an easier childbirth). Before it became popular among the common people, it was used by witches as a sign of membership in the Witch-cult. The Cimaruta charm was used by the Society of Diana, the Old Religion of the Witches, in the past centuries, and many Italian witches still wear them. Because most Cimaruta charms are fairly large - some almost 4 inches across - not only can it be worn around the neck but it can also be hung above any door, on the wall, and near any sacred altar space. However, Cimaruta are rare and can be very difficult to find. A few can be found on Internet shops and in some physical shops that carry witchcraft supplies.
Astral projection (or astral travel) is a paranormal interpretation of an out-of-body experience achieved either awake or via lucid dreaming or deep meditation. The concept of astral projection assumes the existence of another body, separate from the physical body and capable of traveling to non-physical planes of existence. Commonly such planes are called astral, etheric, or spiritual. Astral projection is often experienced as the spirit or astral body leaving the physical body to travel in the spirit world or astral plane.
The astral plane, also called the astral world or desire world, is a plane of existence according to esoteric philosophies, some religious teachings and New Age thought. Although the word "astral" is often associated with New Age ideas, this term was also used historically by alchemists. In the late 19th and early 20th century the term was popularised by Theosophy, especially as developed by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, and later Alice Bailey. In this cosmology, the astral is the first metaphysical plane beyond the physical, but is "denser" than the mental plane. The astral plane is also sometimes termed the world of emotion or world of illusion, and corresponds to Blavatsky's Kamic Plane.
According to Occult, Theosophical, and New Age teachings, the astral plane can be visited consciously with the astral body through means of meditation and mantra, lucid dreaming, or other forms of training and development.
The Akashic records (Akasha is a Sanskrit word meaning "sky", "space" or "aether") is a term from Hinduism that was incorporated into Theosophy denoting a collection of mystical knowledge encoded in a non-physical plane of existence. The records are supposed to contain all knowledge, including all human experience, of the history of the Cosmos. The Akashic records are metaphorically described as a library and are also likened to a universal computer or the 'Mind of God'. The records are supposed to be constantly updated. The concept originated in the theosophical movements of the 19th Century, and remains prevalent in New Age discourse.
A sigil (pronounced /'sɪdʒ.ɪl/ or /'sɪg.ɪl/; pl. sigilia or sigils) is a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. A sigil is usually made up of a complex combination of several specific symbols or geometric figures each with a specific meaning or intent.
The term sigil derives from the Latin sigilum meaning "seal," though it may also be related to the Hebrew סגולה (segulah meaning "word, action or item of spiritual effect"). The old Norse binding rune is an example of the idea. A sigil may have an abstract, pictorial or semi-abstract form. It may appear in any medium -- physical, virtual, or mental. Visual symbols are the most popular form, but the use of aural and tactile symbols in magic is not unheard of.
The Hand of Glory is the dried and pickled hand of a man who has been hanged, often specified as being the left (Latin: sinister) hand, or else, if the man were hanged for murder, the hand that "did the deed."
According to old European beliefs, a candle made of the fat from a malefactor who died on the gallows, virgin wax, and Lapland sesame oil (the candle could only be put out with milk), and the hand having come from the said hanged criminal, lighted and placed in the Hand of Glory (as in a candlestick) would have rendered motionless all persons to whom it was presented. (In another versions the hair of the dead man is used as a wick, also the candle is said to give light only to the holder.) The Hand of Glory also purportedly had the power to unlock any door it came across.
The legend is traceable to about 1440, but the name only dates from 1707. It was originally a name for the mandrake root (via French "mandragore" and thus, "maindegloire" - "hand of glory") that became conflated with the earlier legend. The confusion may have occurred because mandrakes are said to grow beneath the bodies of hanged criminals.
Worry dolls, or trouble dolls, are very small dolls originally made in Guatemala. A person who cannot sleep due to worrying can place a worry doll under the pillow; the doll is thought to worry in the person's place, thereby permitting the person to sleep. In the morning the children wake up without their worries, which have been taken away by the dolls during the night. The dolls are about 1/2 inch (13 mm) tall and handmade from cotton, wood and cardboard.
_Wikipedia
I have dozens of these and hence, very few worries. They come in both male and female attire and a wide variety of colored fabrics are used in creating them.
The Wild Hunt was a folk myth prevalent in former times across Northern, Western and Central Europe. The fundamental premise in all instances is the same: a phantasmal group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground, or just above it. It is often a way to explain thunderstorms.
The hunters may be the dead, or the fairies (often in folklore connected with the dead). The hunter may be an unidentified lost soul, a deity or spirit of either gender, or may be a historical or legendary figure like Dietrich of Berne, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag, Satan, Odin (or other reflexes of the same god, such as Alemannic Wuodan in Wuotis Heer of Central Switzerland, etc.), or Arawn. Women may also be the hunters, as in related cult of Diana or Holda . The hunt is often for a woman, who is captured or killed, or a moss maiden.
It has been variably referred to as the Wild Hunt, Woden's Hunt, the Raging Host (Germany), Herlathing (England), Mesnee d'Hellequin (Northern France), Cŵn Annwn (Wales) Cain's Hunt, Ghost Riders (North America), Herod's Hunt, Gabriel's Hounds, Asgardreia (Asgard ride) and even in Cornwall "the devil's dandy dogs."
_Wikipedia
Jane Yolen wrote a wonderful children's book called The Wild Hunt that does the legend proud and brings it into the modern world with skill and originality.
The Tuatha Dé Danann ("peoples of the goddess Danu", pronounced /tu�?ˈəhə dʲɛ�? danˈən) are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg.
They are thought to derive from the pre-Christian gods of Ireland. When the surviving stories were written, Ireland had been Christian for centuries, and the Tuatha Dé were represented as mortal kings and heroes of the distant past, but there are many clues to their former divine status. A poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of the Tuatha Dé, but ends "Although the author enumerates them, he does not worship them." Goibniu, Creidhne and Luchta are referred to as Trí Dé Dána ("three gods of craftsmanship"), and the Dagda's name is interpreted in medieval texts as "the good god." Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lugh, the Morrígan, Aengus and Manannan appear in stories set centuries later, showing all the signs of immortality.
In Irish mythology the aos sí (older form, aes sídhe), pronounced "ess shee", are a powerful, supernatural race comparable to the fairies or elves of other traditions. They are variously believed to live underground in the fairy mounds, across the western sea, or in an invisible world that coexists with the world of humans.
In the Gaelic languages, the "people of the mounds" are also referred to in Irish as the daoine sídhe ("deena shee"), and in Scottish Gaelic as the daoine sìth or daoine sìdh. They are variously believed to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or the goddesses and gods themselves.
Tylwyth teg is a common Welsh name for fairies, which means "the fair folk." Sometimes called "bendith y mamau" which means "a mother's blessing" and is a euphemism for these fairies in Glamorganshire. Their king is said to be Gwyn ap Nudd. They are associated with the lake, Llyn y Fan Fach in south Wales.
Calling fairies by a favorable name "fair folk" or "mother's blessing" was hoped to avert kidnapping in which the faeries would typically leave a sickly changeling child in the place of the healthy child they had stolen.
These fairies were described as fair-haired and as loving golden hair. They were said to covet mortal children with blond or fair hair. They are usually portrayed as benevolent but capable of mischief. They are neither entirely good or completely evil, unlike the Selee and Unselee (See also seelie and unseelie.) In their benevolent capacity, they might, for example, reward a woman who kept a tidy house with gifts of silver.
The Tylwyth Teg are said to fear iron and unbaptized children could supposedly be protected from them by placing a a poker over their cradle.
Gwlad y Tylwyth Teg is a Welsh name for fairy-land.
William Butler Yeats, in Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, divided them into the Trooping Fairies and the Solitary Fairies. Katharine Mary Briggs noted that a third distinction might be needed for "domesticated fairies" who live in human household, but such fairies might join with other fairies for merry-making and fairs.
The trooping fairies contained the aristocracy of the fairy world, including the Irish Daoine Sídhe. They were known as trooping faeries because they traveled in long processions, such as the one from which Tam Lin was rescued. But the trooping fairies also included other fairies of lesser importance; a trooping fairy could be large or small, friendly or sinister.
The Welsh fairies, Tylwyth Teg, and the Irish Sídhe were usually not classified as wholly good or wholly evil.
Unlike the trooping fairies, solitary fairies live alone and are inclined to be wicked and malicious creatures, except for the brownie who is said to help with household chores.
Two of the most prominent categories of fairies, derived from Scottish folklore, are the division into the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court.
The Unseelie (Unholy) Court consisted of the malicious and evilly-inclined fairies. Unlike the Seelie Court, no offense is necessary to bring down their assaults. As a group (or "host"), they would appear at night and assault travelers, often carrying them through the air, beating them, and forcing them to commit such acts as shooting elfshot at cattle.
Two of the most prominent categories of fairies, derived from Scottish folklore, are the division into the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. The Seelie (Blessed or Holy) Court was seen as more beneficent toward humans. They were known to seek help from humans, to warn those who had accidentally offended them, and to return human kindness with favors of their own. Still, a fairy belonging to this court would avenge insults and could be prone to mischief. The most common time of day to see them was twilight.
The Irish Dullahan (also Durahan, Gan Ceann) is a type of unseelie faerie. It is headless, usually seen riding a headless black horse and carrying his head under one arm. The head's eyes are massive and constantly dart about like flies, while the mouth is constantly in a hideous grin that touches both sides of the head. The flesh of the head is said to have the color and consistency of moldy cheese. The dullahan's whip is actually a human corpse's spine, and the wagons they sometimes use are made of similarly funereal objects (e.g. candles in skulls to light the way, the spokes of the wheels made from thigh bones, the wagon's covering made from a worm-chewn pall). When the dullahan stops riding, it is at where a person due to die is. The dullahan calls out their name, at which point they immediately perish.
There is no way to bar the road against a dullahan--all locks and gates open on their own when it approaches. Also, they do not appreciate being watched while on their errands, throwing a basin of blood on those who dare to do so (often a mark that they're among the next to die), or even lashing out the watchers' eyes with their whips. Nonetheless, they are frightened of gold, and even a single gold pin can drive a dullahan away. The myth may have inspired the Headless Horseman in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
_Wikipedia
In the Disney film "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", a dullahan makes an appearance as the coachman of the cóiste-bodhar (death coach).
The cóiste bodhar is a legendary Death Coach. It is an ancient legend of Ireland. The spectral black coach sometimes driverless and sometimes driven by a dullahan, is pulled by black horses, or headless horses, or skeletal horses and comes to pick up the souls of the newly dead.
This is depicted in a very satisfying way in the 1959 Walt Disney film, "Darby O'Gill and the Little People."
Can you imagine? In 1962 my mother bought me a pair of powder blue patent leather flats to wear for Easter, along with a powder blue dress and a skimmer
Shocking Pink, (also called neon pink) is bold and intense. Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli popularized this color in 1936, naming it shocking pink; it was the color of the box her perfume called Shocking Pink came in (the box was shaped like the torso of film star Mae West).
"This intense magenta was called shocking pink in the 1930s, hot pink in the 1950s, and kinky pink in the 1960s.
Baby blue is a lighter shade of cyan and a shade of blue. It is known as a pastel color.
The first recorded use of baby blue as a color name in English was in 1892.
In Western culture, the color baby blue is often associated with baby boys (and pastel pink for baby girls), particularly in clothing and linen and shoes. This is a recent tradition, however, and until the 1940s the convention was exactly the opposite: pink was considered the appropriate for boys as the more masculine and "decided" while blue was the more delicate and dainty color and therefore appropriate for girls.
Powder blue may refer to two different colors. Originally, it referred to a dark blue color, but it has since come to refer to a pale blue color (perhaps resulting from confusion over the word's origin), possibly because the name reminded people of baby powder and so people thought of it as a color similar to baby blue. The original color is now called dark powder blue.
Star anise, star aniseed, badiane or Chinese star anise, (Chinese: 八角, pinyin: b�?jiǎo, lit. "eight-horn") is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor, obtained from the star-shaped pericarp of Illicium verum, a small native evergreen tree of southwest China. The star shaped fruits are harvested just before ripening. It is widely used in Chinese cuisine, in Indian cuisine where it is a major component of garam masala, and in Malay/Indonesian cuisine. It is widely grown for commercial use in China, India, and most other countries in Asia. Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional five-spice powder of Chinese cooking.
Water wings, also called floaties, arm bands and swimmies, are a device to help a wearer float in water and learn to swim.
Water wings are typically cylindrical inflatable plastic bands that are inflated and worn on the upper arm. When the wearer is in water, the air inside the water wings provides buoyancy on account of its far lower density than the water. Although often thought of as a child's floatation device, water wings are also available in adult sizes.
Although water wings are popular among small children, swimming experts caution against using them, because although water wings help the child to float, they do not prevent him/her from accidentally going under water and potentially drowning. Waterwings are not a life-saving device. Mistaking them for one can create a potentially fatal false sense of security.
The carambola is a species of tree native to Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka and is popular throughout Southeast Asia Trinidad Malaysia and parts of East Asia. It is also grown in Dominican Republic, Brazil, Peru, Ghana, Guyana, Samoa, Tonga, Taiwan, French Polynesia, Costa Rica and Australia. Carambola is commercially grown in the United States in south Florida and Hawaii. Its fruit, the carambola, more popularly known as star fruit, but also coromandel gooseberry, kamranga, or five finger, is a golden-yellow to green berry. When cut across it shows a 5-pointed (sometimes 6-pointed or 7-pointed) star shape, hence the name, "star fruit." Star fruits are crunchy, and have a slightly tart, acidic, sweet taste, reminiscent of pineapples, apples, and sometimes kiwi fruit. The fruits are a good source of vitamin C. Its seeds are small and brown. They consist of a tough outer skin and a tangy white inside.
There are two varieties of star fruit - acidulate and sweet. The tart varieties can often be identified by their narrowly spaced ribs. The sweet varieties usually have thick fleshy ribs.
The fruit starts out green, and goes to yellow as it ripens, though it can be eaten in both stages.
Individuals with kidney trouble should avoid consuming the fruit, due to the presence of oxalic acid. Juice made from carambola can be even more dangerous due to its concentration of the acid.Fatal outcomes after ingestion of star fruits have been described in uraemic patients.
A chocolate star is a small milk chocolate candy extruded in the shape of a starburst, manufactured in the United States by Brach Candy Company. Sold in bulk and in family size bags.
Swim caps were made of rubberized fabric during the early 20th century. By the 1920s they were made of latex. The earliest chin strap caps were know as "aviators style" as they resembled the strapped leather helmets of flyers of the day. During the 1940s swim caps became scarce as rubber was needed for war materials. It was a lucky girl who had a swim cap to protect her "wave" ( hair style) during that period. The permanent wave hairstyle took time to obtain and was expensive, so many women wanted to protect their hair while swimming. The 1950s saw decorated caps come into vogue, and during the 1960s colorful flower petal swim caps became popular.
In English folklore, Jack Frost appears as an elfish creature who personifies crisp, cold, winter weather; a variant of Father Winter (AKA "Old Man Winter").
Tradition holds Jack Frost responsible for leaving frosty crystal patterns on windows on cold mornings (window frost or fern frost).
Residential housing comprised of or based upon the geodesic dome...reportedly much better suited to withstanding high winds such as those found in hurricanes than conventional housing.
A geodesic dome is an almost spherical structure based on a network of great circles (geodesics) lying approximately on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and yet also distribute the stress across the entire structure. It is the only man-made structure that becomes proportionally stronger as it increases in size. When completed to form a full sphere, it is known as a geodesic sphere. Of all known structures made from linear elements, a geodesic dome has the highest ratio of enclosed volume to weight.
The first dome that could be called "geodesic" in every respect was designed just after World War I by Walther Bauersfeld, chief engineer of the Carl Zeiss optical company, for a planetarium to house his new planetarium projector. Some thirty years later R. Buckminster Fuller further investigated this concept and named the dome "geodesic" from field experiments with Kenneth Snelson and others at Black Mountain College in the late 1940s. Although Fuller cannot be said to be the first inventor, he exploited and developed the idea, receiving a U.S. patent.
An octagon house is an eight-sided house. A unique fad in residential architecture, they were particularly popular during the mid-19th century in the United States.
The sistrum was a sacred instrument in ancient Egypt. Perhaps originating in the worship of Bast, it was used in dances and religious ceremonies, particularly in the worship of the goddess Hathor, with the U-shape of the sistrum's handle and frame seen as resembling the face and horns of the cow goddess. It was also shaken to avert the flooding of the Nile and to frighten away Set. Isis in her role as mother and creator was depicted holding a pail symbolizing the flooding of the Nile, in one hand and a sistrum in the other. The goddess Bast too is often depicted holding a sistrum, symbolizing her role as a goddess of dance, joy, and festivity.
_Wikipedia
The sistrum is also used in rites to propitiate the goddess Sekhmet.
The sod house or "soddy" was a corollary to the log cabin during frontier settlement of the United States and Canada. The prairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone; however, sod from thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant. Prairie grass had a much thicker, tougher root structure than modern landscaping grass.
Construction of a sod house involved cutting patches of sod in rectangles, often 2'×1'×6" (600×300×150mm) long, and piling them into walls. Builders employed a variety of roofing methods. Sod houses could accommodate normal doors and windows. The resulting structure was a well-insulated but damp dwelling that was very inexpensive. Sod houses required frequent maintenance and were vulnerable to rain damage. Stucco or wood panels often protected the outer walls. Canvas or plaster often lined the interior walls.
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies. They flourished in areas with rich loess soils and moderate rainfall of around 30 to 35 inches (760 to 890 mm) per year.
A Yule log is a large log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in some cultures. It can be a part of the Winter Solstice festival or the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Twelfth Night.
The expression "Yule log" has also come to refer to log-shaped Christmas cakes, also known as "chocolate logs" or "Buche de Noel"
Without realizing it I have just posted a potato word as well...sweet potato...a term of endearment for my grandson...seeing this word it makes me think of him as my potato bairn.
The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), commonly called a yam in parts of the United States (especially in the southern and western portions of the country; this terminology causes some confusion with true yams), is a crop plant whose large, starchy, sweet tasting tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. The sweet potato is only distantly related to the potato (Solanum tuberosum). It is even more distantly related to the true yam (Dioscorea species) which is native to Africa and Asia. Thus, a sweet potato and a yam are in fact different foods.
The bodhrán (pronounced /ˈbɔ�?rɑ�?n/ or /ˈbaʊrɑ�?n/; plural bodhráns or bodhráin) is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65cm (10" to 26") in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45cm (14" to 18"). The sides of the drum are 9 to 20cm (3½" to 8") deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (although nowadays, synthetic heads, or new materials like kangaroo skin, are sometimes used). The other side is open ended for one hand to be placed against the inside of the drum head to control the pitch and timbre. One or two crossbars, sometimes removable, may be inside the frame, but this is increasingly rare on professional instruments.
The drum is usually played in a seated position, held vertically on the player's thigh and supported by his or her upper body and arm (usually on the left side, for a right-handed player), with the hand placed on the inside of the skin where it is able to control the tension (and therefore the pitch and timbre) by applying varying amounts of pressure and also the amount of surface area being played, with the back of the hand against the crossbar, if present. The drum is struck with the other arm (usually the right) and is played either with the bare hand or with a lathe-turned piece of wood called a "bone", "tipper", "beater", or "cipín". Tippers were originally fashioned from a double-ended knuckle bone, but are now commonly made from ash, holly or hickory.
A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead diameter greater than its depth. Usually the single drumhead is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood (rosewood, oak, ash etc.) scarf jointed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used. Some frame drums have mechanical tuning and on many the drumhead is stretched and tacked in place. It is the earliest skin drum known to have existed. Examples are found in many places and cultures.
Visible from Earth as a hazy band of white light that is seen in the night sky, arching across the entire celestial sphere, the visual phenomenon of the Milky Way (as seen in the night sky) originates from stars and other material which lies within the galactic plane.
The Milky Way looks brightest in the direction of the constellation of Sagittarius, toward the galactic center. Relative to the celestial equator, it passes as far north as the constellation of Cassiopeia and as far south as the constellation of Crux, indicating the high inclination of Earth's equatorial plane and the plane of the ecliptic relative to the galactic plane. The fact that the Milky Way divides the night sky into two roughly equal hemispheres indicates that our Solar System lies close to the galactic plane. The Milky Way has a relatively low surface brightness, making it difficult to see from any urban or suburban location suffering from light pollution.
Some sources hold that, strictly speaking, the term Milky Way should refer exclusively to the observation of the band of light, while the full name Milky Way Galaxy, or alternatively the Galaxy should be used to describe our galaxy as an astrophysical whole.
Trundle beds (or truckle beds) are usually considered a pair of beds, one slightly smaller than a twin bed that is on rollers or casters so that it may be put beneath the upper twin bed for storage. Trundle beds allow for two separate beds to be available when necessary, but do not require the space constantly. It is a space-saving idea. The lower bed on some trundle beds can "pop-up" to be the same height as the bed they are stored beneath, creating a larger bed that may be used for guests.
The Bunny Hop is a novelty dance that was created at Balboa High School of San Francisco in 1952. It is a social dance mixer, sometimes also referred to as a "party" or "dance party" dance.
The dance has been generally done to Ray Anthony's big band recording of the song. Ray Anthony's single release of the "Bunny Hop" featured another novelty dance classic, the "Hokey Pokey" on the B side.
The Mudpuppies are a family of aquatic salamanders.
The mudpuppy family, Proteidae, is divided into two genera - the mudpuppies proper, Necturus with six North American species, and Proteus with one European species. They represent an ancient group, dating from the time of the dinosaurs.
In contrast to more familiar amphibians such as frogs, mudpuppies never lose their gills during maturation from the tadpole into the adult stage-- beneficial since they will spend their entire lives underwater.
A limnic eruption, also referred to as a lake overturn or exploding lake, is a rare type of natural disaster in which CO2 suddenly erupts from deep lake water, posing the threat of suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans.
_Wikipedia
I can't help it...an exploding lake...what a concept.
A meromictic lake has layers of water which do not intermix. In ordinary, "holomictic" lakes, at least once each year there is a physical mixing of the surface and the deep waters. This mixing can be driven by wind, which creates waves and turbulence at the lake's surface, but wind is only effective at times of the year when the lake's deep waters are not much colder than its surface waters. In a "monomictic" lake, this mixing occurs once a year; in "dimictic" lakes, the mixing occurs twice a year (typically Spring and Autumn), and in "polymictic" lakes the mixing occurs several times a year. In meromictic lakes, the layers of the lake water remain unmixed for years, decades, or centuries.
Occasionally carbon dioxide (CO2) or other dissolved gasses can build up relatively undisturbed in the lower layers of a meromictic lake. When the stratification is disturbed, as could happen due to an earthquake, a limnic eruption may result.
A playa; also known as an alkali flat, sabkha, or salt flat; is a dry lakebed, generally the shore of, or a remnant of, an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Their surface is generally very dry, hard and smooth in the summer months, but wet and very soft in the winter months. Playas are small, round depressions in the surface of the ground. A playa lake is formed when rain fills this hole with water, creating a small lake. Playas can also form when the water table intersects the surface and water seeps into them.
A tar pit, or more properly asphalt pit, is a geological occurrence where subterranean bitumen leaks to the surface, creating a large puddle, pit, or lake of asphalt.
_Wikipedia
The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles are so cool.
The La Brea Tar Pits (or Rancho La Brea Tar Pits) are a famous cluster of tar pits located in Hancock Park in the urban heart of Los Angeles, California, United States. Asphalt (colloquially termed tar, which in Spanish is termed brea) has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years, forming hundreds of sticky pools that trapped animals and plants which happened to enter. Over time, the asphalt fossilized the remains. The result is an incredibly rich collection of fossils dating from the last ice age.
Remote viewing (RV) is the purported ability for a person to gather information on a remote target that is hidden from the physical perception of the viewer and typically separated from the viewer at some distance, a form of extra-sensory perception.
_Wikipedia
An interesting subject that the CIA has dabbled in.
The fetch (Anglo-Saxon fæcce; also known as fylgja), is a person's guardian spirit or familiar. The fetch is an attendant spirit that is bound to someone through the process of their naming until their death. The fetch is held "to appear as an animal resembling one's disposition or as a member of the opposite sex". If the fetch is perceived in animal form, it will most often assume this form. Fetches may take the form of: wolves, bears, cats, hawks, eagles, sea faring birds, and livestock. The fetch is hailed to be perceived by those with second sight. The fetch usually controls the allocation of one's mægen (spiritual energy) in accordance with one's wyrd. The fetch also records an individual's actions and intentions within their personal wyrd. Fetchs are recorded as fleeing the wicked in The Eddas.
Wyrd is a concept in Anglo-Saxon and Nordic culture roughly corresponding to Fate. It is ancestral to Modern English weird, which has acquired a very different signification. The cognate term in old Norse is Urðr, with a similar meaning, but also personalized as one of the Norns, Urðr (anglicized Urd). The concept corresponding to "fate" in Old Norse is Ørlǫg.
The Well of Urd is the holy well, the Well Spring, the source of water for the world tree Yggdrasil.
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville Records, before signing with Sire Records and expanding to a five-piece. Shortly after the release of the band's major label debut album Anodyne, Farrar announced his decision to leave the band due to a soured relationship with his co-songwriter Tweedy. Uncle Tupelo split on May 1, 1994, after completing a farewell tour. Following the breakup, Farrar formed Son Volt with Heidorn, while the remaining members continued as Wilco.
I wanted to list gardenia before but I was having an Alzheimer's moment and I couldn't think of the name of the flower that was given to me as a corsage when I was taken to my first formal dance. So I turned on the TV and started watching Turner Classic Movies and The Maltese Falcon was playing. The very first scene that came up features Mary Astor wearing a gardenia.
The birthday cake is traditionally highly decorated, and typically covered with lit candles when presented, the number of candles signifying the age of the celebrant. The person whose birthday it is makes a silent wish and then blows out the candles. If done in one breath, the wish is supposed to come true (but only if the person keeps the wish to himself or herself). It is also common for the "birthday boy" or "birthday girl" to cut the initial piece of the cake as a newlywed couple might with a wedding cake. If the knife touches the bottom, or when withdrawn from the cake comes out with pieces of cake adhering to it, the birthday boy or girl may have to kiss the nearest person of the opposite sex.
One's golden birthday, also called a champagne birthday, is the day when the age someone turns is the same as the day in the month he or she was born. For example, someone born on January 31st would celebrate his or her golden birthday when he or she turns 31. According to the Dictionary of American Regional English, this meaning is most prevalent in Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, although it is used elsewhere.
_Wikipedia
I'm from Wisconsin and today is my nephew Alexander's golden birthday.
Astolat is a legendary city of Great Britain named in Arthurian legends. It is the home of Elaine, "the fair maiden of Astolat", and of her father Sir Bernard and her brothers Lavaine and Tirre. The city is called Shallott in many cultural references, derived from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shallott".
Chapter nine of Sir Thomas Malory's book Le Morte d'Arthur identifies Guildford in Surrey with the legendary Astolat:
And so upon the morn early Sir Launcelot heard mass and brake his fast, and so took his leave of the queen and departed. And then he rode so much until he came to Astolat, that is Guildford; and there it happed him in the eventide he came to an old baron’s place.
The Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play integral parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, taking the dying king to Avalon after the Battle of Camlann, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father. Different writers and copyists give her name variously as Nimue, Viviane, Niniane, Nyneve, and other variations.
The Tradition: The evil Sir Brian of the Isles lived at Dolorous Guard. It was a dangerous enchanted place where passing knights by would find themselves obliged to fight two sets of ten knights at the two gates. They were never successful and were locked up in the nearby Dolorous Prison, while memorial gravestones marked their demise. Victims included Sirs Yder, Guivret, Yvain of Leonel, Cadoain, Kehedin, Kay Le Strange, Girflet, Dodinel, Taulas, Mador, Galegantin, Gawain and King Arthur's illegitimate son, Sir Loholt. Eventually, with the help of several magical shields, Sir Lancelot defeated the mystical knights and released all the prisoners. Sir Brian fled to Pendragon Castle and Lancelot took on Dolorous Guard as his new home. However, in order to free the castle residents completely from their enchantment, Lancelot had to stay there for forty consecutive nights. His many adventures, of course, kept him away and his new vassals became quite annoyed. So he descended, through the castle chapel, into a cave beneath where he defeated a huge monster and won the keys to unlock the enchantment from a damsel dressed in copper. The menacing gravestones magically disappeared and Lancelot decided to rename the place asJoyous Guard.
Sotto voce (literally "under voice"), an Italian expression, means to speak under one's breath or to speak confidentially. In music, a dramatic lowering of the vocal or instrumental tone -- not necessarily pianissimo, but with a hushed quality. May also denote muttering in theatrical or film scripts. Actual translation means "Soft Voice".
Beau Brummell, né George Bryan Brummell (7 June 1778, London, U.K. – 30 March 1840 (aged 61), Caen, France), was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent. He established the mode of men wearing understated, but fitted, beautifully cut clothes, adorned with an elaborately-knotted cravat.
Beau Brummell is credited with introducing and establishing as fashion the modern man's suit, worn with a tie. He claimed five hours to dress, and recommended that boots be polished with champagne. To wit, his style of dress was known as dandyism.
Comfort food is typically inexpensive, uncomplicated, and easy to prepare. Many people turn to comfort food for familiarity, emotional security, or special reward.
Comfort foods are typically composed largely of simple or complex carbohydrate, such as sugar, rice, refined wheat, and so on.
The term "comfort food" was added to the Webster's Dictionary in 1972.
Pronounced Koodie-moose by my son when he was 2 years old. I am sad to say that now that his son is two years old, the caboose is a thing of the past and even though my grandson LOVES trains...he knows nothing of the wonders of the koodie-moose.
A caboose (North American railway terminology) or brake van or guard's van (British terminology) is a manned rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train in North America, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.
The caboose provided the train crew with a shelter at the rear of the train. From here they could exit the train for switching or to protect the rear of the train when stopped. They also used windows to inspect the train for problems such as shifting loads, broken or dragging equipment, and overheated journals (hotboxes). The conductor kept records and otherwise conducted business from a table or desk in the caboose. For longer trips the caboose provided minimal living quarters.
I admit it! I eat Velveeta on occasion. Are you ready for this? Broiled on hamburger buns! Served with Campbell's tomato soup with a pat of butter floating in the middle...It's a nostalgia thing. My arteries were probably hard by kindergarten thanks to Mom's cuisine.
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Latin stola, from Greek stolē equipment, robe, from stellein to set up, make ready
Date: before 12th century
1 : a long loose garment : robe
2 : an ecclesiastical vestment consisting of a long usually silk band worn traditionally around the neck by bishops and priests and over the left shoulder by deacons
3 : a long wide scarf or similar covering worn by women usually across the shoulders
Gypsophila (Baby's-breath; Gypsophila) is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe, Asia and north Africa. Many species are found on calcium-rich soils, including gypsum, whence the name of the genus. Some species are also sometimes called "baby's breath" or simply, "Gyp", among the floral industry. Its botanical name means "lover of chalk", which is accurate in describing the type of soil in which this plant grows.
They are herbaceous annual and perennial plants growing to 5-120 cm tall. The leaves are opposite, linear to narrow triangular, often falcate (sickle-shaped), 1-7 cm long and 2-8 mm broad. The flowers are produced in large inflorescences, which may be either dense or open and lax; each flower is small, 3-10 mm diameter, with five white or pink petals.
_Wikipedia
I love the trade name of gypsophila paniculata: Bristol Fairy
Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.
It tells the story of a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years, though to the villagers, the passing of each century seems no longer than one night. The enchantment is viewed by them as a blessing rather than a curse, for it saved the village from destruction. According to their covenant with God, no one from Brigadoon may ever leave, or the enchantment will be broken and the site and all its inhabitants will disappear into the mist forever. Two American tourists, lost in the Highlands, stumble upon the village just as a wedding is about to be celebrated, and their arrival has serious implications for the village's inhabitants.
Lerner's book was based on a much older German story by Friedrich Gerstäcker about the mythical village of Germelshausen that fell under an evil magic curse.
Neverland (also called Never-Never-Land, Never Land and other variations) is the fictional island and dream world featured in the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by Scottish writer J. M. Barrie, his subsequent novel Peter and Wendy, and later works by others. While sojourning in Neverland, people may cease to age; therefore, Neverland is often seen as a metaphor for eternal childhood (and childishness), immortality, and escapism. In the earliest drafts of Barrie's play, the island was called Peter's Never Never Never Land. When the play was first performed in 1904, the island was referred to as the Never Never Land. In the 1923 published version, it was shortened to the Never Land. In the 1911 novel, it was spelled as one word: the Neverland.
Peter led Wendy Darling and her brothers to Neverland by flying "second to the right, and straight on till morning," though it is stated in the novel that Peter made up these directions on the spot to impress Wendy. In the 1953 Disney film, Peter Pan, the word "star" is added to the directions Peter speaks, "second star to the right, and straight on till morning."
The novel explains that Neverlands are found in the minds of children, and although they are "always more or less an island", and they have a family resemblance, they are not the same from one child to the next. For example, John Darling's "had a lagoon with flamingos flying over it" while his little brother Michael's "had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it".
The Virginia reel is a folk dance that dates from the 17th century. Though the reel may have its origins in Scottish country dance and the Highland reel, and perhaps have an even earlier influence from an Irish dance called the Rinnce Fada, it is generally considered to be an English country dance. The dance was most popular in America from 1830-1890 and was first published in England (1865).
The Virginia reel was a popular dance, and in each area there would be slight differences. This has given rise to a large number of dances called the Virginia reel. All of the versions have certain similarities, such as the reel figure.
In Victorian and Edwardian times, for the wealthy and mid-tier classes, a nursery was a suite of rooms at the top of a house, including the night nursery, where the children slept, and a day nursery, where they ate and played. The nursery suite would include some bathroom facilities and possibly a small kitchen. The nurse (nanny) and nursemaid (assistant) slept in the suite too, to be within earshot of the sleeping children. The schoolroom might also be adjacent, but the governess, whose job it was to teach the children, would not be part of the nursery; she would have her own bedroom, possibly in another wing. Fictional portrayals of nurseries abound, for example in the writings of Kipling and E. Nesbit; perhaps the most famous nursery is that in Mary Poppins, or the nursery in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
: a large eel-shaped fish (Electrophorus electricus) of the Orinoco and Amazon basins that is capable of giving a severe shock with its electric organs
Despite its name it is not an eel at all but rather a knifefish.
Brass beds are beds in which the headboard and footboard are made of brass; the frame rails are usually made of steel. Brass beds can be made of 100 per cent brass or of metals that have been brass plated. The brass used in making brass beds is usually 70 per cent copper and 30 per cent zinc; however, the ratio of metals varies between manufacturers.
In the 1800s, having a brass bed was a status symbol and sign of wealth. When America's oldest maker of brass beds made his first in 1855, Charles P. Rogers built a workshop in New York City using early mass production techniques, bringing very high quality to an affordable price levels. His firm Charles P. Rogers, Inc. is still in New York making beds over 150 years later. It is estimated that more than half the beds he ever made are still in use or museums. The prestige and popularity of brass beds grew during the 19th and 20th centuries to the point where sales surpassed those of wooden beds. Because of their timeliness and range of styles, brass beds are the beds of choice for people renovating historic homes.
I would sit up on his work bench and watch him making jigs and tying flies for his fishing hobby. Instead of attempting conversation with a child he would grill me on words and I would have to parrot them back with their meanings for later exhibition in front of "company." Upon reflection, kind of odd but I loved it and I still love words. So, thanks, Dad.
my father taught it to me when I was five...he got a kick out of me saying it...he taught me the word perpendicular the same day and I had to recite the meaning of that word...he didn't hold me to the meaning of the "longest" word.
The Gila Monster (pronounced /ˈhi�?lə/, HEE-la), Heloderma suspectum, is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is a heavy, slow moving lizard, up to 60 cm (2 feet) long, and is the only venomous lizard native to the United States. Its skin has the appearance of black, pink, orange, and yellow beads, laid down in intricate patterns. These beads are small bony plates that form scales, and are known as osteoderms.
In 2005 the US Food and Drug Administration approved a drug for the management of type 2 diabetes, Byetta (exenatide), a synthetic version of a protein derived from the Gila monster's saliva. The effectiveness is due to the fact that "The lizard hormone is about 50 percent identical to a similar hormone in the human digestive tract, called glucagon-like peptide-1 analog, or GLP-1, that increases the production of insulin when blood sugar levels are high. Insulin helps move sugar from the blood into other body tissues where it is used for energy. The lizard hormone remains effective much longer than the human hormone, and thus its synthetic form helps diabetics keep their blood sugar levels from getting too high.
The ghost in the machine is British philosopher Gilbert Ryle's derogatory description for René Descartes' mind-body dualism. The phrase was introduced in Ryle's book The Concept of Mind, written in 1949, to highlight the perceived absurdity of dualist systems like Descartes' where mental activity carries on in parallel to physical action, but where their means of interaction are unknown or, at best, speculative.
The Wicker Man was a large wicker statue of a human allegedly used by the ancient Druids for human sacrifice by burning it in effigy, according to Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentary on the Gallic Wars). In modern times the figure has been adopted for festivals as part of neopagan-themed ceremonies, notably without the human sacrifice element.
Caesar's words are looked on with skepticism by some scholars, who claim a lack of corroborating evidence and point out that the general, as the leader of the Gauls' enemies, may have just been repeating a sensationalistic rumor as propaganda to encourage his supporters back home.
Today, a wicker man is burned as part of neopagan festivities, especially Beltane, a rite of spring. Wicker men are tall, humanoid wooden structures, woven from flexible sticks such as those of willow as used in wicker furniture and fencing.
This song is still a popular Organized Labor song in the United States and is sung on picket lines and at rallies and other group endeavors.
Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund, and also known as Joseph Hillström (October 7, 1879 – November 19, 1915) was an American radical songwriter, labor activist and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), also known as the Wobblies. He was executed for murder after a controversial trial. After his death, he became the subject of several folk songs. Joe Hill was memorialized in a tribute poem written about him c. 1930 by Alfred Hayes titled "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", sometimes referred to simply as "Joe Hill". Hayes's lyrics were turned into a song in 1936 by Earl Robinson.
In Western culture the White Stork is a symbol of childbirth. In Victorian times the details of human reproduction were difficult to approach, especially in reply to a younger child's query of "Where did I come from?"; "The stork brought you to us" was the tactic used to avoid discussion of sex. This habit was derived from the once popular superstition that storks were the harbingers of happiness and prosperity, and possibly from the habit of some storks of nesting atop chimneys, down which the new baby could be imagined as entering the house.
The image of a stork bearing an infant wrapped in a sling held in its beak is common in popular culture. The small pink or reddish patches often found on a newborn child's eyelids, between the eyes, on the upper lip, and on the nape of the neck are sometimes still called "stork bites". In reality they are clusters of developing veins that soon fade.
Mukluks are a soft boot traditionally made of reindeer skin or sealskin and were originally worn by Arctic natives, including the Inuit and Yupik.
The word "mukluk" is of Yupik origin, from maklak, the Bearded Seal.
Mukluks weigh little and allow hunters to move very quietly. They may be adorned with pompons and beads and may be lined with furs such as rabbit, fox and raccoon.
Bruce is a song that went to #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985 and was recorded by Rick Springfield. The song is about Rick Springfield bumming out that people confuse him with Bruce Springsteen. Ha! As if!
The song Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb) by Edward Byrnes and Connie Stevens went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. It was a song about a character (played by Byrnes) on the TV show 77 Sunset Strip that ran from 1958 to 1964.
Civet cats are perhaps best known for the scrapings of their perineal glands, which produce a musky substance used in high-end fragrances.
The substance has also traditionally been used in "Civet absolute," an ingredient in the food additives used to add butter, caramel, and rum flavorings to sweets.
Jean by Oliver went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. This is a song from the soundtrack of the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and was written by Rod McKuen who also recorded it.
I have a little school singing book from the early 1950s and it has this same song in it but they use the name of Aunt Nancy. I think Rhoda and Rhodie sound better.
My kids were brought up with a folk song called Go Tell Aunt Rhodie, about a grey goose who died in the mill pond a 'standing on her head. Is this the same song?
Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte is the title song of the soundtrack for the film of the same name. It was recorded by Patti Page in 1965 and went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The metaphor of the silver bullet applies to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technology or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem.
The term originates from folklore. Traditionally, the silver bullet is the only kind of bullet for firearms that is effective against a witch, vampire, monster, or a person living a charmed life.
The best known magical creature which is vulnerable to a silver bullet is a werewolf. The werewolf's vulnerability to silver actually dates back to the legend of The Beast of Gévaudan in which a gigantic Wolf is killed by a person wielding a gun loaded with silver bullets.
In different traditions, silver is thought to be the metal associated with the moon and with the human soul. It is likely that these associations have contributed to the legend of the silver bullet.
Cabin fever is a condition that produces restlessness and irritability caused from being in a confined space. The actual term is slang for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a party is isolated and/or shut in, alone or together, for an extended period.
The term possibly originated in the United States at the time when settlers would be snowed into their log cabins and had to wait for the spring thaw in order to travel to town. Another possible source for this phrase could be that during an outbreak of some disease, people who had a fever were confined to a cabin as a quarantine. Most likely, the phrase may be associated with ocean-crossing sailing ships in which passengers had to endure weeks and months of slow travel while living in cramped cabins below deck.
Maple syrup can also be processed into a wide variety of candy or confections including granulated or molded maple sugar, molded soft-sugar candy, maple cream, maple fondant, and "Jack Wax" or "Maple on Snow."
My favorite is molded maple sugar...semi-hardened maple sugar cooked down from maple syrup, molded into (usually) maple leaf shapes. Melts quickly in the mouth and has an surprisingly creamy consistency.
Rock candy (also called rock sugar) is a type of confectionery composed of relatively large sugar crystals. Homemade rock candy is commonly formed by allowing a supersaturated solution of sugar and water to crystallize onto a string or some other surface suitable for crystal nucleation. Heating the water before adding the sugar allows more sugar to dissolve and thus produces larger crystals. Crystals form after several days. Food coloring is often added to the mixture to produce colored candy.
_Wikipedia
Excerpt from Big Rock Candy Mountain by Harry McClintock
On a summer day in the month of May a burly bum came hiking
Down a shady lane through the sugar cane, he was looking for his liking.
As he roamed along he sang a song of the land of milk and honey
Where a bum can stay for many a day, and he won't need any money
Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees near the soda water fountain,
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountains
Turbinado sugar, also known as turbinated sugar, is a type of sugar cane extract. It is made by steaming unrefined raw sugar. Turbinado sugar is similar in appearance to brown sugar but paler, and in general the two can be exchanged freely in recipes. A popular brand name is Sugar in the Raw.
Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), a member of the Chenopodiaceae family, is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar.
The sugar beet is directly related to the beetroot, chard and fodder beet, all descended by cultivation from the sea beet.
Beet sugar accounts for 30% of the world's sugar production.
Well, I made a corrected entry...but this word has a nice ring to it. What is it called when Treeseed not only can't spell but can't see the light of day? A Phosmoron.
A prosphoron (Greek: Π�?όσφο�?ον, Offering) is a small loaf of bread used in Orthodox Christian ritual The plural form is prosphora(Π�?όσφο�?α).
A prosphoron is made up of two separate round pieces of dough which are placed one on top of another and baked together to form a single loaf. This double-loaf represents the two natures of Christ: human and divine. Before baking, each prosphoron is stamped with a seal usually bearing the image of a cross with the Greek letters IC XC NIKA ("Jesus Christ conquers") around the arms of the cross. This impression is baked into the bread and serves as a guide for the priest who will be cutting it.
To me it brings up the image of a butterfly and seems like a nick name that someone innocent and childlike would use for a butterfly.
Also it seems like it could mean someone "mingling" at a party, in a sincere way, only hurried by circumstance. Like a hostess who wants to be able to spend at least a few minutes with everyone at her party.
A pork barrel, literally, is a barrel in which pork is kept. The term is more commonly used as a political metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for projects that are intended primarily to benefit particular constituents or campaign contributors. This usage originated in American English.
Eureka (Greek "I have found it") is an exclamation used as an interjection to celebrate a discovery.
It is most famously attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes; he reportedly said "eureka!" when he stepped into a bath and noticed the water level rise -- he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. This meant that the volume of irregular objects could be calculated with precision, a previously intractable problem. He is said to have been so eager to share it that he leapt out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked.
An epicanthal fold, epicanthic fold, or epicanthus is a skin fold of the upper eyelid (from the nose to the inner side of the eyebrow) covering the inner corner (medial canthus) of the human eye. The epicanthal fold is present in people of East Asian and Southeast Asian descent, as well as other ethnic groups including some Native Americans and Africans. Epicanthal folds may also be seen in young children of any race before the bridge of the nose begins to elevate.
The term "epicanthal fold" refers to a visually categorized feature; however the underlying physiological reason and purpose for its presence in any given individual may be entirely different.
All humans initially develop epicanthal folds in the womb. Some children lose them by birth, but epicanthal folds may also be seen in young children of any ethnicity before the bridge of the nose begins to elevate. They may persist where birth is pre-term, and sometimes also where the mother is alcoholic.
Epicanthal folds can cause a child's eyes to appear crossed, a scenario known as pseudostrabismus.
In many caucasian backgrounds and other groups who don't commonly possess the trait, the presence of the epicanthal fold can be a symptom of fetal alcohol syndrome, chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome, Cri du Chat syndrome, or pre-term birth.
Pseudostrabismus is the false appearance of crossed eyes. When the eyes are actually crossed or not completely aligned with one another it is called strabismus. Pseudostrabimus generally occurs in infants and toddlers whose facial features are not fully developed. The bridge of their nose is wide and flat. With age, the bridge will narrow and the folds in the corner of the eyes will go away. This will cause the eyes to appear wider, and thus not have the appearance of strabismus. To detect the difference between strabismus and pseudostrabismus use a flashlight to shine into the child's eyes. When the child is looking at the light a reflection can be seen on the front surface of the pupil. If the eyes are aligned with one another then the reflection from the light will be in the same spot of each eye. If strabismus is present then the reflection from the light will not be in the same spot of each eye.
Ploidy is the number of homologous sets of chromosomes in a biological cell. The ploidy of cells can vary within an organism. In humans, most cells are diploid (containing one set of chromosomes from each parent), but sex cells (sperm and egg) are haploid. In contrast, tetraploidy (four sets of chromosomes) is a type of polyploidy and is common in plants, and not uncommon in amphibians, reptiles, and various species of insects.
Both men and women can be witches, brujos and brujas respectively. Brujos is the plural term that can mean either a group of male witches or both male and female witches. The female witch is considered the most powerful, and traditional brujos believe that the female passes down the sacred bloodline or spiritual bloodline (matriarchal lineage). This means that the line is inherited from a female but ends with a male.
The word bruja is believed to derive from bruxa, which is from the Celto-Iberian dialect in Spain evolving to what is known today as Gallego. It shares its roots with Portuguese. The present day Portuguese use the term bruxa. The original meaning is roughly, evil or unwholesome night-bird, but has evolved both in Portuguese and in Spanish to mean simply 'witch'.
The Dweller on the Threshold refers to an invisible malevolent entity that attaches to a human being. The term was first used by Bulwer-Lytton in his novel Zanoni.
_Wikipedia
One explanation is that provided by Alice Bailey on Esoteric astrology, "From ancient recesses of the memory, from a deeply rooted past, which is definitely recalled, and from the racial and the individual subconscious (or founded and established thought reservoirs and desires, inherited and inherent) there emerges from individual past lives and experience, that which is the sumtotal of all instinctual tendencies, of all inherited glamours, and of all phases of wrong mental attitudes; to these, (as they constitute a blended whole) we give the name of the Dweller on the Threshold. This Dweller is the sumtotal of all the personality characteristics which have remained unconquered and unsubtle, and which must be finally overcome before initiation can be taken. Each life sees some progress made; some personality defects straightened out, and some real advance effected. But the unconquered residue, and the ancient liabilities are numerous, and excessively potent, and - when the soul contact's adequately established - there eventuates a life wherein the highly developed and powerful personality becomes, in itself, the Dweller on the Threshold.
Cauliflower ear (also hematoma auris or perichondrial hematoma) is a condition most common among wrestlers, rugby players, mixed martial artists, and boxers. If the external portion of the ear suffers a blow, a blood clot or other fluid may collect under the perichondrium. This separates the cartilage from the overlying perichondrium that is its source of nutrients, causing the cartilage to die. This leads to a formation of fibrous tissue in the overlying skin. When this happens, the outer ear becomes permanently swollen and deformed, thus resembling a cauliflower.
Kewpid agrees with Weart, quoted in Wikipedia article:
Later in 1946, the Operation Crossroads nuclear bomb tests were described as having a "cauliflower" cloud, but a reporter present also spoke of "the mushroom, now the common symbol of the atomic age." Mushrooms have traditionally been associated both with life and death, food and poison, making them a more powerful symbolic connection than, say, the "cauliflower" cloud.
Bible codes, originally known as Torah codes, are information patterns said to exist in encrypted or coded form in the text of the Bible, or, more specifically, in the Hebrew Torah, the first five books of Old Testament. The existence of these codes has been a topic of research by Old Testament scholars and students of Kabbalah for over a thousand years, and in more recent times have been a topic of study by modern mathematicians. In the mid-17th century influential mathematician Blaise Pascal, widely regarded as the "father of probability science" and "father of the modern computer" summarized his view in a one sentence assertion in his philosophical Pensées, concluding that "The Old Testament is a cipher."
Gematria (Rabbinic Hebrew גימטריה gēmaṭriy�?, from the Greek γεωμετ�?ία; English since the 17th century) is the numerology of the Hebrew language and Hebrew alphabet, and is used by its proponents to derive meaning or relative relationship. Several forms can be identified: the "revealed" form, which is prevalent in many forms of Rabbinic Judaism, and the "mystical form," a largely Cabbalistic practice. The word itself comes from the Greek word 'geometry' and the concept or system is the same as the Greek isopsephy and the Arabic Ḥis�?b al-Jummal. There is also a gematria of Latin-script languages, dating from the early Middle Ages, and very possibly back into Roman times, too. Recent times have also seen an emergence of new gematrias, though these lack a length of exploration that more ancient versions have seen.
The most common form of gematria is used occasionally in the Talmud and Midrash and elaborately by many post-Talmudic commentators. It involves reading words and sentences as numbers, assigning numerical instead of phonetic value to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. When read as numbers, they can be compared and contrasted with other words.
The Augur (pl: augurs) was a priest and official in the classical world, especially ancient Rome. His main role was to interpret the will of the gods by studying the flight of the birds (flying in groups/alone, what noises they make as they fly, direction of flight and what kind of birds they are), known as "taking the auspices." The ceremony and function of the augur was central to any major undertaking in Roman society--public or private--including matters of war, commerce, and religion.
The derivation of the word augur is uncertain; ancient authors believed that it contained the words avi and gero --Latin for "directing the birds"--but historical-linguistic evidence points instead to the root aug-, "to increase, to prosper."
The words daemon, dæmon, are Latinized spellings of the Greek δαίμων (daimon), used purposely today to distinguish the daemons of Ancient Greek religion, good or malevolent "supernatural beings between mortals and gods, such as inferior divinities and ghosts of dead heroes" (see Plato's Symposium), from the Judeo-Christian usage demon, a malignant spirit that can seduce, afflict, or possess humans.
In economics, the term boom and bust refers to the movement of an economy through economic cycles.
The boom and bust cycle describes the cycle of economic upswings and downswings in the business economy and is considered inseparable from capitalism.
According to most economists, an economic boom is typically characterized by an increased level of economic output, a corresponding increase in aggregate demand, falling unemployment, and often, a rise in the inflation rate. During busts, or recessions, aggregate demand is low, inflation decreases, unemployment rises and national income falls. In extreme recessions deflation (a sustained fall in the general price level) may occur.
I have seen this word used as a generic term for a manmade ecological catastrophe, as in "We've got to clean up the river and stop the mill from dumping here. This thing is turning into a Chernobyl."
The most popular of Jewish folk dances/Israeli folk dances. It is usually performed to Jewish folk songs/Israeli folk songs, typically to the music of Hava Nagila.
To start the dance, everybody forms a circle, holding hands, and steps forward toward the right with the left foot, then follows with the right foot. The left foot is then brought back, followed by the right foot. This is done while holding hands and circling together in a fast and cheerful motion to the right. Large groups allow for the creation of several concentric circles.
"Hava Nagila" (הבה נגילה in Hebrew) is a Hebrew folk song, the title meaning "Let us rejoice". It is a song of celebration, especially popular amongst irreligious Jewish and Roma communities. In popular culture, it is used as a metonym for Judaism, and is a staple of band performers at Jewish festivals.
_Wikipedia
When I was growing up in southern California in the early 1960s we were taught this song in public school physical education class along with a dance. The dance and the song together were called "The Hava Nagila" but the dance was actually the Horah.
The bathing machine was a device, popular in the 19th century, which was intended to allow people to wade in the ocean at beaches without violating Victorian notions of modesty. Bathing machines were in the form of roofed and walled wooden carts which would be rolled into the sea. Some had solid wooden walls; others had canvas walls over a wooden frame.
The bathing machine was part of sea-bathing etiquette which was more rigorously enforced upon women than men, but was expected to be observed by people of both sexes among those who wished to be considered "proper".
_Wikipedia
I really urge you to read the rest of the Wikipedia entry for this contraption and see the pictures. Who knew?
Sheepshead is a card game related to the Skat family of games, originating in Central Europe in the late 1700s under the German name Schafkopf. Although Schafkopf literally means "sheepshead", the term is actually derived from Middle High German and referred to playing cards on an overturned barrel (from kopfen, meaning playing cards, and Schaff, meaning a barrel).
Sheepshead is played by two to eight players, where the variant with five players is the most common, by far. In the United States, Sheepshead is most commonly played in Wisconsin, which has a strong Germanic population.
Orange blossom is a traditional flower at weddings and its use dates back to the Crusades. It is believed to have been used by the Saracens to symbolise chastity and purity and the evergreen leaves are a symbol for everlasting love. A traditional ingredient of love potions
In architecture, a flying buttress, or arc-boutant, is usually on a religious building, used to transmit the thrust of a vault across an intervening space (which might be an aisle, chapel or cloister), to a buttress outside the building. The employment of the flying buttress means that the load bearing walls can contain cut-outs, such as for large windows, that would otherwise seriously weaken the vault walls.
The purpose of a buttress was to reduce the load on the vault wall. The majority of the load is carried by the upper part of the buttress, so making the buttress as a semi-arch provides almost the same load bearing capability, yet in a much lighter as well as a much cheaper structure. As a result, the buttress flies through the air, rather than resting on the ground and hence is known as a flying buttress.
The name phaeton derives from a Greek mythological character, Phaethon, who almost set the world on fire with his reckless driving. This type of carriage was made of wicker, making it quite lightweight. The Phaeton was intended for pleasure driving.
He drove a great roomy, double "phaeton" drawn by two satin bay horses.
A maraschino cherry is a preserved, sweetened cherry, typically made from light-colored sweet cherries such as the Royal Ann, Rainier, or Gold varieties. The cherries are first preserved in a brine solution (usually sulfur dioxide or alcohol), then soaked in a suspension of food coloring, sugar syrup, artificial and natural flavors, and other components. Maraschino cherries dyed red are typically almond-flavored, while cherries dyed green are usually peppermint-flavored.
The name maraschino refers to the marasca cherry and the maraschino liqueur made from it, in which maraschino cherries were originally preserved. They were, at first, produced for and consumed as a delicacy by royalty and the wealthy. Today they are a common dessert and drink garnish. Carmine, the coloring agent commonly used as a food dye, is derived from the cochineal insect.
This an old "company bread" and I'm not sure of its origins but I know it was old in my grandmother's day. It is a dessert quick bread containing walnuts, chocolate morsels, and most importantly cherries, maraschino cherries in particular. It is usually served at Christmastime. There are many recipes for Bishop's Bread on the Internet. Try making one.
The Antidoron (Greek: Ἀντίδω�?ον, Antíd�?ron) is ordinary, blessed, but non-eucharistic and non-consecrated, leavened bread seen in Eastern Orthodox and other Christian churches. It comes from the remains of the loaves of bread (prosphora) from which portions are cut for consecration as the Eucharist during the Divine Liturgy. Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite also follow the practice of blessing and distributing antidoron.
Pandowdy - It is a deep-dish dessert that can be made with a variety of fruit, but is most commonly made with apples sweetened with molasses or brown sugar. The topping is a crumbly type of biscuit except the crust is broken up during baking and pushed down into the fruit to allow the juices to come through. Sometimes the crust is on the bottom and the desert is inverted before serving. The exact origin of the name Pandowdy is unknown, but it is thought to refer to the deserts plain or dowdy appearance.
A buckle is a type of cake made in a single layer with berries added to the batter. It is usually made with blueberries. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.
Crisps and Crumbles - Crisps are baked with the fruit mixture on the bottom with a crumb topping. The crumb topping can be made with flour, nuts, bread crumbs, cookie or graham cracker crumbs, or even breakfast cereal. Crumbles are the British version of the American Crisp.
Betty or Brown Betty - A Betty consist of a fruit, most commonly apples, baked between layers of buttered crumbs. Betties are an English pudding dessert closely related to the French apple charlotte. Betty was a popular baked pudding made during colonial times in America.
noun. a sheer silk or rayon crepe of dull texture.
My note: Often with a crinkled look.
The New York Times of August 8, 1918, reporting on the wedding of President Woodrow Wilson's daughter Alice Wilson had this to say:
"The bride wore a gown of white Georgette crepe embroidered in beads and silk threads, made over satin. The skirt was short, with a panel in the back. Her tulle veil, which formed a train, was held with a coronet of rare old lace, loaned by Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, and the orange blossoms were those worn by the sisters of the bridegroom at their weddings."
The umiak, umiaq, umiac, oomiac or oomiak is a type of boat used by the Inuit for transportation. Its name means "woman's boat," as opposed to the kayak, which means "man's boat".
The Gibson Girl was the personification of the feminine ideal as portrayed in the satirical pen and ink illustrated stories created by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson during a twenty year period spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States.
The Gibson Girl was tall, slender yet with ample bosom, hips and bottom in the S-curve torso shape achieved by wearing a swan-bill corset. The images of her epitomized the late nineteenth and early 20th-century Western preoccupation with statuesque, youthful features, and ephemeral beauty. Her neck was thin and her hair piled high upon her head in the contemporary bouffant, pompadour, and chignon ("waterfall of curls") fashions.
The tall, narrow-waisted ideal feminine figure was portrayed as multi-faceted, always at ease and fashionable. Gibson depicted her as an equal and sometimes teasing companion to men.
: any of numerous rather large leaf-eating scarab beetles (subfamily Melolonthinae) that fly chiefly in late spring and have larvae that are white grubs which live in soil and feed chiefly on the roots of grasses and other plants —called also june beetle
Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found predominantly in the upland parts of the British Isles but also in some parts of continental Europe.
They consist of a concave depression, no more than a few centimetres across, pecked into a rock surface and often surrounded by concentric circles also etched into the stone. Sometimes a linear channel called a gutter leads out from the middle.
The decoration occurs as a petroglyph on natural boulders and outcrops and also as an element of megalithic art on purposely worked megaliths such as the slab cists of the Food Vessel culture, some stone circles and passage graves such as the clava tombs and on the capstones at Newgrange.
Linnea borealis or americana, Caprofoliaceae, also known as twinflowers. Pink or white bell-shaped flowers of the honeysuckle family, which grow in terminal pairs. They bloomfrom late June to early August.
In addition to the basin and pitcher for washing the hands and face, washstands often had a roller or peg on the side for a towel and a cupboard underneath for the chamber pot.
A rug made with left-over scraps of fabric or from the remants of old clothes. In modern times made of new fabric. Long ropes are braided together from the scraps then the ropes are stitched together in an oval or round shape. See Braided rug example here
In square dancing allemande is a series of moves where dancers face their corners and turn around each other 360 degrees, dropping the handhold at the end as the dancers rejoin their respective partners. A lot of people in square dancing spell this "alamand." The caller usually calls out "allemande left" or "allemande right".
'Right and Left Grand', also known as 'Grand Right and Left', is a square dance move in which all eight dancers in the set, moving in a circular fashion, execute a series of four alternating hand pull-bies (right pull by, left pull by, right pull by, left pull by). Men (or gents) travel counter-clockwise around the ring, and ladies travel clockwise. The result is that all dancers end up half way across the set facing the same person they started with.
Dosado (also written do-sa-do) or Dos-a-dos (also written dos a dos) or do-si-do (also written do si do) is a basic dance step in such dances as square dance, contra dance, polka, various historical dances, and some reels.
The term is a corruption of the original French term dos-à-dos for the dance move, which means "back to back", as opposed to "vis-à-vis" which means "face to face".
It is a circular movement where two people, who are initially facing each other, walk around each other without or almost without turning, i.e, facing in the same direction (same wall) all the time. In most cases it takes 6-8 counts to complete.
A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plate size can vary greatly, from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest. Plate thickness also varies greatly, ranging from less than 15 km for young oceanic lithosphere to about 200 km or more for ancient continental lithosphere (for example, the interior parts of North and South America).
A stratovolcano, also called a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano composed of many layers of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash. These volcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions.
A debutante (or deb) (from the French débutante, "female beginner") is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal presentation known as her "debut" or "coming out". Originally, it meant the young woman was eligible for marriage, and part of the purpose was to display her to eligible bachelors and their families with a view to marriage within a select upper class circle. This traditional event varies by region, but is typically referred to as a debutante ball if it is for a group of debutantes. A lone debutante might have her own "coming out party", or she might have a party with a sister or other close relative.
Out behind the woodpile or in some cases the wood shed is where your pa takes you to get a lickin', sometimes with a hick'ry switch. It is also the subject of a wonderful poem called The Wood-pile by Robert Frost.
A device that signals when a fish hits on your line. A flag "tips up" when the fish strikes and gives you the freedom to leave the fishing hole for a moment. (Possibly to drink beer or to warm up in the shanty.)
Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison in the state of Mississippi, USA. It is located on 18,000 acres (73 km²) in Parchman, Mississippi, and was built in 1901.
A number of bluesmen have been imprisoned in Parchman Farm and the prison features in a number of blues songs such as "Parchman Farm".
"Parchman Farm" is the title of songs about Mississippi State Penitentiary, known as Parchman Farm, a hard time prison because of the Trusty system which was later outlawed.
There have been a number of blues songs written about Parchman Farm and several Blues musicians were imprisoned there, including Bukka White (who wrote "Parchman Farm Blues"), and Eddie 'Son' House. In 1939, folklorist Alan Lomax recorded White and others at Parchman Farm for the Library of Congress. (Louisiana's Angola Prison Farm had a similar musical impact.)
Mose Allison created a much-covered version of "Parchman Farm". It has been covered by Blues Project, Cactus, Michael Chapman, Blue Cheer, Ray Condo, Rick Derringer, Georgie Fame, The Kingston Trio, John Mayall, Johnny Winter and others.
one of two identical single beds usually placed side by side in a single bedroom. Many married couples slept in twin beds in the 1940s and 1950s for the sake of "decency" and also individual comfort
A splitting maul (or mall) is a heavy, long-handled hammer used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain. One side of it is identical to a sledge hammer and the other side is an axe. In parts of England the word denotes a tool with a very heavy wooden head, used for splitting wood in conjunction with a metal wedge. This tool is also known as a beetle; there is a well known pub on the Thames at Goring called the Beetle and Wedge.
A small, usually five piece set of tools that is kept by the fireplace or woodstove to use in the management of the fire. Pieces include the rack which the tools are hung on, a small dust broom, a small ash shovel, a prod or poker, a hook or sometimes a set of tongs. Often made of cast iron.
A potbelly stove is a cast iron wood burning stove, round with a bulge in the middle. They were designed to heat large spaces and were often found in train stations or one-room schoolhouses.
_Wikipedia
We used to have an old potbelly stove in our garage that my dad used to burn papers in. He also used it to warm up the garage when he was out there working on the car.
In cooking, a cook stove is a very basic stove heated by burning wood or fossil fuels. Cook stoves are the most common way of cooking and heating food in developing countries.
_Wikipedia
When I was growing up this is what we called the large cast iron wood stove in my grandma's kitchen.
Herpes simplex type 1 is usually the cause of common nonsexually transmitted cold sores.
_Wikipedia
Herpes is a disease of the nerve endings and the frequent blowing or whiping of the nose during a cold can irritate the skin around the mouth and nose which can irritate nerve endings already afflicted with the dormant virus and cause it to become active. Sunburns can have the same effect.(My personal observations.)
While both oral and genital herpes are characteristically "nuisance infections" that are not life-threatening, cold sores (on the face) can cause rare severe or fatal disease if they travel to the eyes or brain.
_Wikipedia
(I say that it is for this reason that one should be careful that one's doctor does not misdiagnose a cold sore as impetigo as happened to my ex-husband.0
The Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is one of the eight herpes viruses known to affect humans (and other vertebrates). Multiple names are used to refer to same virus, creating some confusion. Varicella virus, zoster virus, human herpes 3 (HHV-3), and Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) all refer to the same viral pathogen. The disease caused by this pathogen is called chickenpox or Varicella disease during the initial infection. A reactivation of the infection is commonly called shingles, herpes zoster or simply zoster.
Herpes is actually a generic term which includes chickenpox, shingles, cold sores. It can be mistaken as Impetigo so make sure your doctor is careful with the diagnosis.
I had shingles as a child and the nerves were so inflamed and painful that even if someone yelled at me or upset me emotionally they would react in severe pain. Horrible disease...my doctor said it was related to Chickenpox.
A phrase used by my relatives and others of our circle of friends from western Pennsylvania in the 1950s to mean "clear the dinner table of dishes following dinner." I think it came from the word "rid" meaning rid the table of dishes. However they also used the term "red up" as in, "I'll be with you in a minute as soon as I red up the kitchen a bit," which meant to "restore order to the kitchen".
from the 1881 novel for children by Margaret Sidney, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew:
"Two hundred candles!" echoed Joel, in amazement. "My whockety! what a lot!"
"Don't say such dreadful words, Joel," put in Polly, nervously, stopping to pick up her spool of basting thread that was racing away all by itself; "'tisn't nice."
A peculiar form of chamber pot, the Bourdaloue, was designed specifically for females. The oblong rectangle or oval shape of the vessel, sometimes with a higher front enabled the woman to urinate from a squatting or standing posture without much risk of mishap, and also to help deal with the clothing of the day. The name "Bourdaloue" allegedly comes from that of a famous French Catholic priest, Louis Bourdaloue (1632 - 1704), who delivered such long sermons that females of the aristocracy attending them had their maids bring in such pots discreetly under their dresses so that they could urinate without having to leave. However, this explanation is probably a myth.
The Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry offshore winds that characteristically sweep through in Southern California and northern Baja California in late fall and winter. Temperature-wise, they can range from hot to cold, depending on the prevailing temperatures in the source regions, the Great Basin and upper Mohave Desert.
There are claims that the original form is Santana winds, from the Spanish vientos de Satán ("winds of Satan".) According to the Los Angeles Almanac: "The original spelling of the name of the winds is unclear, not to mention the origin. The name Santana Winds is said to be traced to Spanish California, when the winds were called devil winds due to their heat.
_Wikipedia
There are numerous wonderful popular references to the Santa Ana winds on the Wikipedia page concering them...worth checking out.
When I was a child growing up in southern California, the Santa Ana winds that came in late fall and winter were so strong that they would uproot the tumbleweeds and propel them with such force that even though they are extremely light weight, in and of themselves, they would actually knock me down if I couldn't get out of the way fast enough.
According to Wikipedia oopsie-daisy is baby talk. I agree and I use it to minimize the upset when a small accident happens or a small mistake is made by my toddler grandson.
Baby talk is a long-established and universally understood traditional term. Baby talk, motherese, parentese or child-directed speech (CDS) is a nonstandard form of speech used by adults in talking to toddlers and infants. It is usually delivered with a "cooing" pattern of intonation different from that of normal adult speech: high in pitch, with many glissando variations that are more pronounced than those of normal speech. Baby talk is also characterized by the shortening and simplifying of words. Baby talk is also used by people when talking to their pets, and between adults as a form of affection, intimacy, bullying or patronizing.
Heat lightning is a misnomer for the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon or other clouds from distant thunderstorms that do not have accompanying sounds of thunder. Heat lightning was named because it often occurs on hot summer nights, and to distinguish it from lightning with accompanying thunder.
A Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer, synonym Hyla crucifer) is a small tree frog widespread throughout the eastern USA. Spring peepers are nocturnal frogs, so they are mostly heard but not seen. They are especially easy to hear due to their extremely loud mating call which gives them the name "peeper," but it is often hard to pinpoint the source of the sound, especially when many are peeping at once.
Leopard frogs, which are also called meadow frogs and grass frogs, are a collection of so-called true frog within the genus Rana. Once abundant in North America and Canada, their population has declined in recent years because of pollution and deforestation. Leopard frogs are often used as environmental indicator species because of their heightened sensitivity to chemical pollutants found in the air and water.
Leopard frogs are recognized by their green or brown coloration with distinct light-edged dark spots across the back and white underside. They also have a characteristic line of raised glandular skin, called the dorsolateral ridge, extending from each eye to the groin.
Garbage Pail Kids is a series of trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls created by Xavier Roberts, which were immensely popular at the time. Each sticker card featured a Garbage Pail Kid character, with some comical abnormality or suffering some terrible fate, and a humorous, word play-rich character name. Two (and occasionally three) versions of each card were produced, with variations featuring the same artwork but different character names. Fifteen regular series were released in the United States, with various sets released in other countries. Two large format card editions were also released, as well as a set of posters.
Cabbage Patch Kids are a brand of doll created by Xavier Roberts in 1978. The Cabbage Patch Kids name was created by Atlanta designer, writer and licensing agent, Roger L. Schlaifer. His original idea was inspired by the old wives that babies were born under a cabbage leaf. The plastic version of the Robert' dolls became the toy phenomenon of the eighties — with people rioting in stores to purchase the hot, new dolls — and everything else branded Cabbage Patch Kids.
_Wikipedia
A Cabbage Patch Kid came with a birth certificate and a name and description of their personality but you could send in a corrected form and choose a name you preferred. There were dozens and dozens of variations in hair and eye color and gender and age and clothing style.
Standardbreds are a breed of horse best known for their ability to race in harness at a trot or pace instead of under saddle at a gallop. Developed in North America, the breed is now recognized worldwide for its harness racing ability. They are solid, well-built horses with good dispositions that are also used under saddle for a variety of equestrian activities, particularly in the Midwest and eastern United States.
Harness racing is a form of horse-racing in which the horses race in a specified gait. They usually pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies.
Races can be conducted in two differing gaits; trotting and pacing. The difference is that a trotter moves its legs forward in diagnonal pairs, right front and left hind, then left front and right hind striking the ground simutaneously, whereas a pacer moves its legs laterally, right front and right hind together, then left front and left hind.
In continental Europe races are conducted exclusively between trotters, whereas in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States races are also held for pacers.
A dust devil is a rotating updraft, ranging from small (half a meter wide and a few meters tall) to large (over 10 meters wide and over 1000 meters tall). Dust devils are usually harmless, but rare ones can grow in size to threaten both people and property. They are comparable to tornadoes in that both are an unusual weather phenomenon of swirling air vortices. Tornadoes form as an updraft attached to a wall cloud at the back of a thunderstorm. Dust devils form as an updraft under sunny conditions during clear to fair weather, rarely coming close to the intensity of a tornado.
In the southwestern United States, dust devils can be known as dancing devils. In Death Valley, California, they may be called a sand auger or dust whirl.
In Australia they are called willy-willies or whirly-whirlies, a word thought to come from Yindjibarndi or a neighbouring language.
Navajo refer to them as chiindii, a ghost or spirit of a Navajo. If a chiindii spins clockwise it is said to be a good spirit; if it spins counterclockwise it is said to be a bad spirit.
In Egypt, they are usually called "Fasset El 'Afreet" or the ghost's wind.
Among the Kikuyu of Kenya, it is known as "ngoma cia aka" meaning women's devil's/demon's.
A Fire whirl or swirl, sometimes called fire devils or fire tornadoes, can be seen during intense fires in combustible building structures or more commonly in forest or bush fires. A fire whirl is a vortex-shaped formation of burning gasses being released from the combustible material. The genesis of the vortex is probably similar to that of a dust devil. But, as distinct from the dust devil, it is improbable that the height reached by the fire gas vortex is greater than the visible height of the vortical flames because of turbulence in the surrounding gasses which inhibit creation of a stable boundary layer between the rotating/rising gasses relative to the surrounding gasses.
Parker Brothers originally developed NERF, beginning with a four-inch (102 mm) polyurethane foam ball. In 1969, a games inventor came to the company with a volleyball game that was safe for indoor play. After studying the game carefully, Parker Brothers decided to eliminate everything but the foam ball. In 1970, the NERF ball was introduced as the "world's first official indoor ball". Marketed that one can "Throw it indoors; you can't damage lamps or break windows. You can't hurt babies or old people." The ball filled a strong consumer need and by the year's end more than four million NERF balls had been sold. The four-inch (102 mm) ball was followed closely by a large version called "Super NERF Ball". Shortly after, in 1972, a basketball game called "NERFoop" and the NERF football joined the family. The football fast became the most popular NERF ball.
I remember, as a young child, touring a model home that was a design that was to be a part of a tract housing development. It was so plain and impersonal. I hated it. I'm glad my parents decided against buying one. See Skipvia's Free Association List
Tract housing (also known as Cookie-Cutter Houses) is a style of housing development in which multiple identical, or nearly-identical, homes are built to create a community. Tract housing may encompass dozens of square miles of areas. Tract housing developments are typically found in American suburbs.
These are wonderful American grapes and they have an interesting history. They are the usual grapes used in the jelly for the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and 'Concord' jelly is universally sold in U.S. supermarkets. 'Concord' grapes are used for grape juice, and their distinctive purple color has led to grape flavored soft drinks and candy being artificially colored purple.
Concord grapes are a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca (a.k.a. fox grape) which are used both as table grapes, wine grapes and juice grapes.
The skin of a Concord grape is typically dark blue or purple, and often is covered with a lighter colored "bloom" which can be rubbed off. It is a slip-skin variety, meaning that the skin is easily separated from the fruit. Concord grapes have large seeds and are highly aromatic. They are often used to make grape jelly, grape juice, grape-flavored soft drinks, and candy. The grape is sometimes used to make wine, particularly kosher wine, though it is not generally favored for that purpose due to the strong "foxy" (sometimes described as candied-strawberry/musky) flavor. Traditionally, most commercially produced Concord wines have been finished sweet, but dry versions are possible if adequate fruit ripeness is achieved.
A mirror ball, disco ball, glitter ball, or ball mirror is a roughly spherical object that reflects light directed at it in many directions, producing a complex display. Its surface consists of hundreds or thousands of facets, nearly all of approximately the same shape and size, and each having a mirrored surface. Usually it is mounted well above the heads of the people present, suspended from a device that causes it to rotate steadily on a vertical axis, and illuminated by spotlights, so that stationary viewers experience beams of light flashing over them, and see myriad spots of light spinning around the walls of the room.
What are now called "disco balls" were first used in nightclubs in the 1920s.
A gazing ball, also known as a yard globe, lawn ball, garden ball, gazing globe, mirror ball, or chrome ball, is a mirrored sphere typically displayed atop a conical ceramic or wrought iron stand as a lawn ornament, and is often cited as a premier example of camp or kitsch. Its size ranges from 2 to 22 inches in diameter, with the most popular gazing ball being about 12 inches (33 cm). Gazing balls were traditionally glass but can now be stainless steel, ceramic, or stained glass.
Gazing balls originated in 13th century Venice workshops where they were hand-blown by skilled Italian craftsmen.
A witch ball is a hollow sphere of plain or stained glass with glass filaments suspended in its interior that was hung in cottage windows in 18th century England to ward off evil spirits, witch's spells or ill fortune. Later, they were often posted on top of a vase or suspended by a cord (as from the mantelpiece or rafters) for a decorative effect. Witch balls appeared in America in the 19th century and are often found in gardens under the name "gazing ball". However, "gazing balls" contain no strands within their interior.
According to folk tales, witch balls would entice evil spirits with their bright colours; the strands inside the ball would then capture the spirit and prevent it from escaping.
Witch balls sometimes measure as large as 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter.
-Wikipedia
Witch Balls have made a comeback in the present time.
Steamer trunks which are sometimes referred to as Flat-Tops, first appeared in the late 1870s, although the greater bulk of them date from the 1880-1920 period. They are distinguished by either their flat or slightly-curved tops and were usually covered in canvas, leather or patterned paper.
Saratoga trunks were the premium trunks of many makers (or the exclusive design of many premium trunk makers) and actually can encompass nearly every other style of trunk manufactured if loosely-defined, although generally they are limited to before the 1880s. The most readily-recognizable feature of Saratogas are their myriad (and generally very complex) compartments, trays, and heavy duty hardware.
Jenny Lind Trunks have a distinctive hour glass or keyhole shape when viewed from the side. They were named after the Swedish singer of the same name (and figure) who toured America in the mid 19th Century along with PT Barnum. In fact, she was well-known to carry a trunk of this style with her while on the road, and they became quite popular even though they were only made for a relatively short period of time (1855-1865.)
Jenny Lind was a Swedish-born opera singer. Her full name was Johanna Maria Lind, and she lived from 1820 to 1887. In 1850, Lind traveled to the United States as part of a concert tour promoted by none other than P.T. Barnum, of Barnum & Bailey's Circus fame. While in America, Lind became America's first big celebrity. P.T. Barnum, being a master of marketing, played upon her virtues, namely modesty and charity, to endear her to the public.
Supposedly, during her popular tour of the U.S., Lind slept in a bed with turned posts or spindles. So, cribs with turned posts became known as Jenny Lind cribs, and they are still known as such today. Jenny Lind cribs today tend to be simple designs with drop sides, and are sold by many different manufacturers. These cribs still feature the same turned, knobby legs and posts as they did when they were first named for The Swedish Nightingale.
A Steamer is a flavored milk beverage available in some coffeehouses and cafes in North America. A steamer consists of steamed milk and a shot of flavor syrup. The result is a hot, flavored non-coffee beverage.
Supervolcano is the popular term for a large volcano that usually has a large caldera and can potentially produce devastation on an enormous, sometimes continental, scale. Such eruptions would be able to cause severe cooling of global temperatures for many years afterwards because of the huge volumes of sulfur and ash erupted. They are the most dangerous type of volcano. Examples include Yellowstone Caldera in Yellowstone National Park of western USA, Lake Taupo in New Zealand and Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. Supervolcanoes are hard to identify centuries later, given the enormous areas they cover.
A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current) is a common and devastating result of some volcanic eruptions. The flows are fast-moving currents of hot gas, and rock (collectively known as tefra), which travel away from the volcano at speeds generally greater than 80 km/hr (50mph).1 The gas can reach temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 F). The flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity. Their speed depends upon the density of the current, the volcanic output rate, and the gradient of the slope. The word pyroclast is derived from the Greek πυ�?ος, meaning fire, and κλαστός, meaning broken.
There once was a chain of restaurants in Minnesota called The Pannekuchen Huis. They specialized in what they said were Dutch souffles. They were called pannekuchen. They were kind of like a Yorkshire pudding only sweet. They took up a whole dinner plate and they were very puffy and light. The girls would literally come running from the kitchen with the hot pannekuchen so that it would get to you before it began to deflate. They were served with wonderful sauteed fruits and syrups or with pecans. I actually have the recipe and they are astonishingly good.
Kuchen, the German word for "cake," is used as the name for several different types of sweet desserts, pastries, and gateaux. The term itself may cover as many distinct desserts as its English counterpart "cake."
Kuchen desserts are presumably handed down from people of German heritage and as such are often popular in many areas of German settlement in the United States, particularly North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana, and Minnesota. Kuchen was introduced into the Chilean cuisine when German immigrants settled southern Chile in the 1850s. Kuchens in Chile do always have fruits, such as apples, strawberries or murtas. Now kuchens are found in nearly every Chilean supermarket. In Brazil, it is called "cuca" and it is found in areas of German settlement, like Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states.
Kugel (Yiddish: קוגל kugl or קוגעל, pronounced either koogel with the "oo" like the "oo" in "book or "look", or kigel, as was pronounced in Galicia, Central Europe) is any one of a wide variety of traditional baked Jewish side dishes or desserts. It is sometimes translated as "pudding" or "casserole".
Kugels may be sweet or savory. The most common types are made from egg noodles (called lochshen kugels) or potatoes and often contain eggs, but there are recipes in everyday use in modern Jewish kitchens for a great diversity of kugels made with different vegetables, fruit, batters, cheese, and other flavorings and toppings.
Blind mole rats are rodents in the family Spalacidae, but are unique enough to be given a separate subfamily, Spalacinae.
Blind mole rats are truly blind. Their very small eyes are completely covered by a layer of skin. Unlike many other fossorial rodents, Blind mole rats do not have enlarged front claws and do not appear to use their forearms as a primary digging tool. Digging is almost exclusively conducted using their powerful front teeth, which are separated from the rest of the mouth by a flap of skin. When a blind mole rat closes its mouth, its incisors are still on the outside.
A job that used to be done by the mother or grandmother of the new mother or if failing that, by one's own common sense and trial and error.
A lactation consultant is a healthcare provider recognized as an expert in the fields of human lactation and breastfeeding. The USLCA, United States Lactation Consultant Association, is the presiding organization in the United States of America and the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) is the professional association for certified laction consultants internationally. A Board Certified Lactation Consultant will have the initials IBCLC and/or RLC after her/his name, as a physician would have MD or DO, or a registered nurse would have RN. Lactation Consultants can be found in private practice, on staff in hospitals, and in the public health arena.
A whoopee cushion, also known as a poo-poo cushion and Razzberry Cushion, is a practical joke device that produces a noise resembling a raspberry or human flatulence. It is made from two sheets of rubber that are glued together at the edges. There is a small opening with a flap at one end for air to enter and leave the cushion.
To use it, one must first inflate it with air and then place it on a chair. An unsuspecting victim sits on the whoopee cushion, forcing the air out of the opening, which causes the flap to vibrate and produce its distinctive sound.
The item was invented around 1950 by the Jem Rubber Co. of Toronto, Canada, by employees who were experimenting with scrap sheets of rubber. The owner of the company approached Samuel Adams, the inventor of numerous practical jokes and owner of S.S. Adams Co., with the newly invented item. Adams said that the item was "too vulgar" and would never sell. Fortunately for Jem Rubber, other companies were interested and the product quickly proved to be a success.
Another name for decayed, compacted Sphagnum moss, called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires.
Peat moss can be used as a soil additive which increases the soil's capacity to hold water. This is often necessary when dealing with very sandy soil, or plants that need an increased moisture content to flourish.
Fritos® is the name of a brand of corn chips made by Frito-Lay. Originally called Fritatas, Elmer Doolin was so taken with the bag of corn chips served with his lunch in San Antonio, Texas that he paid $100 for the recipe. In 1932, he started the Frito Corporation. Original Fritos ingredients are limited to whole corn, corn oil, and salt. Even today, Fritos (original and barbecue flavor) are a vegan snack.
Under the Selective Service System in the United States, a registrant not acceptable for military service is said to be classified 4-F. To be eligible for Class 4-F, a registrant must have been found not qualified for service in the Armed Forces by a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) under the established physical, mental, or moral standards.
The Selective Service System is the means by which the United States administers military conscription. It entails registering all men between the ages of 18 and 25 with the system for the purpose of having information available about potential soldiers in the event of war.
A conscientious objector (CO) is an individual following the religious, moral or ethical dictates of his or her conscience that are incompatible with being a combatant in military service, or being part of the armed forces as a combatant organization. In the first case, conscientious objectors may be willing to accept non-combatant roles during conscription or military service. In the second case, the objection is to any role within armed forces and results in complete rejection of conscription or military service and, in some countries, assignment to an alternative civilian service as a substitute for conscription or military service. Some conscientious objectors may consider themselves either pacifist or antimilitarist.
Cannon fodder is an informal term for military personnel who are regarded or treated as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where soldiers are forced to deliberately fight against hopeless odds (with the foreknowledge that they will suffer extremely high casualties) in an effort to achieve a strategic goal. An example is the trench warfare in World War I. The term may also be used (somewhat pejoratively) to differentiate infantry from other forces (such as artillery, air force or the navy), who generally have a much higher survival rate.
The term derives from fodder - food for livestock - however in this case soldiers are the metaphorical food for cannons.
Colcannon (Irish: cál ceannan - white head) is a food made from mashed potatoes, kale or cabbage, butter, salt, and pepper. It can contain other ingredients such as milk, cream, leeks, onions, chives, garlic, boiled ham or Irish bacon. At one time it was a cheap, year-round staple food.
An old Irish Halloween tradition was to serve colcannon with prizes of small coins concealed in it, as the English do with Christmas pudding. This is still done today and small amounts of money are placed in the potato.
There are many varieties of these small, finger-shaped potatoes, but they all tend to be low in starch, and great for roasting or making potato salads.
: a silverside (Leuresthes tenuis) of the California coast notable for the regularity with which it comes inshore to spawn at nearly full moon
As a child growing up in California I remember the "grunion run" when crowds of people would assemble on the beach in the moonlight and scoop up dozens and dozens of the grunion fish as they came inshore to spawn. In those days I thought it was quite a fun and festive time but now it seems unfair and cruel.
Bossa Nova is a style of Brazilian music popularized by Vinicius de Moraes, Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. Bossa Nova acquired a large following, initially by young musicians and college students. Although the Bossa Nova movement only lasted six years (1958-63), it contributed a number of songs to the standard jazz repertoire.
_Wikipedia
Excerpt from the lyrics to Blame It On the Bossa Nova by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil as performed by Eydie Gorme
Sheets of paper which are soaked into an LSD solution, dried, and perforated into small squares of individual dosage units. The paper is then cut into small square pieces called "tabs" or "hits". The user can then absorb the LSD out of the paper using his/her tongue, or simply swallow it. Individual producers often print designs onto the paper serving to identify different makers, batches or strengths, and such "blotter art" often emphasizes psychedelic themes.
An entheogen, in the strictest sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious or shamanic context. Entheogens generally come from plant sources which contain molecules closely related to endogenous neurochemicals. They occur in a wide variety of sacraments of various religious rites UDV/NAC and have been shown to directly provoke what users perceive as spiritual/mystical experiences.
The word entheogen is a neologism derived from the ancient Greek : ἔνθεος (entheos) and γενέσθαι (genesthe). Entheos literally means "god (theos) within", translates as "inspired" and is the root of the English word "enthusiasm". The Greeks used it as a term of praise for poets and other artistscitation needed. Genesthe means "to generate". So an entheogen is "that which generates God (or godly inspiration) within a person".
Set and setting describes the context for psychoactive and particularly psychedelic drug experiences: one's mindset and the setting in which the user has the experience. This is especially relevant for psychedelic or hallucinogenic experiences; the term was coined by Timothy Leary.
Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, LSD-25, or acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family. Probably the best known psychedelic, it has been used mainly as a recreational drug, an entheogen, and a tool to supplement various practices for transcendence, including in meditation, psychonautics, art projects, and illicit (though at one time legal) psychedelic psychotherapy, whether self-administered or not. It is synthesized from lysergic acid derived from ergot, a grain fungus that typically grows on rye and was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.
James is a rock band from Manchester, England, formed in 1981. After an uphill struggle throughout the 1980s, they went on to become a consistently successful act of the 1990s, scoring a string of hit singles during the decade including "Sit Down" and "Laid".
Twizzlers are a popular brand of licorice candy in the United States, although most of its flavors do not contain the licorice extract of traditional black licorice. They are the product of Y&S Candies, Inc., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, now a subsidiary of The Hershey Company.
Y&S Candies was founded in 1845, then known as Young and Smylie; they established the Y&S trademark in 1870. In 1902, three small firms (S.V. & F.P. Schudder, H.W. Petherbridge, and Young & Smylie) merged to create the National Licorice Company. In 1968, the company dropped the "National Licorice Company" moniker in favor of the current name. In 1977, the company was acquired by Hershey Foods, which became The Hershey Company in 2005.
The company produces Twizzlers in cherry, strawberry, chocolate, watermelon, and licorice flavors, and a variety of shapes and sizes. In addition to their Twists, Bites, and Nibs of various sizes.
Limited edition cherry cola and "rainbow" (fruit variety consisting of strawberry, lemonade, orange, watermelon, blue raspberry and grape) flavors were sold in 2006 and 2007.
Civil liberties is the name given to freedoms that protect the individual from government to a certain extent. Civil liberties set limits for government so that it cannot abuse its power and interfere with the lives of its citizens.
Common civil liberties include freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech, and additionally, the right to due process, to fair trial, and to privacy.
The formal concept of civil liberties dates back to the Magna Carta of 1215 which in turn was based on pre-existing documents.
Hair testing is a type of drug testing considered highly accurate and can go back normally 3 months (6 months or longer possible with specialist tests), showing any drugs of abuse used in the detection window. As hair grows out, any drugs used are encased in the hair shaft, so the longer the hair, the longer back in the individual's drug history the laboratory can detect. Accredited hair drug testing laboratories, however, only use hair within about 2.5–4 cm of the scalp, and discard the rest. With head hair each 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) corresponds to about 30 days. This limits the detection history to about 90 days, depending upon the rate at which the individual's hair grows. Some people attempt to circumvent this through shaving their heads. This does not usually work.In the absence of the required amount of hair on the scalp, body hair can be used as an acceptable substitute. If all hair is shaven, the follicles of the hair may be used in place of the hair. Removing the hair follicles is more painful.
Additionally, for pre-employment hair testing, the inability to obtain a sample may be grounds for not hiring the individual. There is a growing trend in major companies and law enforcement agencies to utilize hair analysis on account of its efficiency and reputation as the gold standard when considering test accuracy. This technology makes use of radioimmunoassay technology with subsequent confirmation by mass spectrometry.
In recent years, hair testing has been the subject of a number of law suits. Studies have shown that different ethnic groups have different hair structure, potentially leading to false-positive
: the tubular epithelial sheath that surrounds the lower part of the hair shaft and encloses at the bottom a vascular papilla supplying the growing basal part of the hair with nourishment
A drug test is commonly a technical examination of urine, blood, sweat, hair follicles, or oral fluid samples to determine the presence or absence of specified drugs or their metabolized traces.
In my opinion, drug testing has become a serious civil liberties violation as it is required more and more frequently by employers in the United States and with increasingly more invasive techniques for even low-level employment where the outcome of a drug test is largely irrelevant. They are used to marginalize certain elements of the population. Often "insurance regulations" are the justification.
Chou(x) pastry, paste, or dough (French pâte à choux, German Brandteig) is a light pastry dough used to make profiteroles, croquembouches, eclairs, French crullers, beignets, and gougères. It contains only butter, water, flour, and eggs. Its raising agent is the high moisture content, which creates steam during cooking, puffing out the pastry.
Choux pastry is usually baked but for beignets it is fried. In Austrian cuisine it is also boiled to make Marillenknödel, a sweet apricot dumpling; in that case it does not puff, but remains relatively dense.
A chef by the name of Panterelli invented the dough in 1540, seven years after he left Florence, along with Catherine de' Medici and the entirety of her court. He used the dough to make a gâteau and named it Pâte à Panterelli. As time passed, the recipe of the dough evolved, and the name changed to Pâte à Popelin, which was used to make Popelins, small cakes made in the shape of a woman's breasts. Then, Avice, a pâtissier in the eighteenth century, created what was then called Choux Buns. The name of the dough changed to Pâte à Choux, as Avice's buns looked similar in appearance to choux, which is French for cabbages. From there, Antoine Carême made modifications to the recipe, resulting in the recipe most commonly used now for profiteroles.
Simple syrup is an essential ingredient in numerous cocktails. Simply put, it is sugar and water. The sugar is super-saturated by heating the water.
Simple syrup is often used to offset the tart taste of many drinks to make a more balanced mixture. For example, in a Whiskey Sour, simple syrup is added to lemon juice to make flavorful mix.
The ratio of sugar to water can be left to personal preference, traditionally it is one part water to two parts sugar.
Royal icing is a hard white icing, made from softly beaten egg whites, icing sugar (powdered sugar), and sometimes lemon juice. It is used on Christmas cake, wedding cakes, gingerbread houses and many other cakes and biscuits, either as a smooth covering like marzipan, or in sharp peaks. Glycerine is occasionally added to prevent the icing from setting too hard.
As well as coating cakes and biscuits, royal icing is usually considered a decorative icing since it can be used to create many decorative effects, such as flowers and figures. Royal icing is often piped into shapes which are allowed to harden on a non-stick surface. These can then be arranged to create edible decorative effects on a variety of sweet foods.
Especially amoung black people in the southern United States, sugar means affection, as in "Give me some sugar." By extension it can mean give me some sex.
The free association is obvious here...I wish my mind would have been a little more creative...but there you have it. See Skipvia's Free Association List
Dixieland music is a style of jazz which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s. Dixieland jazz combined brass band marches, French quadrilles, ragtime and blues with collective, polyphonic extemporization by trumpet (or cornet), trombone, and clarinet over a "rhythm section" of piano, guitar, banjo, drums, and a double bass or tuba.
Acting approach, based on Stanislavsky's teachings. As explained in the book "An Actor Prepares", it involves internal rather than external preparation. It was taught by Lee Strasberg and his Actor's Studio, graduates of which included Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Montgomery Clift, Julie Harris and others.
Religious drama depicting Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.Passion plays originated in the Middle Ages, when they were performed as part of the celebration of Good Friday.
Movement in the 1940s-1960s that expressed existentialist philosophy through theatrical style. Absurdist plays are filled with non-sensical dialogue and plot, which convey the inability of people to communicate with each other and the irrationality of existence. Principal figures in absurdist theatre were Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco and Jean Genet.
In literature, a dénouement (pronounced /deɪnu�?ˈmɑ̃/) consists of a series of events that follow a dramatic or narrative's climax, thus serving as the conclusion of the story. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader. Etymologically, the French word dénouement is derived from the Old French word denoer, "to untie", from nodus, Latin for "knot." Simply put, a dénouement is the unraveling or untying of the complexities of a plot.
A smudge pot (also known as a choofa or orchard heater) is an oil-burning device used to prevent frost on fruit trees. Usually a smudge pot has a large round base with a chimney coming out of the middle of the base. The smudge pot is placed between trees in an orchard, allowing the heat and smoke from the burning oil to prevent the accumulation of frost on the fruit of the grove. Smudge pots were developed after a disastrous freeze in Southern California in 1913 wiped out a whole crop.
"Break a leg" is a well-known saying in theatre which means "good luck". It is typically said to actors before they go out onto stage to perform.
The expression is a theatrical superstition that replaces the phrase "good luck," which is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use.
Thank you, sionnach. I am having fun. I like to see how other people connect with words, too. This is such an interesting site. I have enjoyed your humor from day one.
Balling the jack is best known as the name of a dance from the Dixieland heyday around 1913.
"First you put your two knees close up tight
Then you sway them to the left, then you sway them to the right
Step around the floor kind of nice and light
Then you twist around and twist around with all your might,
Stretch your loving arms straight out into space,
Then you do the Eagle Rock with style and grace.
Swing your foot way 'round then bring it back.
Now that's what I call Ballin' the Jack."
Later it was expanded to mean just dancing in general or just having a good time.
It also means risking everything on one attempt. At slangcity.com a reader had this to say about the "risk" meaning:
"To "ball" a "jack" refers possibly to the action of risking a shot in "Boules", or Bocce or its sister game Petanque. The jack in either case is the smaller ball for which the goal of the game is to either throw your team's ball closest to it, or to knock away your opponent's ball. To hit the target ball to another location, or to "ball the jack", is to alter the focus of the gameplay. To do so requires great accuracy, and assuming the game is scored for money instead of points (it is a drinking game, and takes skill and a bit of luck as well), takes risk as well, for in double or triple team play, you only get one shot (one ball per player). So to "ball the jack" is to risk a miss, and a wasted shot, at something that is really important to you."
It is also a term used by railroad men. Hobart Smith does a song with the lines "Balling the jack, lining track / You can't shovel no more" and the liner notes say it comes from railroad section gangs in the early 1870's. To fix a crooked rail you had one person sit on the track and site along it to see where it needed to be straightened (lining the track), then two men would put jacks at an angle against the inside ball of the rail and lever it until it was straight. Then you had to shovel ballast back in under the ties and tamp it down. The ball of the rail is the curved part going up to the flattened surface on top of the rail. The jack had a groove across the top that fit against the ball so it wouldn't slip off.
It has also been used as a euphemism for sexual intercourse in some jazz and blues lyrics.
Linea nigra (Latin for "black line") or línea negra (altered by influence of Spanish negra) refers to the dark vertical line that appears on the abdomen during pregnancy. The brownish streak is usually about a centimeter in width. The line runs vertically along the midline of the abdomen from the pubis to the xiphoid process - the bottom-most part of the rib cage in the center or tip of the sternum.
It is caused by pregnancy hormones that increase production of the pigment melanin, also known as hyperpigmentation. Why this process of hyperpigmentation occurs in a straight vertical line is uncertain.
There is an old wives' tale associated with línea negra: if the línea negra runs to the navel, it's a girl, and if it goes all the way up to the xiphoid, it's a boy.
An insulated box usually with a handle or handles that holds ice and beer. Used to keep the beer refrigerated and close at hand at the same time. I'm watching the Super Bowl so that's the only relevant meaning at the moment.
Just a little trick of the ear and the mind free associates with chained, even though the "shee" of chinoiserie sounds nothing like the "chay" of chained. See Free Association
Toning is the elongation of a note or tone using breath and voice.
It is used in preparing for meditation and in ritual. It is an aid in relaxation and in the raising of energy. Group toning is quite beautiful and powerful.
Bowfins are an order (Amiiformes) of primitive ray-finned fish. Only one species, the bowfin Amia calva, family Amiidae, exists today, although additional species in six families are known from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene fossils. These included the huge Leedsichthys, the biggest fish that ever existed. The bowfin and the gar are two of the freshwater fishes still extant that existed, almost unchanged from their current form, while the great dinosaurs roamed the earth.
_Wikipedia
I used to catch a bowfin that locals called a dogfish when I lived in Minnesota.
I used to catch a kind of bowfin that was called a dogfish when I lived in Minnesota. They always reminded me of coelacanths. Bowfins are an order (Amiiformes) of primitive ray-finned fish. Only one species, the bowfin Amia calva, family Amiidae, exists today, although additional species in six families are known from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene fossils.
A profiterole or cream puff (U.S.) is a food made from a small, round baked choux pastry filled with a sweet filling. The most common form nowadays is a dessert filled with whipped cream or pastry cream, and often served with chocolate sauce or a caramel glaze.
A diving bell, also known as a wet bell, is a cable-suspended airtight chamber, open at the bottom, that is lowered underwater to operate as a base or a means of transport for a small number of divers. The pressure of the water keeps the air trapped inside the bell. They were the first type of diving chamber. Unlike a submarine the diving bell is not designed to move under the control of its occupants, nor to operate independently of its tether.
A tipi (also teepee, tepee) is a conical tent originally made of animal skins or birch bark and popularized by the Native Americans of the Great Plains. Tipis are stereotypically associated with Native Americans in general, but Native Americans from places other than the Great Plains used different types of dwellings. The term wigwam is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a dwelling of this type.
The tipi was durable, provided warmth and comfort in winter, was dry during heavy rains, and was cool in the heat of summer. Tipis could be disassembled and packed away quickly when a tribe decided to move, and could be reconstructed quickly when the tribe settled in a new area. This portability was important to those Plains Indians who had a nomadic lifestyle.
The word "tipi" comes into English from the Lakota language; the word thípi consists of two elements: the verb thí, meaning "to dwell," and a pluralizing enclitic (a suffix-like ending that marks the subject of the verb as plural), pi, and means "they dwell." In Lakota, formal verbs can be used as nouns, and this is the case with thípi, which in practice just means "house."
A wigwam or wickiup is a domed single-room dwelling used by certain Native American tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in American Southwest and West. Wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the American Northeast. The use of these terms by non-Native Americans is somewhat arbitrary and can refer to many distinct types of Native American structures regardless of location or cultural group including the tipi.
_Wikipedia
I know some Native Americans who scoff at the generic use of this word.
In North America two groups of longhouses emerged. The Native American long house of the tribes usually connected with the Iroquois in the northeast and an unrelated type used by many tribes long the west and northwest Pacific coast of North America.
_Wikipedia
The Oneida Indians who are part of the Iroquois have their Wisconsin reservation near my home and they have a longhouse on display at their museum.
A frame, one of ten "innings" in a bowling game; originally it referred to the box on the scoresheet where the score for a single frame is recorded, after which one bowler has to buy beer for all the others. This is often a pre-determined frame, with the low scorer in that frame getting stuck with the tab. Sometimes, if all bowlers but one roll strikes in a frame, that becomes the beer frame and the bowler who didn't strike has to buy.
In the U.S., an establishment where individuals and teams go to play the sport of ten-pin bowling. Usually has a bar and snack-bar as well as pool tables and pin ball machines.
A Jumping Jack, or side straddle hop as it is called in the United States military, is a physical exercise performed by jumping to a position with the legs spread wide and the hands touching overhead and then returning to a position with the feet together and the arms at the sides.
More intensive versions include bending down and touching the floor in between each jump.
It is also commonly known as a star jump, especially to children of Commonwealth nations. In Canada, the term is stride jump, and the hands are not expected to touch above the head.
The first genre of music to be commonly known as honky tonk music was a style of piano playing related to ragtime, but emphasizing rhythm more than melody or harmony, since the style evolved in response to an environment where the pianos were often poorly cared for, tending to be out of tune and having some nonfunctioning keys. Hence an out-of-tune upright piano is sometimes called a honky-tonk piano.
Such honky tonk music was an important influence on the formation of the boogie woogie piano style.
Guerrilla theater also called street theater is one form of guerrilla communication/communication guerrilla. Guerrilla communication refers to unconventional forms of communication and/or intervention in public events or discourse, for reasons ranging from political activism to marketing.
This form of guerrilla communication is the creation of ritual via participative public spectacle to disrupt or protest a public event or to shift the perspectives of passers-by. Another way to create such spectacle is via tactical frivolity.
Francis Marion (February 26, 1732–February 27, 1795) was a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army and later brigadier general in the South Carolina Militia during the American Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Swamp Fox" for his ability to use decoys and ambushes to disrupt enemy communications, capture supplies, and free prisoners. His use of guerrilla tactics helped set in motion the decline of open battles in the conflict. Early records indicate that he was a sailor before the Revolutionary War.
Marion is considered one of the fathers of modern guerrilla warfare, and is credited in the lineage of the United States Army Rangers.
A cap gun or cap pistol is a toy gun that creates a loud sound akin to a gunshot and a puff of smoke when the trigger is pulled. Cap guns were originally made of cast iron, but after World War II were made of zinc alloy, and most newer models are made of plastic.
Cap guns get their name from the small discs of explosive compounds (roughly 1.4 to 1.6 mm in diameter) that provide the noise and smoke, effectively the same as the separate percussion cap used to replace the flintlock in real firearms, although invariably smaller and made from cheap plastic or paper rather than soft metal. Some were typically arranged in plastic rings of six, seven, or eight. There were also single caps, roll caps (of 50 to 500), and disk caps, all of which were actually extremely small versions of percussion fireworks.
In Yiddish (from which the word has migrated into American English, although the use is still rare), mensch roughly means "a good person." A "mensch" is a particularly good person, like "a stand-up guy," a person with the qualities one would hope for in a dear friend or trusted colleague.
_Wikipedia
I free associate this word with Skipvia's word mounch because it sounds similar to me.
A dunk tank, also known as a dunking booth or dunking machine, is an attraction mainly used in funfairs, fundraisers, and personal parties. Basically, a dunk tank consists of a large tank of water, over which a seat is suspended. By striking a target, the seat will tip or fall into the tank of water, thus "dunking" whoever is sitting on the seat.
A banana split is an ice cream-based dessert. In its classic form it is served in a long dish called a "boat". A banana is cut in two lengthwise (hence the split) and laid in the dish. Variations abound, but the classic banana split is made with scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream served in a row between the split banana. Pineapple topping is spooned over the vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup over the chocolate, and strawberry topping over the strawberry. It is garnished with crushed nuts, whipped cream and maraschino cherries.
David Evans Strickler, a 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at Tassel Pharmacy in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, who enjoyed inventing sundaes at the store's soda fountain, invented the banana-based triple ice cream sundae in 1904. The sundae originally cost 10 cents, twice the price of other sundaes, and caught on with students of nearby Saint Vincent College.
During a relay race, members of a team take turns swimming or running (usually with a baton) parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. In the Olympic games, there are many types of relay races that are part of track and field.
Fruit Loops is a brand of breakfast cereal produced by Kelloggs and sold in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Germany and Latin America as well as South Africa. The cereal pieces come in a variety of bright colors and a blend of artificial fruit flavors. Kellogg's introduced Froot Loops in 1963.
Baton twirling is a competitive sport involving the manipulation of a balanced metal rod with the hands and body to a co-ordinated routine, similar to rhythmic gymnastics. A baton routine may run solo or as a team in practiced sets.
Wax lips are the common name of a candy product made of colored and flavored wax, molded to resemble a pair of over-sized red lips. The lips have a bite plate in the back; when the plate is held between the teeth, the wax lips cover the wearer's own lips, to comic effect. Invented by the American Candy Company in the early 20th century, they became a popular novelty in the United States for many decades, especially during the Halloween season. Their popularity among children can be attributed mainly to the comedy of wearing the lips; although they were intended to be used as a sort of chewing gum after the novelty of the gag wore off, the lips were often simply discarded rather than eaten.
_Wikipedia
There were also several similar molds used to make wax teeth, wax moustaches, wax finger nails, etc.
A snickerdoodle is a soft sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar. It has a characteristically crackly surface, and can be crisp or soft, depending on preference. In modern recipes, the leavening agent is usually baking powder which, in baking, is most commonly used in cakes but not often in cookies. They traditionally contain cream of tartar. They're yummy. Google up a recipe and make some.
A bobby sock is a type of sock that was especially fashionable in the 1940s and 1950s. They are characteristically ankle-length and frilly, and worn by girls often as part of a school uniform. They were popular to wear with saddle shoes, loafers or Oxfords.
Sock Hop is a term coined in the 1950s in the United States, following the growth in popularity of rock and roll, to refer to informal sponsored dances at American high schools, typically held on the grounds of the high school itself in the gymnasium or cafeteria. Music was often recorded, sometimes live.
Initially the term referred to the practice of removing one's shoes in order to dance in stocking feet, typically to spare the floor from the scuff marks of dress shoes.
: a building for the cooling, handling, or bottling of milk
Our milk house was made of cinder blocks and fieldstones and was whitewashed inside and out and had a concrete floor. It contained a double sink and a large stainless steel bulk tank to hold the milk that was piped in from the electric milking machines in the milking parlor in the barn. The milk was unpasteurized and was taken away to the dairy by a service using large tank trucks called milk trucks. We sold individual glass bottles of the milk to our friends and neighbors for 25 cents a gallon as late as 1969.
Paranoid personality disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that denotes a personality disorder with paranoid features. It is characterized by an exaggeration of the cognitive modules for sensitivity to rejection, resentfulness, distrust, as well as the inclination to distort experienced events. Neutral and friendly actions of others are often misinterpreted as being hostile or contemptuous.
People with this disorder tend to have excessive trust in their own knowledge and abilities and usually avoid close relationships with others. They search for hidden meanings in everything and read hostile intentions into the actions of others. They are quick to “challenge the loyalties of friends and loved ones and often appear cold and distant to others�?. They usually shift blame to others and tend to carry long grudges.
Based on little or no evidence, they suspect that others are out to harm them and usually find hostile or malicious motives behind other people's actions.
A snow globe is a transparent sphere usually made of glass enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a landscape. The sphere also encloses the water in the globe; the water serves as the medium through which the "snow" falls. To activate the snow, the globe is physically shaken to churn up the white particles. The globe is then placed back in its position and the flakes fall down slowly through the water. Today's snow globes sometimes have a built-in music box in the base.
Precisely when the first snow globe, also called a waterglobe or snowdome, was made remains unclear, but they appear to date from France during the early 1800s.
A pool noodle (also known as a water log) or as simply a noodle is a cylindrical piece of polyethylene foam. Pool noodles may used by people of all ages while swimming. They are useful when learning to swim, for floating, for rescue reaching, and in various forms of water play.
_Wikipedia
They come in various thicknesses and colors and are extremely buoyant.
In railroading, the pilot is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles from the track that might otherwise derail the train. Archaically this was called a cowcatcher, and this is still the common layman's usage, but this term is deprecated and has not been used by railroad workers for more than a century.
A baler is a piece of farm machinery that is used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay or straw) into bales and bind the bales with twine. There are several different types of balers that are commonly used. Balers are also used in the material recycling facilities, primarily for baling plastic, paper or cardboard for transport to a recycling facility.
A Bunsen burner is a common piece of laboratory equipment that produces a single open gas flame, which is used for heating, sterilization, and combustion.
Lithotripsy is a surgical procedure that attempts to break up a kidney stone or a stone in the gallbladder with minimal collateral damage by using an externally applied, focused, high-intensity acoustic pulse.
The scientific name of this procedure is Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL).
Kidney stones, also called renal calculi, are solid concretions (crystal aggregations) of dissolved minerals in urine; calculi typically form inside the kidneys or bladder. The terms nephrolithiasis and urolithiasis refer to the presence of calculi in the kidneys and urinary tract, respectively.
Sweethearts are small heart-shaped candies sold around Valentine's Day. Each heart is printed with a message such as "Be Mine", "Kiss Me", "Call Me", and "Miss You". Sweethearts are made by the New England Confectionery Company, or NECCO.
The package from NECCO calls them "Sweethearts", which is the other common way of referring to them, but below that it says "tiny conversation hearts" as well as "#1 valentine candy." A similar type of candy is sold in the UK under the name Love Hearts.
Sweethearts are small heart-shaped candies sold around Valentine's Day. Each heart is printed with a message such as "Be Mine", "Kiss Me", "Call Me", and "Miss You". Sweethearts are made by the New England Confectionery Company, or NECCO.
The package from NECCO calls them "Sweethearts", which is the other common way of referring to them, but below that it says "tiny conversation hearts" as well as "#1 valentine candy." A similar type of candy is sold in the UK under the name Love Hearts.
The insect order Mantodea or mantises consists of approximatively 2,300 species worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats.
The term "mantises" (or the more colloquial "praying mantises") should be used when referring to the entire order. Often mistakenly spelled preying mantis (an eggcorn, since they are notoriously predatory), they are in fact named for the typical "prayer-like" stance. The word mantis derives from the Greek word mantis for prophet or fortune teller. In Europe, the name "praying mantis" refers to only a single species, Mantis religiosa.
Water birth is a method of giving birth, which involves immersion in warm water. Proponents believe this method to be safe and provides many benefits for both mother and infant, including pain relief and a less traumatic birth experience for the baby.
In the late 1960s, French obstetrician Frederick Leboyer (see Leboyer Method)developed the practice of immersing newly-born infants in warm water to help ease the transition from the womb to the outside world, and to mitigate the effects of any possible birth trauma.
Another French obstetrician, Michel Odent, took Leboyer's work further, using the warm-water birth pool for pain relief for the mother, and as a way to normalize the birth process. When some women refused to get out of the water to finish giving birth, Odent started researching the possible benefits for the baby of being born under water, as well as the potential problems in such births. By the late 1990s, thousands of women had given birth at Odent's birthing center at Pithiviers, and the notion of water birth had spread to many other Western countries.
A precursor to modern water birth, a gentle method of child birth
Frederick Leboyer (born 1918) is a French obstetrician, best known for his 1975 book, Birth Without Violence, which popularized gentle birthing techniques, in particular, the practice of immersing newly-born infants in a small tub of warm water — known as a "Leboyer bath" — to help ease the transition from the womb to the outside world. He graduated from the University of Paris School of Medicine.
The Lamaze Technique is a prepared childbirth technique developed in the 1940s by French obstetrician Dr. Fernand Lamaze as an alternative to the use of medical intervention during labor. Dr. Lamaze was influenced by Soviet childbirth practices, which involved breathing and relaxation techniques under the supervision of a "monitrice" or midwife. The Lamaze method gained popularity in the United States after Marjorie Karmel wrote about her experiences in her 1959 book 'Thank You, Dr. Lamaze'.
In various Christian traditions the term scapular is also applied to a small devotional artifact worn by male and female non-monastics in the belief that this will be of spiritual benefit to them. The Roman Catholic Church considers it a sacramental. It consists of two small squares of cloth, wood or laminated paper, bearing religious images or text, which are joined by two bands of cloth. The wearer places one square on the chest, rests the bands one on each shoulder and lets the second square drop down the back.
The flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of squirrel (family Sciuridae). There are 43 species in this tribe. The 2 species of the genus Glaucomys (Glaucomys sabrinus and Glaucomys volans) are native to North America, and the Siberian flying squirrel is native to parts of northern Europe (Pteromys volans).
The term "flying" is somewhat misleading, since flying squirrels are actually gliders incapable of true flight. Steering is accomplished by adjusting tautness of the patagium, largely controlled by a small cartilaginous wrist bone. The tail acts as a stabilizer in flight, much like the tail of a kite, and as an adjunct airfoil when "braking" prior to landing on a tree trunk.
Holy cards are small, mass-produced, devotional pictures made for the use of the Catholic faithful. They typically depict a religious scene or a saint on a small image that is about the size of a playing card or collectible card. The reverse typically contains a prayer, some of which promise an indulgence for its recitation. The circulation of these cards is an important part of the visual folk culture of Catholics.
My Granny makes the best cracklin' ho cake �?� It tastes so good I can't wait to dip my plate �?� She's cookin' ham hocks in some white-acre peas �?� She's cookin' turnip greens and macaroni and cheese �?� Get on out my way I got to ease up to that pot �?� I like my cornbread while it's still piping hot �?� I love this food Lord I can't get enough
_Excerpt of lyrics from Ho Cakes, lyrics by JJ Grey of Mofro
Special flat, round cast iron griddles called hoe cake griddles are available commercially. Google up Paula Deen's awesome recipe.
Nicknames for the three bones of the middle ear, based on their shapes
The middle ear, an air-filled cavity behind the ear drum (tympanic membrane), includes the three ear bones or ossicles: the malleus (or hammer), incus (or anvil), and stapes (or stirrup).
This large plastic toy projector from Kenner was basically just a torch/flashlight and a lens. By sliding strips of slides through the projector you could project a 4 sq. feet image on to a screen or wall and "give-a-show".
Its plastic casing changed shape and colour over the years, but it always contained a bright projector light bulb and a slot that allowed the user to feed a strip of film through the light it emitted to create projected images. To put on a show, the Projector user dimmed the lights and aimed their Give-A-Show Projector at the blank wall of their choice. They then fed a projection strip containing six slides through the side of the Give-A-Show Projector. The end result was a series of four-foot images that told a story to the viewers through words and pictures.
Filmstrips were a common form of instructional multimedia used by instructors in both primary school and secondary (K-12). They were popular because they were simultaneously an easy-to-use and inexpensive way for an instructor to enhance and invigorate their curriculum by offering students and opportunity to learn by watching and listening in addition to reading.
The filmstrip itself was a spool - a strip - of 35 mm positive film with usually 30-50 images arranged sequentially would have a duration of between 10-20 min. The instructor would turn on a film projector that would show the first frame of the filmstrip. The instructor would, then, turn on a 33 RPM record or cassette tape, containing the audio material for the filmstrip (including narration). At the appropriate point a tone would sound, signalling the instructor to advance to the next frame.
_Wikipedia
VCRs made filmstrips, for the most part, obsolete.
Fuzzy dice, known in the British Isles as furry dice or fluffy dice, are an automotive decoration consisting of two oversized plush dice which hang from the rear-view mirror.
_Wikipedia
A common prize at carnival games of chance in the 1960s.
Tang is a sugared, fruit-flavored, non-carbonated soft drink from the USA. The original orange flavored Tang was formulated by General Foods Corporation in 1957 and first marketed (in powdered form) in 1959.
It was initially intended as a breakfast drink, but sales were poor until NASA began using it on Gemini flights in 1965, and that use was heavily advertised.
Dr. Denton is a (historically) well-known American brand of blanket sleepers, formerly manufactured by the Dr. Denton Sleeping Garment Mills of Centreville, Michigan. The company was founded in 1865, originally as the Michigan Central Woolen Company, and from the late 19th Century through the first half of the 20th Century was probably the single best-known manufacturer of blanket sleepers in the United States. The brand was so well-known that Dr. Dentons became (and remains today) a genericized trademark.
A union suit is a type of one-piece long underwear. It originated as women's wear during the nineteenth-century United States clothing reform efforts, as an alternative to constricting garments, and soon gained popularity among men as well. The first union suit was patented in 1868. Traditionally made of red flannel with long arms and long legs, it buttoned up the front and had a button-up flap in the rear covering the buttocks (colloquially known as the "access hatch", "drop seat", "fireman's flap", and other names), allowing the wearer to eliminate bodily waste without removing the garment. Depending on the size, some union suits can have a dozen buttons on the front to be fastened through buttonholes from the neck down to the groin area.
A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum driven, that strikes the hours using small bellows and pipes that imitate the call of the Common Cuckoo in addition to striking a wire gong. The mechanism to produce the cuckoo call was installed in almost every kind of cuckoo clock since the middle of the eighteenth century and has remained almost without variation until the present.
The design of a cuckoo clock is now conventional. Most are made in the "traditional style" or "chalet" to hang on a wall. In the "traditional style" the wooden case is decorated with carved leaves and animals. Most now have an automaton of the bird that appears through a small trap door while the clock is striking. The bird is often made to move while the clock strikes, typically by means of an arm that lifts the back of the carving.
Burial at sea describes the procedure of disposing of human remains in the ocean.
Two reasons for burial at sea are if the deceased died while at sea and it is impractical to return the remains to shore, or if the deceased died on land but a burial at sea is requested for private or cultural reasons.
Burial at sea services are available at many different locations and with many different customs, either by ship or by aircraft. Usually, either the captain (or commanding officer) of the ship or aircraft or a representative of the religion performs the ceremony. Legally, a captain can bury remains at sea, provided that environmental regulations are satisfied. In the United States, ashes have to be scattered at least 3 miles from shore, and bodies can be given to the sea if the location is at least 600 feet (200 m) deep.
Epitaph to a Dog is a poem by the English poet Lord Byron. It was written in 1808 in honor of his Newfoundland dog, Boatswain, who had just died of rabies. Check it out..it's beautiful.
In the early 20th century before the common commercial use of a separate funeral location was popular the deceased were most often displayed in their casket in the parlor of the private home in which they had lived. When mortuaries began offering the service of displaying the deceased for public viewing and grieving, the term "funeral parlor" was used to make the practice seem like the more familiar custom of displaying the deceased at home.
A funeral home, or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.
A funeral home, or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.
Mongoloid spots are common in children from many different racial backgrounds. These patches of dermal melanocytosis are found in greater than 90% of African Americans, 81% of Asian, and 70% of Hispanic infants. Although they are often seen in the lumbosacral and gluteal areas they are not limited to those regions. They need to be distinguished from bruises of child abuse. Compared to a bruise they are more uniform in skin color, their borders are better defined, there is no induration or tenderness and they are stable over time.
A class ring (also known as a graduate, senior, or grad ring) is a ring worn by students and alumni to commemorate their graduation, generally from a high school, college, or university.
_Wikipedia
Class rings were commonly exchanged in the 1950s and 1960s to commemorate a promise of going steady. These were usually high school rings but this was also practiced by college students. Girls would wrap the bands with thick layers of colored yarn in order to make the larger men's rings fit their own smaller fingers or they would wear them around their necks on a chain. Some men wore their girlfriend's ring on their pinky finger but most men did not wear the girl's class ring, considering it too effeminate.
A letterman, in U.S. sports, performing arts or academics, is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation and/or performance on a varsity athletic team, marching band, or in other performance school-sponsored activities.
The term comes from the practice of awarding each such participant a cloth "letter", which is usually the school's initial or initials, for placement on a "letter sweater" or "letter jacket" intended for the display of such an award. In some instances, the sweater or jacket itself may also be awarded, especially for the initial award to a given individual.
_Wikipedia
The tradition of giving one's steady girlfriend one's letter jacket or letter sweater in lieu of a ring when going steady was common in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s.
Promise rings are bestowed to symbolize a promise that one person makes to another. In some cases, promise rings are precursors to engagement rings. While the latter symbolize a promise to marry, promise rings can stand for many other kinds of vows.
A fairly common trait in some breeds of dogs, notably in Siberian Huskies. A snow nose is a reddish or pink marking on a black or liver colored nose. Snow nose can disappear over warmer months and reappear over the winter months. There is nothing wrong with a snow nose, and it is perfectly acceptable in the breed.
A brand name that has become a generic term for a type of instant camera.
An instant camera is a type of camera with self-developing film. The most famous are those made by the Polaroid Corporation. The invention of modern instant cameras is generally credited to American scientist Edwin Land, who unveiled the first commercial instant camera, the Land Camera, in 1947, 10 years after founding the Polaroid Corporation.
In the United States, kringles are hand-rolled from Danish pastry dough (wienerbrød dough) that has been rested overnight before shaping, filling, and baking. Many layers of the flaky dough are layered, then shaped in an oval. After filling with fruit, nut, or other flavor combinations, the pastry is baked and iced.
In America, kringles are chiefly produced in Racine, Wisconsin, the North American city with the largest population of Danes outside of Greenland (which is a self-governing portion of the Kingdom of Denmark), and a center of expatriate Danish culture. Kringle and Danish culture are an important part of Racine's cultural identity, and several local bakeries make and ship the hundreds of thousands of kringles per year each.
A round is a musical composition in which two or more voices sing exactly the same melody over and over again, but with each voice beginning at different times. "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is a well known children's round for 4 voices.
Burma-Shave was a United States brand of brushless shaving cream, famous for its advertising gimmick of posting humorous rhyming poems on small, sequential highway billboard signs.
Burma-Shave was introduced in 1925 by the Burma-Vita company, owned by Clinton Odell. It was a pungent, soapy-smelling concoction which the company at first had difficulty selling. To increase sales, the owners developed the famous Burma-Shave advertising sign program, and sales took off. At its peak, Burma-Shave was the second-highest selling brushless shaving cream in the United States.
Peeps (branded as PEEPS®) are small marshmallow candies, sold in the United States, that are shaped into baby chickens, rabbits, and other animals. Peeps are primarily used to fill Easter baskets. They are made from marshmallow, sugar, gelatin, and carnauba wax.
Peeps are produced by Just Born, a candy manufacturer based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Peeps were introduced in 1953 by Russian immigrant, Sam Born. When Just Born acquired Rodda Candy Company in 1953, they automated the process (originally the chicks were formed by hand) and mass-marketed them. Back in 1953, when the peeps were made by hand it took 27 hours to make one marshmallow peep. The yellow chicks were the original form of the candy — hence their name — but then the company introduced other colors and, eventually, the myriad shapes in which they are now produced.
Lefse is a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread made out of potato, milk or cream and flour, and cooked on a griddle. Special tools are available for lefse baking, including long wooden turning sticks and special rolling pins with deep grooves. There are significant regional variations in the way lefse is made and eaten, but it generally resembles a flatbread although it is far thinner. In some parts of the United States (such as North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, northern and central Iowa, Wisconsin, and Washington), lefse is available in grocery stores.
_Wikipedia
When I lived in Minnesota it was always possible to pick up part-time work hours making lefse for the huge Christmas rush demand for the product. So good with butter and cinnamon-sugar.
Boiling the dough before baking is what gives the wonderful chewy texture. You've never tasted a better bagel than one made in your own kitchen. Try it.
Gefilte fish (Yiddish: געפֿילטע פֿיש) are poached fish patties or balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp (common carp). They are popular in the Ashkenazi Jewish community.
In traditional recipes for gefilte fish, the fish is first deboned, often while still at the market. Next, the fish is ground together with eggs, onions and flour, matzoh meal or challah, and then stuffed into the skin of the deboned fish, giving it the name gefilte (filled or stuffed, compare the German gefüllte). The whole stuffed fish is then poached with carrots and onions. When prepared this way, it is usually served in slices. This form of preparation eliminated the need for picking fish bones at the table and stretched the fish further, so that even poor families could enjoy fish on the Sabbath.
Before a Jewish funeral service begins first-degree Jewish relatives engage in the act of kriah, or tearing one's garment or pinning a black ribbon called a kriah ribbon to one's lapel. It is a powerful and ancient reaction to the harsh reality of death and an acknowledgment that death tears an irreparable hole in the fabric of our lives. The kriah ribbon, or the torn garment, is worn for the sheloshim period, the thirty days extending from the funeral. Traditionally, it is removed on Shabbat, the Sabbath.
Crochet (pronounced /kroʊˈʃeɪ/) is a process of creating fabric from yarn or thread using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the Middle French word croc or croche, meaning hook. Crocheting, similar to knitting, consists of pulling loops of yarn through other loops. Crochet differs from knitting in that only one loop is active at one time (the sole exception being Tunisian crochet), and that a crochet hook is used instead of knitting needles.
A granny square is a crochet technique for producing square fabric by working in rounds from the center outward. Granny squares are traditionally handmade. They resemble coarse lace. Although there is no theoretical limit to the maximum size of a granny square, crocheters usually create multiple small squares and assemble the pieces to make clothing, purses, Afghan blankets, and other household textiles.
Granny square apparel is a cyclical fashion that peaked in the 1970s.
"The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation that you ever had." — Anonymous
A bench style swing built of wooden slats that has a seat, a back and two arms and can usually seat two people. It is attached to chains at the arms and suspended from the ceiling beams of a porch.
Tire swings are a form of swing made from a car tire suspended by a heavy rope from a sturdy tree branch. This is an old-fashoned, simple swing commonly seen in the country, near farm houses.
Special factory-made "tire swings" are suspended by three chains and are suspended from heavy beams and are mounted horizontally so that more than one child can sit along the top edge. Some dangerous stunts can be done using these swings so they are not as commonly used in playgrounds these days.
Lawn darts (also called Jarts or yard darts) is a lawn game for two players or teams. A lawn dart set usually includes four large darts and two targets. The game play and objective are similar to both horseshoes and darts. The darts are similar to the ancient Roman plumbata. They are typically 12 inches long with a weighted metal or plastic tip on one end and three plastic fins on a rod at the other end. The darts are intended to be tossed underhand toward a horizontal ground target, where the weighted end hits first and sticks into the ground. The target is typically a plastic ring, and landing anywhere within the ring scores a point.
Wiffleball or whiffleball is a variation of the sport of baseball designed for indoor or outdoor play in confined areas. "Wiffle" is a registered trademark of The Wiffle Ball, Inc., which manufactures Wiffle balls from its location in Shelton, Connecticut. It is played using a perforated, light-weight, plastic ball and a long, plastic (typically yellow) bat, generally on a triangular playing field.
The Wiffle ball was invented by David N. Mullany of Fairfield, Connecticut in 1953 when he designed a ball that curved easily for his 12-year old son. It was named when his son and his friends would refer to a strikeout as a "wiff" (actually whiff). A classic Wiffle ball is about the same size as a regulation baseball and is hollow plastic no more than 1/8th of an inch thick. One hemisphere is perforated with eight 3/4" inch oblong holes, with a solid second hemisphere. Wiffle balls are typically packaged with a hollow, hard plastic, yellow bat that measures 31 inches (790 mm) in length and about 1.25 inches in diameter.
_Wikipedia
Also refers to the game played with a Wiffleball and bat.
A side or back door entryway that acts as a barrier between outdoors and indoors, where coats and shoes or boots can be removed and thus keep dirt out of the main house. Often seen in farmhouses. Usually has a concrete or linoleum floor, sometimes with a floor drain. May have a bench to sit on while removing heavy boots and hooks to hang up outerwear.
In the days before air-conditioning, a "summer kitchen" was sometimes added to homes in order to remove the heat of the cooking fires from the main house during hot weather.
Commonly known as "short shorts." These are short, tight shorts, usually made of cotton, nylon, or some other common material. They are meant to emphasize the buttocks and the legs. Hot pants were very popular in the early 1970s, but declined in popularity during the late 1970s.
A pop gun is a toy gun that uses air pressure to fire a small projectile (often cork or foam) out of a barrel via piston action. The mechanism consists of a hollow cylindrical barrel which is sealed at one end with the projectile and at the other with a long-handled plunger. The plunger is rapidly forced down the barrel, building up internal air pressure until the projectile is forced out with the "pop" sound that lends the toy its name. The projectile may be tethered to the toy to prevent loss or for safety.
Motorcycles designed for racing over closed circuits, often with jumps, over varied terrain of gravel/mud/sand. Also called motocross bikes, when not being raced, they can also be used for informal off-road recreation, or "mudding".
Cracker Jack is a brand of snack consisting of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts. It is also well known for being packaged with a "Toy Surprise Inside" of nominal value. This attained pop-culture status with the term "came in a Cracker Jack box" referring to an object of no real value.
Kool-Aid was invented by Gerard and Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska. Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. To reduce shipping costs, in 1927, Perkins discovered a way to remove the liquid from Fruit Smack, leaving only a powder. This powder was named Kool-Ade (and a few years later, it was renamed 'Kool-Aid' due to a change in US Government regulations regarding the need for fruit juice in products using the term "Ade"). Perkins moved his production to Chicago in 1931 and Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods in 1953.
_Wikipedia
A powdered fruit flavoring that is mixed with regular granulated sugar and water by the customer to make a pitcherful of soft drink. It is a brand name that has become a generic term used to mean any inexpensive fruity soft drink mix or non-carbonated fruity soft drink.
A fishstick is a processed food made using a whitefish such as cod which have been battered and/or breaded. They are commonly available in the frozen food section of Western supermarkets, and on children's menus in family-oriented restaurants.
_Wikipedia
In the 1950s they were nasty, soggy fishy little cakes with too much breading that were served to school children as part of the typical school lunch, especially on Fridays when Catholic children traditionally could not eat meat.
A souvenir sold at Disney theme parks that is a small round felt beanie style hat with two large round plastic ears that is designed to make the child or child at heart who is wearing it look like Mickey Mouse.
A space blanket is a blanket designed to be used in emergency situations to reduce heat loss from a person's body. The blanket consists of a thin sheet of plastic material (often PET film) that is coated with a metallic reflecting agent, usually gold or silver in color, which reflects about 80% of the wearer's radiated body heat back to him or her.
The most common dipole antenna is the "rabbit ears" type used with televisions. While theoretically the dipole elements should be along the same line, "rabbit ears" are adjustable in length and angle.
A dipole antenna, developed by Heinrich Rudolph Hertz around 1886, is an antenna with a center-fed driven element for transmitting or receiving radio frequency energy. These antennas are the simplest practical antennas from a theoretical point of view.
_Wikipedia
In the days before cable television rabbit ears sat on top of the TV to help reception. They usually had a small round or oval shaped plastic base that had two long metal wands that could be adjusted projecting up from the base.
Chiclets are a brand of candy coated chewing gum made by Cadbury Adams. The product's name is derived from the Spanish word chicle (chewing gum) derived from (Nahuatl tziktli), the substance from which chewing gum was traditionally made. The original flavor was peppermint but many flavors have been added and discontinued over the decades since the introduction in 1906. Assorted fruit flavor is still available in Mexico, U.S. and Canada.
_Wikipedia
One piece of Chiclets gum is a chiclet. Chiclet has become a generic term for any candy coated, pillow shaped gum.
Drumstick is the brand name for different novelty ice cream cones sold in the United States, Australia, Canada, and other countries across the world.
A typical Drumstick-brand ice cream cone is a waffle cone filled with ice cream, topped with chocolate and nuts, has a chunk of chocolate in the bottom of the cone and is commonly found in the frozen food section of a US grocery store. However in Australia a chocolate cone variety called Drumstick Royale is available, which replaces the waffle cone with a solid chocolate cone.
The original product was invented by I.C. Parker of The Drumstick Company in 1928.
_Wikipedia
Drumstick has become a generic term for any brand or homemade icecream treat that features a sundae combination (icecream topped with a chocolate shell and chopped nuts) in a prepared waffle-type sugar cone.
A pea coat (or pea jacket, pilot jacket) is an outer coat, generally of a navy-colored heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of European navies. Pea coats are characterized by broad lapels, double-breasted fronts, often large wooden buttons, and vertical or slash pockets. Although it first appeared in the early 18th century, modern renditions still maintain the original design and composition.
The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an old advertisement figure made to represent cigar shops. The figures were often three-dimensional wooden sculptures several feet tall - up to life-sized. They are still occasionally used for their original advertising purpose but are more often seen in decorative uses, or, for older ones, as advertising collectibles.
Because of the general illiteracy of the populace, early store owners used descriptive emblems or figures to advertise their shops' wares. Indians and tobacco had always been associated because Indians introduced tobacco to Europeans, and the depiction of native people on smoke-shop signs was inevitable. As early as the seventeenth century, European tobacconists used figures of Indians to advertise their shops.
The current, popular understanding of the term “Diorama�? denotes a partially three-dimensional, full-size replica or scale model of a landscape typically showing historical events, nature scenes or cityscapes, for purposes of education or entertainment.
A haunted house could be any house that is inhabited by ghosts or disembodied spectres or other supernatural beings or energies.
A haunted house is also a type of funhouse seen around Halloween in the United States. Usually for profit and often for charitable causes, scary, spooky and/or grisly decorations are used in a mazelike series of rooms or settings in a large building such as a warehouse or old school or some similar empty building to create an interactive fun environment for people to pretend and have some chills and thrills and laughs. Live actors dressed as skeletons, monsters, ghosts, murderers and other ghouls animate dioramas. Spooky props such as smoke machines, fake blood and make-up are also used to create the atmosphere.
A sock monkey is a stuffed toy made from socks and fashioned in the likeness of a monkey. Sock monkeys hold an important place in the culture of North America as a symbol of ingenuity.
The iconic sock monkeys made from Red-Heel socks emerged at the earliest in 1932, the year the Nelson Knitting Company of Rockford, Illinois added the trademarked red heel to its product. Nelson Knitting added the red heel "de-tec-tip" to assure its customers they were buying "original Rockfords". This red heel gave the monkeys their distinctive mouth. The original brown heather color of the rest of the sock makes the monkey's coat.
Around 1951 the knitting company discovered their socks were being used to make monkey dolls. In 1953, Nelson Knitting became involved in a dispute over the design patent on the sock monkey pattern. They were awarded the patent in 1955, and began including the pattern with every pair of socks.
In photography, a fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in an extremely wide, hemispherical image. Originally developed for use in meteorology and astronomy and called "whole-sky lenses", fisheye lenses quickly became popular in general photography for their unique, distorted appearance. They are often used by photographers shooting broad landscapes to suggest the curve of the Earth.
One of several possible aspects or relationships between planets in a horoscope.
An arc of 150 degrees. Also known as the inconjunct; this aspect creates a certain uneasiness and a feeling of discomfort and has karmic lessons to teach us. It is a minor aspect.
Otherwise known as Inconjunct.
This aspect is the only one not measured by celestial longitude. It is of two or more planets having the same distance in declination in degrees, north or south of the celestial equator.
A disk shaped hard candy, usually peppermint or spearmint flavored but also available in several fruit flavors. It has a characteristic striped pattern that looks like a starburst. Some starlight mints have a white disk on the flat face of the mint and stripes on the sides. The peppermint ones are red and white and look like cousins to candy canes. They are usually individually wrapped in cellophane. Many restaurants in the U.S. make them available free of charge to their customers as an after-dinner mint or a breath mint.
A lemon drop is a sugary, lemon-flavored hard candy that is typically colored yellow and often shaped like a miniature lemon. They can be sweet or have a more sour flavor.
The term "lemon drop" is also occasionally applied to lemon-flavored throat lozenges.
A White Elephant Sale is a collection of used items being sold by a non-professional group of individuals second hand, much akin to a yard sale or garage sale, usually as a fund-raiser.
A garage sale, also called a "yard sale", "tag sale", "attic sale", "moving sale", or "junk sale", is an informal, irregularly scheduled event for the sale of used goods by private individuals.
A Bundt cake is the name used for a dessert cake cooked in a Bundt pan, whose essential attribute is its ringed shape. The Bundt pan (a registered trademark) was created in 1950 by H. David Dalquist, founder of Nordic Ware, at the request of members of the Hadassah Society's chapter in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They were interested in a pan that could be used to make bundkuchen (sometimes called kugelhopf or Gugelhupf), a popular German and Austrian coffee cake. The old-world pans, made of delicate ceramic or heavy cast iron, were difficult to use. He modified some existing Scandinavian pan designs by introducing folds in the outer edge, and fashioned the pan out of aluminum.
Knife pleats are used for basic gathering purposes, and form a smooth line rather than springing away from the seam they have been gathered to. The pleats have a 3:1 ratio–three inches of fabric will create one inch of finished pleat. Knife pleats can be recognized by the way that they overlap in the seam.
Box pleats are knife pleats back-to-back, and have a tendency to spring out from the waistline. They have the same 3:1 ratio as knife pleats, and may also be stacked to form stacked box pleats. These stacked box pleats create more fullness and have a 5:1 ratio. They also create a bulkier seam. Inverted box pleats have the "box" on the inside rather than the outside.
A little black dress is an evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often with a short skirt, originally made popular in the 1920s by the fashion designer Coco Chanel. Intended by Chanel to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral color, its continued ubiquity is such that many refer to it by its abbreviation, LBD.
The "little black dress" is considered essential to a complete wardrobe by many women and fashion observers.
Pleiadeans (also spelled Pleiadian or Plejaran) is the name given to what are said to be a group of Nordic alien extraterrestrials and "multidimensional spirit beings" from the Pleiades star cluster in the constellation of Taurus), approximately 400 light years from planet Earth. Their home planet is said to be called Erra, and various descriptions of their appearance have been given by those whom claim have been in contact with them.
Contactees who claim to have been in contact with the Pleiadeans include Billy Meier and James Gilliland.
_Wikipedia
I think Shirley MacLaine mentions them in Out On a Limb.
Mothman is the name given to a being or creature reported in the Charleston and Point Pleasant areas of West Virginia between November 12, 1966, near Clendenin, and December 1967. Most observers describe the Mothman as a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large moth-like wings. The creature often appeared to have no head, with its eyes set into its chest. A number of hypotheses have been presented to explain eyewitness accounts, ranging from misidentification and coincidence, to paranormal phenomena and conspiracy theories.
In the early Beatle-mania years, the Beatles would occasionally wear black, and then later grey, Edwardian collarless suits. This style of suit was adopted from the Mod youth cult, then at its peak in the UK. These suits became extremely common for new bands to wear after 1964.
Beatle boots are tight-fitting, cuban-heeled, ankle-length boots with a pointed toe which originated in 1963 when Brian Epstein (then manager of the Beatles) discovered Chelsea boots while browsing in the London footwear company Anello & Davide, and consequently commissioned four pairs (with the addition of Cuban heels) for The Beatles to complement their new suit image upon their return from Hamburg, who wore them under drainpipe trousers.
The Beatle haircut, also known as the mop-top (or moptop) is a mid-length hairstyle named after and popularised by the Beatles. It is a straight cut - collar-length at the back and over the ears at the sides, with straight bangs.
The Nehru jacket is a hip-length tailored coat for men or women, with a stand-up or "mandarin" collar, and modeled on the South Asian achkan or sherwani, an apparel worn by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964. However, unlike the achkan, which falls somewhere below the knees of the wearer, the Nehru jacket is not only shorter, but also, in all respects other than the collar, resembles the suit jacket.
The apparel was created in India in the 1940s as Band Gale Ka Coat (Hindi/Urdu: "Closed Neck Coat") and has been popular on the subcontinent since, especially as the top half of a suit worn on formal occasions. It began to be marketed as the Nehru jacket in the West in the mid-1960s; it was briefly popular there in the late 1960s and early 1970s, its popularity spurred by growing awareness of foreign cultures, by the minimalism of the Mod lifestyle, and, in particular, by the Beatles, who popularized the garment.
A Pop-Tart is a flat rectangular toaster pastry approximately 3 in (75 mm) by 5.5 in (115 mm), made by the Kellogg Company. Pop-Tarts have a sugary filling sealed inside two layers of rectangular, thin pastry crust; each layer of this crust is about 0.1 in (2 mm) thick. Most varieties have frosting, but some do not. They can be eaten without being warmed, but are often warmed inside a toaster. They are usually sold in pairs inside foil packages, and do not require refrigeration.
_Wikipedia
Has become a generic term for any toaster pastries.
Oi, pronounced /ˈɔɪ/, is a British / Welsh, Irish, Australian slang interjection used to get someone's attention, or to express surprise or disapproval. The American English equivalent is the interjection "hey".
_Wikipedia
See Also Oi! is a working class street-level subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s
The Youth International Party (whose adherents were known as Yippies, a variant on "Hippies") was a highly theatrical and anti-authoritarian political party established in the United States in 1967. An offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s, the Yippies presented a more radically youth-oriented and countercultural alternative to those movements. They employed theatrical gestures—such as advancing a pig ("Pigasus the Immortal") as a candidate for President in 1968—to mock the social status quo. The Yippies had no formal membership or hierarchy: Abbie Hoffman, Anita Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Nancy Kurshan, and Paul Krassner were among the founders of the Yippies (according to his own account, Krassner coined the name).
Big hair is a term that can refer to hairstyles that emphasize large volume or largely styled hair. Big hair was popular in the late 1970s, as popularized by Dolly Parton and Farrah Fawcett, a development from earlier bouffant styles. The term is also used in the punk, goth and alternative cultures and is particularly associated with alternative fashion of the 1980s, or inspired by the period. In either usage, big hair in modern times generally suggests an eye-catching, untidy, tangled, voluminous hairstyle, worn by conformist women in the 1970s, non-conformist of all sexes in the 1980s.
Backcombing is a way of combing hair which is used to create volume as well as to create certain hairstyles. Backcombing, also known as "teasing", means repeatedly combing the hair towards the scalp, causing the hair to tangle and knot up. This method is often used in creating various big hair styles such as beehives and dreadlocks.
The French term à gogo, often anglicized as A Go-Go, meaning "in abundance, galore". Alternate spellings vary widely, particularly concerning the placement and number of dashes as well as the use of the "a". The term is often used in popular culture, especially in the field of music and dancing. Though earlier uses of the phrase were meant to lend a cosmopolitan feel to subjects, modern usage tends more toward an ironic, campy appeal.
Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in London, United Kindgom, located in the area of 'Carnaby' in the district of Soho, near Oxford Street, and just to the east of Regent Street. The area around Carnaby Street is known simply as 'Carnaby'. It consists of twelve pedestrianised streets with 168 fashion and lifesyle retailers, including a large number of independent fashion boutiques.
In the 1960s, Carnaby Street was made popular by followers of the Mod style. Many independent fashion boutiques, and designers such as Mary Quant and 'Lord John' were located in and around Carnaby Street as well as various underground music bars such as the 'Roaring Twenties'. With bands such as The Beatles, Small Faces, and Rolling Stones appearing in the area to work, shop, and socialize, it became one of London's coolest destination associated with the Swinging Sixties.
Go-Go boots are a low-heeled style of women’s fashion boot worn since the mid-sixties when fashion silhouettes focused on accentuating the leg. The term “go-go�? refers to the fact that they were often seen on and associated with dancers at discotheques such as Whisky a Go Go.
Go-go boots are either calf-, knee- or above knee-high boots with a low or flat heel. The style is a very simple shape with a chiseled, rounded or pointed toe. The boot was usually fastened onto the foot by a side or back zipper, although by the Seventies it was not uncommon to find lace-up versions which accommodated a wider variety of calf sizes. Heel height ranges from flat to low 1�? shaped, with the occasional 2�? Cuban heel.
Materials were either synthetic or natural, with the oldest designs being made from plastic or vinyl of various colors, the most popular being white. Women’s styles tended to be taller, tighter and with a slightly higher heel than girl’s styles.
André Courrèges is often cited as the originator of the fashion go-go boots. In the 1960s Courrege boots became a generic term used to describe a white leather or plastic calf-length boot with a wide top, worn by women, typically with a knee-length or mini skirt or dress. André Courrèges (born 1923) is a French fashion designer, known for his ultra-modern designs.
A Rice Krispie treat is a sweet dessert or snack made from Rice Krispies, melted margarine or butter and melted marshmallows. Sometimes marshmallows and/or cereal that is seasonal is used to make these treats holiday specific. They are often homemade, but one can find them in many stores usually packaged under the Rice Krispies brand.
One variation is to use chocolate instead of marshmallows which is known as "Chocolate Crackles". Kellogg's has now produced commercial varieties of both the marshmallow and chocolate-based treats under the name of "Rice Krispies Squares".
Rice Krispie treats were invented in 1928 by Mildred Day, who was at the time working for the Kellogg Company, the maker of Rice Krispies. She used the cereal to develop the snack as a fundraiser for a Camp Fire Girls group.
Commonly in the U.S. a doughnut in the shape of a bar, with or without a filling. In Wisconsin in the United States a long john, by definition, is unfilled and frosted. It and can be found plain frosted or frosted with nuts or sprinkles or jimmies.
A bear claw is a sweet breakfast food, popular in the United States. It is an almond-flavored, yeast-raised pastry shaped in a large, irregular semicircle with slices around the outside, evoking the shape of a bear's claw. Bear claws often contain almond paste or raisins.
A Persian is an oval-shaped, cinnamon-bun-like pastry with a sweet, pink icing made of either raspberries or strawberries. It originated in and remains particular to the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
The Persian is a variation of the Pershing, a doughnut made from a yeast dough that is coiled with cinnamon and usually finished with a plain sugar glaze rather than pink icing. Pershings are widely available at doughnut shops elsewhere in North America.
The Pershing is a doughnut made from a yeast dough that is coiled with cinnamon and usually finished with a plain sugar glaze rather than pink icing of a Persian. Pershings are widely available at doughnut shops in North America.
La Leche League International (LLLI) is an international, nonprofit, nonpolitical, and nonsectarian organization, recognized as an authority on breastfeeding around the world. It was founded in 1956 in Franklin Park, Illinois, to give support and information to women who choose to breastfeed their babies. It currently has a presence in sixty-five countries.
_Wikipedia
Usually known simply as La Leche League or just as "League."
"Blessed be" is probably the best-known Pagan expression. It is used as both a greeting and a farewell, and as a general expression of blessing or affirmation during ritual, similar to "amen".
In Neo-Paganism and Wicca, the phrase Amen is not normally used, being seen as Christian in origin. However, the rather archaic phrase So mote it be is often used instead, with basically the same meaning (mote is an archaic form of may). This possibly derives from Freemasonry, where in certain rituals the phrase "Amen, so mote it be" is used.
Codependence (or codependency) is a popular psychology concept popularized by Twelve-Step program advocates. A "codependent" is loosely defined as someone who exhibits too much, and often inappropriate, caring for persons who depend on him or her. A "codependent" is one side of a relationship between mutually needy people. The dependent, or obviously needy party(s) may have emotional, physical, financial difficulties, or addictions they seemingly are unable to surmount. The "codependent" party exhibits behaviour which controls, makes excuses for, pities, and takes other actions to perpetuate the obviously needy party's condition, because of their desire to be needed and fear of doing anything that would change the relationship.
A twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or other behavioral problems, originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) for recovery from alcoholism. The Twelve Steps were initially published in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous ("The Big Book") in 1939; since then more than 25 million copies have been printed in many languages. This method has been adapted as the foundation of other twelve-step programs such as Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous and Emotions Anonymous. As summarized by the American Psychological Association, working the Twelve Steps involves the following.
admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion;
recognizing a greater power that can give strength;
examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member);
making amends for these errors;
learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior;
helping others that suffer from the same addictions or compulsions.
A kit - is set of objects, as in a toolkit, or what a soldier would put in his kit-bag.
A caboodle (or boodle) - is an archaic term meaning group or collection, usually of people.
There are several phrases similar to the whole kit and caboodle, which is first recorded in that form in 1884. Most of them are of US origin and all the early citations are American. Caboodle was never in common use outside the USA and now has died out everywhere, apart from its use in this phrase.
Black ice, also known as "glare ice" or "clear ice," typically refers to a thin coating of glazed ice on a surface, often a roadway. Black ice is ice frozen without many air bubbles trapped inside, making it transparent. Black ice takes the color of the material it lies on top of, often wet asphalt or a darkened pond. Its difficult-to-detect nature makes it a significant hazard to drivers, pedestrians, and sailors.
In the 1960s a poor boy was a popular kind of shirt for females. They were figure hugging rib-knit t-shirts that came in a wide range of solid colors. They were often worn tucked into hip huggers, either skirts or slacks which were worn with a wide leather belt.
My real first name is Terrie. My last name before I divorced the carbuncle was Reese. Hence t + reese +ed for good measure = treeseed. I am not reesetee. Really.
The term lamb is a name for the animal or meat of a domestic sheep. The meat of a sheep a year old or younger is generally known as lamb.
Lamb chops are cut from the rib, loin, and shoulder areas. The rib chops include a rib bone; the loin chops include only a chine bone. Shoulder chops are usually considered inferior to loin chops.
Lamb Chop is a fictional character, more precisely a fictional sheep, who is a sock puppet created by comedian and ventriloquist Shari Lewis. In 1957, Lamb Chop, a ewe, first appeared with Lewis on Hi Mom, a local morning show that aired on WNBC in New York.
Lamb Chop has been described as a "6-year-old girl, very intuitive and very feisty, a combination of obstinacy and vulnerability...you know how they say fools rush in where wise men fear to go? Well, Lamb Chop would rush in, then scream for help."
Charlie Horse was a charming hand puppet used by puppeteer Shari Lewis. A friend of Lamb Chop.
Shari Lewis (January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s.
The phrase "Swan song" is a reference to an ancient belief that the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is completely mute during its lifetime, except for singing a single, heartbreakingly beautiful song just before it dies.
It has been known since antiquity that this belief is false. In A.D. 77. Pliny the Elder refuted it in Natural History (book 10, chapter xxxii: olorum morte narratur flebilis cantus, falso, ut arbitror, aliquot experimentis, "observation shows that the story that the dying swan sings is false").
By extension, swan song has become an idiom referring to a final theatrical or dramatic appearance, or any final work or accomplishment.
: a front dive executed with the head back, back arched, and arms spread sideways and then brought together above the head to form a straight line with the body as the diver enters the water
Paddle ball is a one-person game played with an attached ball and paddle. Using a flat paddle with a small rubber ball attached at the center via an elastic string, the player tries to hit the ball with the paddle in succession as many times as possible. The paddle is usually made from either wood or plastic.
A beach ball (also beachball) is a large inflatable ball used in various games and other recreational activities traditionally conducted on the beach. Their large size and light weight means it takes little effort to propel one, and they travel slowly to their target, making them ideal for lazy games on hot days, though their lightness makes it difficult to play with them in strong wind.
The beach ball was invented by Jonathon DeLonge in 1938 in California. Beach balls are manufactured in a wide variety of sizes, with diameters ranging from a few inches to four feet. They generally consist of a set of soft plastic panels—two circular panels, one of which contains a valve for inflation, connected by a series of bulged-rectangle-shaped pieces, which are joined side-by-side and form most of the surface area of the ball.
An Empire silhouette is created by wearing a high-waisted dress, gathered near or just under the bust with a long, loose skirt, which skims the body. The outline is especially flattering to pear shapes wishing to disguise the stomach area or emphasise the bust. The shape of the dress helps to lengthen the body. The word "Empire" here refers to the period of the First French Empire.
Light as a feather, stiff as a board, sometimes known as lovely ness, is a game often played by children at slumber parties. One participant lies flat on the floor, and then the others space themselves around him/her, each placing a few fingers underneath his/her body. They then start chanting "light as a feather, stiff as a board" and eventually lift their friend, using what feels like surprisingly little effort.
A Chinese fire drill is a prank, or perhaps an expression of high spirits, that was popular in the United States during the 1960s. It is performed when a car is stopped at a red traffic light, at which point all of the car's occupants get out, run around the car, and return to their own (or go to other) seats. Chinese fire drills are sometimes executed when one needs to get something from the trunk of a car. Occasionally, if one of the participants is late to get inside the car, the others might drive off without him/her. People have reported this phenomenon as early as the 1940s, so it is possible that the phrase was current at the time, but simply was not recorded.
A kidnap breakfast is a fun activity usually carried out by a youth group in which individuals are unsuspectingly woken up from a sound sleep by their friends in the group and are compelled (in a friendly way) to come exactly as they are to a group breakfast gathering at another location.
A person who collects autographs, typically one who approaches, follows or imposes on celebrities for their signatures.
In the early 1960s a popular toy for teen girls was a stuffed animal looking much like a dachshund that had a smooth fabric which could be autographed by one's friends. This was also known as an autograph hound.
Instamatic was the name of a long-running series of inexpensive, easy-to-load 126 and 110 cameras made by Kodak beginning in 1963. The Instamatic was immensely successful, introducing a generation to low-cost photography and spawning numerous imitators.
Bat Masterson was a Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry. His horse was Stardust.
Radar found a wounded stray horse (later named Sophie), he gave her to Potter, so he could care for her. Potter was delighted to have a horse again, and rode her regularly. Potter was played by Harry Morgan.
An appaloosa horse named Joe was the mount of The Virginian played by James Drury on the TV series The Virginian. Some people have heard this as "Jody" but Drury is on record as saying the horse was named Joe. More than one appaloosa horse played this part.
My Friend Flicka is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1943) and Green Grass of Wyoming (1946). The popular 1943 film version featured a young Roddy McDowall. It was followed by film adaptations of the other two novels, in 1945 and 1948, and by a television series (1956-1958) that first aired on CBS, then on NBC, followed by reruns on ABC and on CBS between 1959 and 1966.
Traveller was used by General Robert E. Lee thoughout most of the Civil War.
Traveller (birth name "Jeff Davis") was born near the Blue Sulphur Springs, in Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Virginia), raised by Andrew Johnston. An American Saddlebred, he was of the Gray Eagle stock, and, as a colt, took the first prize at the Lewisburg, Virginia, fairs in 1859 and 1860. As an adult gelding, he was a sturdy horse, 16 hands high and 1,100 pounds (500 kg), iron gray in color with black points, a long mane and flowing tail.
A 1960s female hairstyle that featured shoulder length, essentially straight, blunt cut hair that turned up dramatically and uniformly on the ends. Sometimes worn with a middle or side part and at other times combed back and held off the forehead with a hair band.
A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the hair is cut fairly short. The term was most likely coined to describe the haircut worn by members of the Yale rowing crew. The name drew a contrast with football players of the time, who wore long hair to compensate for flimsy leather helmets.
The crew cut was adopted by the United States armed forces during World War II, and became a civilian fashion for men throughout the 1950s.
Comet is a powdered cleaning product sold in North America and distributed in the USA by Prestige Brands. Scratch Free Comet with Bleach Disinfectant Cleanser contains 1.2% sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione dihydrate and 98.8% "other" ingredients. The only clues about the other ingredients in the product are disclaimers on the label that mention that the surfactants in the product are biodegradable and that it contains no phosphate. Despite being labeled as scratch free, its label instructs to use plenty of water on delicate surfaces. Comet is not recommended for use on silver, painted surfaces, walls, soft plastic, aluminum, or rubber, except for tires. Mixing Comet with other cleaners, specifically toilet bowl cleaners and products that contain ammonia, is dangerous.
The origin of the safety pin dates back to the Mycenaeans during the 14th century BC (Late Mycenaean III era). They are known as fibulae (singular fibula) and were used in the same manner as modern day safety pins. In fact, the very first fibulae of the 14th and 13th centuries B.C. looked remarkably like the safety pin. The origin of the fibulae is detailed in Chr. Blinkenberg's 1926 book Fibules grecques et orientales.
The safety pin was reinvented in July 1849 by American inventor Walter Hunt. The rights to the invention were sold for $400.
The precursor to the current 3-M tapes was developed in the 1930s by Richard Drew to seal a then-new transparent material known as cellophane. Although it is a trademarked brand name, it is sometimes used in the US and elsewhere as a generic term for transparent adhesive tape. The Scotch brand includes many different constructions of tape.
The concept of the variety store originated with the five and ten, or nickel and dime, or five and dime, or dimestore, a store where everything cost either five cents (a nickel) or ten cents (a dime). The originator of the concept may be Woolworths, which began in 1878 in Watertown, New York. Other five and tens that existed in the USA included W.T. Grant, J.J. Newberry's, McCrory's, Kresge, McClellan's, and Ben Franklin Stores.,/i>
A low flat "loafer" style shoe with a decorative stylized fold or slot on the front top. A 1950s fad involved the wearing of a shiny new penny in this fold...hence the name.
Saddle shoes are two-toned leather footwear, the normal coloration is white and black, although other colorations are frequently sold. The toe and back of the shoe are white and the name comes from the saddle of black leather on the middle part which has the eyelets. Saddle shoes are worn by both men and women. They were hugely popular in the 1950s.
A beauty mark or beauty spot is a dark facial mole that some people consider attractive, usually when it is within about an inch of the upper lip or around the eyes, and does not protrude from the skin (not polypoid). Doctors call them melanocytic nevus, more specifically the compound variant. Moles may also be located elsewhere on the body, but are not generally considered beauty spots.
False beauty spots can be applied to the face as a form of make-up. Beauty marks were particularly highly regarded during the 18th century and creating false ones became common, often in fanciful shapes such as hearts. Marilyn Monroe's beauty mark generated a new vogue for them during the twentieth century.
Babee Tenda is a children's furniture company to this day but in the 1950s they manufactured a unigue baby feeding table that was known by the same name as the company. A babee tenda was a square table with a hole cut in the middle of it that had a baby seat attached. It was on four legs with casters and doubled as an activity table. It was very popular and used in place of a high chair. They folded up and stored easily.
In 1965, Owen Maclaren, an aeronautical engineer, listened to his daughter complain about traveling from England to America with her heavy pram. Maclaren knew that she needed something with a light frame that could fold up compactly. Using his knowledge of aeroplanes, Maclaren designed a stroller with an aluminum frame and created the first true umbrella stroller. He then went on to found Maclaren which manufactured and sold his new design.
_Wikipedia
These lightweight strollers that folded up so like an umbrella does, were nicknamed umbrella strollers.
City chicken is a food entrée comprised of cubes of meat that are placed on a wooden skewer (approximately 4-5 inches long), breaded, then fried and/or baked. The origins of the entrée and its name are not entirely known, however it is rumored to have begun during the Depression Era, when people took meat scraps and fashioned a make-shift drumstick out of them. Sometimes the meat was ground, and a drumstick-shaped mold was used to form the ground meat around a skewer. Today, better cuts of meat (usually pork loin, beef, and/or veal) are used. In spite of the name, the dish usually contains no chicken.
The dish (and hence the term) seem to be regionalized to the areas surrounding Pittsburgh, PA, ranging from Central Pennsylvania, Northern West Virginia, to as far west as the western suburbs of Cleveland, OH and Hamtramck, MI. It is also known as mock chicken.
Lake Winnebago is a large freshwater lake in eastern Wisconsin. It is the third largest natural freshwater lake completely within a U.S. state (behind Lake Okeechobee (Florida) and Red Lake (Minnesota)) respectively.
The Ibizan Hound, pronounced "I-bee-than" or "I-beez-an", also called Podenco Ibicenco in Spanish or Ca Eivissenc in Catalan, is an agile, deer-like dog of the hound family. There are two hair types of the breed: smooth and wire. The more commonly seen type is the smooth. Some consider there to be a third type, long, but most consider the longhair to be a variation of the wire.
A Girl Scout cookie is one of several varieties of cookie sold on neighborhood tours by Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) as a fundraiser for their organization. Members of the GSUSA have been selling cookies since 1917 to raise funds for their units. Top-selling girls can earn prizes for their efforts.
A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged 8–10. Originally, like the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouting was for boys only; girls were expected to join the Brownies and then the Girl Guides or Girl Scouts. Since about 1990 the Cubs has been open to both girls and boys in several countries. In the USA, it is exclusively open for boys to join.
Camp Fire USA is a nationwide youth organization that began on March 17, 1910 as Camp Fire Girls. The organization has been co-ed since 1975 and has youth from pre-kindergarten through age 21. For a time it was known as just Camp Fire and then as Camp Fire Boys and Girls as more boys joined the organization.
The organizational history and the story of the origins of Camp Fire are complex, but the short version would be that Camp Fire Girls was founded in 1910 by some of the same people who founded Boy Scouts of America. Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte Vetter Gulick are credited as "official founders" of Camp Fire Girls.
In 1913, the "Blue Bird" program was introduced for younger girls and offered exploration of ideas and creative play built around family and community life. In 1989 the "Blue Bird" level became the "Starflight" level.
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the Cooperative Extension System of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development."1 The four "H"'s stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.
Kewpie dolls and figurines are based on illustrations by Rose O'Neill that appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in 1909. These illustrations, which incorporated words and pictures with the recurring Kewpie characters, are considered to be early versions of the comic strip medium. The small dolls were extremely popular in the early 1900s. They were first made out of bisque and then celluloid. In 1949, Effanbee created the first hard plastic versions.
Their name, often shortened to "Kewpies", in fact is derived from "Cupid.". The early dolls, especially signed or bisque, are highly collectible and worth thousands of dollars. The time capsule at the 1939 New York World's Fair contained a Kewpie doll.
Round Up is an amusement ride consisting of circular horizontal platform with vertical cage like wall around the edge. The platform is attached to a motor on a hydraulic arm. The ride starts out by spinning until the centripetal force is enough to push riders against the wall. Then, the arm raises the horizontal platform to a vertical position in which riders, instead of spinning horizontally, are now spinning vertically.
The ride spins for a predetermined cycle until an automatic timer releases the hydraulic fluid from the arm causing the platform to return to its horizontal position.
In the UK this ride is commonly known as the 'Meteorite' or 'Meteor'.
Bumper car is the generic name for a type of flat ride consisting of several small electric cars that draw their power from an overhead grid, which is turned off by the operator at the end of a session. They are also known as dodgem cars, or simply dodgems, the last name being the usual term in British English.
The Zipper is a carnival ride designed in 1968 by Chance Rides Manufacturing, Inc., an American manufacturer of amusement rides based in Wichita, Kansas. This ride is noted for the extreme g-forces felt by its riders. The Zipper is still a very popular attraction at many fairs and carnivals.
The Rock-O-Plane is an amusement park ride. Its shape is similar to that of a Ferris wheel, but with seats that are enclosed and rock and roll as the ride turns. If the rocking builds sufficient momentum the seats will flip upside-down and end-over-end.
The Tilt-A-Whirl is a platform-type ride, consisting of seven freely-spinning cars that hold four riders each, which are attached at fixed pivot points on a rotating platform. As the platform revolves, parts of the platform are raised and lowered, and the resulting centrifugal and gravitational forces on the cars cause them to randomly spin in different directions and at variable speeds. The weight of passengers in these cars may intensify or dampen the spinning motion of the cars, adding to the random nature of the motion.
A slide, usually much taller and steeper than you would find on a playground. Some were as much as two stories high. Slides of comparable size can be seen today on carnival midways as separate attractions. Most were made of polished hardwood, and riders would sit on burlap mats to protect themselves from friction burns and to ensure that rubber-soled shoes didn't slow the slider down.
A large spinning disk. While the disk was stationary patrons would get on and sit in the center, then the opeator would start the disk spinning, and people would be thrown off by centripetal force, ending up against a padded wall. A variation was a disk with a raised center, shaped much like a Bundt cake mold; as the device speeded up people would slide downhilll as well as outward.
A horizontal revolving cylinder or "barrel" to try to walk through without falling down.
Sections of floor that undulated up and down, tipped from side to side or moved forward and back, either motorized ore activated by the person's weight. Stairs that moved up and down or tipped from side to side. The industry refers to these and similar devices as “floor tricks.�?
Compressed air jets shooting up from the floor, originally designed to blow up women's skirts, but effective at startling almost anyone and making them jump and scream.
A game at traveling carnivals, county/state fair midways, funfairs, entertainment boardwalks and amusement parks, featuring a pellet gun and typically either numerous moving mechanical tracks with small targets worth various minor prizes or points towards a major prize, or a paper target with a star on it which must be completely shot away to win a prize.
A snow cone (or sno cone) is a dessert item usually made of crushed or shaved ice flavored with brightly colored sugary syrup, usually fruit-flavored. Some are served with a spoon, and some are eaten with the hands like an ice cream cone.
Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas suspended from the rim.
Ferris wheels are a common type of amusement park ride and may also be found at urban parks and public places. Ferris wheels usually hold about 50-100 people.
A hot cross bun is a type of sweet spiced bun made with currants and leavened with yeast. It has a cross on the top which might be made in a variety of ways: it could be pastry, made from a simple flour and water mixture, cut from rice paper and glazed onto the bun, iced, or simply cut into the bun itself.
In many historically Christian countries, the buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the crucifixion. They are believed by some to pre-date Christianity, although the first recorded use of the term "hot cross bun" is not until 1733.
Hershey's Kisses are a type of chocolate manufactured by The Hershey Company. The bite-sized pieces of chocolate have a distinctive shape, commonly described as flat-bottomed teardrops. Hershey's Kisses are wrapped in squares of lightweight aluminum foil with a narrow strip of paper protruding from the top.
The Kisses are one of the most popular candies in the world.
Carnauba is a wax derived from the leaves of a plant native to northeastern Brazil, the carnauba palm (Copernicia prunifera). It is obtained from the leaves of the carnauba palm by collecting them, beating them to loosen the wax, then refining and bleaching the wax.
Carnauba wax can produce a glossy finish and as such is used in automobile waxes, shoe polishes, food products such as candy corn, guitar polishes, and floor and furniture polishes, especially when mixed with beeswax. It is used as a coating on dental floss. Use for paper coatings is the most common application in the United States. It is the main ingredient in surfboard wax, combined with coconut oil.
In foods, it is used as a formulation aid, lubricant, release agent, anticaking agent, and surface finishing agent in baked foods and mixes, chewing gum, confections, frostings, fresh fruits and juices, gravies, sauces, processed fruits and juices, soft candy, tic tacs and Altoids.
Comments by treeseed
Show previous 200 comments...
treeseed commented on the word smithsonite
Smithsonite, or zinc spar, is zinc carbonate ZnCO3, a mineral ore of zinc. Historically, smithsonite was identified with hemimorphite before it was realised that they were two distinct minerals. The two minerals are very similar in appearance and the term calamine has been used for both, leading to some confusion. The distinct mineral Smithsonite was first described in 1832 and named for British chemist and mineralogist, James Smithson (1754-1829), whose estate financed the Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonite is a variably colored trigonal mineral which only rarely is found in well formed crystals. The typical habit is as earthy botryoidal masses. It has a Mohs hardness of 4.5 and a specific gravity of 4.4 to 4.5.
_Wikipedia
February 14, 2008
treeseed commented on the word boji stone
I have a couple of these stones, one male and one female, as ridiculous as that may sound...it boggles my mind that someone can have a registered trademark for an element of Nature.
Boji® stones are concretions composed of either iron sulfide, i.e pyrite and marcasite, or in some cases jarosite, which are found in outcrops of the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation within Gove County, Kansas. They are typically associated with thin layers of altered volcanic ash, called bentonite, which occur within the chalk comprising the Smoky Hill Chalk Member. A few of these concretions enclose, at least in part, large flattened valves of inoceramid bivalves. The "female" Boji® stones are smooth concretions, which range in size from a few millimeters to as much as 12 mm (6 inches) in length. Most of these concretions are oblate spheroids in shape. The "male" Boji® stones are small polycuboidal pyrite concretions, which are as much as 7 cm (0.23 foot ) in diameter (Hattin 1982). These concretions will explode if thrown in a fire. Also, when they are either cut or hammered, they produce sparks and a burning sulfur smell.
_Wikipedia
February 14, 2008
treeseed commented on the word crocidolite
Pronunciation: \kr�?-ˈsi-də-ˌlīt\
Function: noun
Etymology: German Krokydolith, from Greek krokyd-, krokys nap on cloth (akin to Greek krekein to weave) + German -lith -lite — more at reel
Date: 1835
: a lavender-blue or light green mineral of the amphibole group that occurs in silky fibers and in massive form and is a type of asbestos.
_Wikipedia
February 14, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pseudomorph
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Pronunciation: \ˈsü-də-ˌmȯrf\
Function: noun
Etymology: probably from French pseudomorphe, from pseud- + -morphe -morph
Date: 1849
1 : a mineral having the characteristic outward form of another species
2 : a deceptive or irregular form
February 14, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tiger's eye
Tiger's eye (also Tigers eye, Tiger eye) is a chatoyant gemstone that is usually yellow- to red-brown, with a silky luster. It is a fibrous silicified crocidolite (blue asbestos), a classic example of pseudomorphous replacement. An incompletely silicified blue variant is called Hawk's eye. A member of the quartz group, its physical and optical properties are identical or very near to those of single-crystal quartz.
_Wikipedia
February 14, 2008
treeseed commented on the word remote viewing
Yes, seanahan, that's exactly what I meant.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word susie q
Susie Q went to #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957, recorded by Dale Hawkins.
In 1968 Creedence Clearwater Revival took it to #11.
It appears on the Rolling Stones album 12X5.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word susie
Susie Q went to #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957, recorded by Dale Hawkins.
In 1968 Creedence Clearwater Revival took it to #11.
It appears on the Rolling Stones album 12X5.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word suzie q
See Susie Q
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hardy har har
Usually sarcastic response meaning one does not share in the humor
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word soda jerk
Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is the name for the person — typically a youth — who works the soda fountain in a drugstore. The term refers to the person who made an ice cream soda. This was made by putting flavored syrup into a specially designed tall glass, adding soda water and, finally one or two scoops of ice cream. The result was served with a long handled "soda spoon" and straws. The name soda jerk came from the jerking action the server would use on the soda fountain handle when adding the soda water. Very few drugstores still serve ice cream and soda, which reached its peak in the 1940s.
_Wikipedia
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word soda fountain
A small eating establishment, common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often within a drug store or other business, serving soda beverages, ice cream, and sometimes light meals.
_Wikipedia
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ice cream soda
The ice cream soda, float or spider (as referred to in Australia and New Zealand) is a treat that is typically made by mixing ice cream with either a soft drink or flavored syrup and carbonated water. The microscopic bubbles present in the ice cream act as "nucleation sites" which trigger the formation of large bubbles of carbon dioxide. The drink originated in the United States in the late 19th century.
_Wikipedia
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word frozen custard
Frozen custard is a cold dessert similar to ice cream, made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. It typically contains 10% butterfat and 1.4% egg yolk.
Using a process called overrun, air is blended into the mixture of ingredients until its volume increases by approximately 20%. By comparison, ice cream may have an overrun as large as 100% - meaning half of the final product is composed of air. The high percentage of butterfat and egg yolk gives frozen custard a thick, creamy texture and a smoother, softer consistency than ice cream. Frozen custard is most often served at 26 degrees Fahrenheit (a full 16 degrees warmer than the 10 degrees Fahrenheit at which ice cream is served).
_Wikipedia
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word peanut butter cookies
Peanut butter cookies are a cookie dating back to the early 1930s.
_Wikipedia
They have a characteristic criss-cross pattern on top made by pressing down with a fork first one way, then the other, overlapping.
Some people like to sprinkle them with table sugar and then place a Hershey's kiss in the center before baking.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word s’mores
A s'more is a traditional campfire treat popular in the United States and Canada, consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a slab of chocolate sandwiched between two pieces of graham cracker.
S'mores are associated with recreational camping. Part of the enjoyment of this simple dessert is the way in which it is made on such camping trips. A marshmallow is skewered on the end of a long stick and held just above the campfire until (according to personal preference) its outer surface starts to brown, char, or even catch fire. Once heated, the inside of the marshmallow becomes soft. The marshmallow is quickly pinched off its stick with the waiting graham crackers, one of which has a piece of chocolate on it (typically a section of a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar). Ideally, the heat from the roasted marshmallow partially melts the chocolate into a gooey mess.
S'more appears to be a contraction of the phrase, "some more". Because once you have one you always want s'more.
_Wikipedia
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cream puff
The Cream Puff is one of the main attractions at the Wisconsin State Fair. Since their introduction in 1924, cream puffs have grown to be a signature Fair item, selling more than 365,000 annually. The Wisconsin State Fair dairy bakery operates around-the-clock during the Fair to meet the ever-growing insatiable demand.
Some fairgoers wait all year for a chance to indulge in the rich sweetness of a State Fair cream puff. They are made from the ingredients Wisconsin is famous for — milk, cream, butter and eggs. These cream puffs are huge not dainty like their cousin the profiterole.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cannoli
Cannoli are Sicilian pastry desserts. The singular is cannolo, meaning “little tube�?, with the etymology stemming from the Latin "canna", or reed. Cannoli originated in Sicily and are an essential part of Sicilian cuisine. They are also popular in Italian American cuisine.
Cannoli consist of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling usually containing ricotta cheese (or alternatively, but less traditionally, sweetened blended with some combination of vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, Marsala wine, rosewater or other flavorings.
The versions Americans are most familiar with tend to involve variations on the original concept. This is possibly due to adaptations made by Italians who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1900s and discovered limited availability of certain ingredients. The cannoli sold in Italian-American bakeries today usually still contain ricotta, but mascarpone is a less common alternative. Sometimes the filling is a simple custard of sugar, milk, and cornstarch. In either case, the cream is often flavored with vanilla or orange flower water and a light amount of cinnamon. Chopped pistachios, semi-sweet chocolate bits, and candied citrus peel or cherries are often still included, dotting the open ends of the pastry. Chocolate sprinkles are sometimes used as a garnish for cannoli in the United States.
_Wikipedia
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word crème brûlée
Crème brûlée (French for "burnt cream"; pronounced /ˌkrɛm bru�?ˈleɪ/ in English) is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel, created by burning sugar under a grill, or with a blowtorch or other intense heat source. It is usually served cold in individual ramekins.
The custard base is normally flavoured with just vanilla, but it can be enhanced with chocolate, a liqueur, fruit, etc. Sometimes the hardened sugar on top will be given a Maillard reaction, or caramelization, by igniting a thin layer of liqueur sprinkled over the top.
_Wikipedia
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word flan
See crème caramel
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word crème caramel
Crème caramel, flan, or caramel custard is a rich custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top.
Both 'crème caramel' and 'flan' are French names, though 'flan' more commonly means a custard tart in French. The dish has spread across Europe and the world, and is known as 'flan' in Spanish-speaking countries. In the United States, the dish is now best-known in a Latin American context, so is called flan; in Europe, it is generally known as crème caramel.
_Wikipedia
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word basenji
Basenji dogs yodel.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word etouffe
a spiced Cajun stew of crayfish and vegetables, normally served with rice
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word trinity
In Louisiana when one cooks just about anything, from say gumbo to etouffe to a pot of beans, they use what is called the trinity...onion, celery and bellpepper. Chopped and sauteed.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word crab cake
There are lots of recipes for crab cakes and they're all yummy.
Lump crabmeat, sauteed trinity (chopped celery, onion and bell pepper), a little garlic, a little cayenne, salt and pepper and a very little oregano and thyme, some bread crumbs and some mayonnaise...fry up neat little palm size flattened cakes in a blend of extra virgin olive oil and butter.
I serve them with corn/tomato salsa.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word parody
Yea! Uselessness is back!
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bull sedge
Bull sedge sounds like a minced oath.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word jams
Many baby boomers remember the wildly popular JAMS shorts of the 1960s and 1980s. JAMS were closely associated with the California and Hawaii surf scenes. The JAMS brand still exists, and has grown into today's Jams World clothing and accessories line.
_Wikipedia
Growing up in southern California among surfers I know this word as a generic term spelled without capital letters. It was used for any baggy knee length swim shorts with drawstring waist that came in loud floral patterns. Jams is short for pajamas and the comfort of pajamas is implied.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ska
Ska is linked with punk in my mind for many reasons The Mighty Mighty Bosstones being one of them. See Free Associate
Ska (pronounced /ska/ or in Jamaican Patois /skja/) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was a precursor to rocksteady and reggae.
Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line, accented guitar or piano rhythms on the offbeat, and in some cases, jazz-like horn riffs. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant musical genre of Jamaica, and it was also popular with British mods. Many skinheads, in various decades, have also enjoyed ska (along with reggae, rocksteady and other genres). Music historians typically divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican ska scene of the 1960s, the 2 Tone ska revival that started in England in the late 1970s, and the third wave ska movement, which started in the 1980s.
_Wikipedia
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bebb's oval sedge
also called Bebb's Sedge
Carex bebbii
Fine textured, light green, tuft-forming sedge with a fine fibrous root system. It is found in wet prairies, bogs and marshes. Flower/seed head is a small, round, bristly structure found at the tip of the culum or blade.
Bloom period May and June
Height 24-36"
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fringed sedge
Carex crinita
Tuft forming sedge with stolons. Flower/seed head is long, thin and fuzzy, born along the culum or blade.
Bloom period May-August
Height 24-60"
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word parody
uselessness...that one was actually more hilarious. Thanks.
February 13, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cambric
excerpt from Scarborough Fair/Canticle - Paul Simon/Art Garfunkel, 1966
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
(On the side of a hill in the deep forest green)
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
(Tracing a sparrow on snow-crested ground)
Without no seams nor needlework
(Blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain)
Then she'll be a true love of mine
(Sleeps unaware of the clarion call)
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word barkcloth
Barkcloth is a soft, thick, slightly textured fabric so named because it has a rough surface like that of tree bark. This barkcloth is usually made of densely woven cotton fibers. Historically, the fabric has been used in home furnishings, such as curtains, drapery, upholstery, and slipcovers. It is often associated with 1950s and 1960s home fashions.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the list public-list-prairie-grasses
Are you including sedges on this list?
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word horsetail rush
Equisetum is a genus of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds. The genus includes 15 species commonly known as horsetails and scouring rushes. It is the only living genus in class Equisetopsida, formerly of the division Equisetophyta (Arthrophyta in older works), though recent molecular analyses place the genus within the ferns (Pteridophyta). Other classes and orders of Equisetopsida are known from the fossil record, where they were important members of the world flora during the Carboniferous period.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word forb
Forbs are herbaceous flowering plants that are not graminoids (grasses, sedges and rushes). The term is frequently used in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands, to refer to broad-leaved (dicot) herbs. Forbs represent a guild of plant species with broadly similar growth form, which in ecology is often more important than taxonomic relationship.
In addition to its use in ecological studies, the term forb may also be used for subdividing popular guides to the wildflowers of a region, together with other categories such as ferns, grasses, shrubs and trees. This approach is not followed in formal regional floras, which are usually organised taxonomically.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word parody
SofG...that was hilarious! Thanks.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word my little pony
My Little Pony is a line of colorful toy ponies marketed primarily to young children and produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. It was introduced in 1981. "My Little Pony" became immensely popular during the 80s, at one point even outselling Mattel's Barbie.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rocking horse
A rocking horse is a child's toy, usually shaped like a horse and mounted on rockers similar to a rocking chair.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word barrel of monkeys
Barrel of Monkeys is a toy game first created by Lakeside Toys in 1965. Today it is produced by the Milton Bradley Company. Milton Bradley's editions consist of a toy barrel in either blue, yellow, red, or green. The barrel contains 12 monkeys, their color usually corresponding to the barrel's color. The instructions on the bottom of the barrel state "Dump monkeys onto table. Pick up one monkey by an arm. Hook other arm through a second monkey's arm. Continue making a chain. Your turn is over when a monkey is dropped." In addition to these basic instructions, the barrel also contains instructions for playing alone or with two or more players.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word raggedy andy
Raggedy Andy is a boy rag doll, the friend of Raggedy Ann. The character was created by Johnny Gruelle in 1920. Raggedy Andy wears blue pants that button to a plaid shirt with a collar and a bow tie. He has the characteristic red and white striped legs and orange yarn hair. He wears a sailor cap. He has the famous "I love you" heart on his chest just as Raggedy Ann does.
Raggedy Ann was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2002. Raggedy Andy joined her in 2007.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word squirt gun
A squirt gun (or water pistol or water gun) is a type of toy designed to shoot water. It works on the same principle as a spray bottle. The body of the toy is essentially a container for water, and the "trigger" is attached to a pump which squirts water out of a tiny hole at the "muzzle."
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word candy land
Candy Land is a simple racing board game. It has become a cultural icon in the U.S., where it is often the first board game played by children because it requires no ability to read and only minimal counting skills.
The game was designed in the 1940s by Eleanor Abbott, while she was recovering from polio in San Diego, California.
The game was bought by Milton Bradley Company (now owned by Hasbro) and first published in 1949.
A December, 2005 article in Forbes magazine analyzed the most popular American toys by decade, with help from the Toy Industry Association. Candy Land led the list for the 1940-1949 decade.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word clue
Clue is a crime fiction board game originally published by Waddingtons in the United Kingdom in 1948. It was devised by Anthony E. Pratt, a solicitor's clerk and part-time clown from Birmingham, England. It is now published by the United States game and toy company Hasbro, which acquired its U.S. publisher Parker Brothers as well as Waddingtons.
The game is set in a mansion, with the board divided into different rooms. The players each represent a character who is a guest staying at this house, whose owner, Dr. Black (Mr. Boddy in the North American version), has been found murdered. Players attempt to solve the murder. The solution to the murder requires the three components of Suspect, Weapon, and Room.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word koosh ball
The Koosh ball is a toy ball, unique in its possession of rubber filaments around a center core as opposed to a smooth, consistent surface. (see photo.)
The Koosh ball was developed in 1986 by Scott Stillinger to be easy for his daughter and son (5 and 8 years old respectively) to hold and throw. It was named after the sound it made when it landed. Stillinger started the OddzOn Products Inc. company with his brother-in-law, Mark Button (who had previously been a marketing manager for Mattel), in 1987 in order to sell it. The Koosh ball was one of 1988's hot Christmas toys, appealing considerably to all ages. The company later expanded their product line to include 50 other Koosh-related products, including keyrings, baseball sets, and yo-yos. The number of Koosh Balls sold is estimated to be in the millions.
The ball consists of approximately 2000 natural rubber filaments, and has been released in a variety of color combinations.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word liddle kiddles
Liddle Kiddles is a range of toy dolls produced by Mattel that was introduced in 1965 and by 1966 they began to hit the store shelves. Until then most of the dolls were 8" to 12" fashion dolls or baby dolls, so these tiny Kiddles with their large heads were quite different. They became so popular that other toy companies tried to produce their own versions of the Liddle Kiddle to cash in on Mattel's success.
The original Kiddle doll was made of a soft vinyl with painted facial features and rooted hair that could be combed. The first, second, and thired series (bigger bodies as collectors call them) range from 2 3/4" to 3 1/2."
The bigger bodies ( first 10 dolls) are designed to resemble typical neighborhood children at play. The name Liddle Kiddles was actually taken from the words little kid. Each of the first 24 dolls had detailed clothing and accessories that perfectly matched their theme and size. Wire skeletons inside the vinyl bodies enable the dolls to be posed and reposed realistically.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pop beads
Pop beads are made of polyethene and other soft plastics. A knob at one end fits into a corresponding hole on a neighboring bead to link together and create necklaces and bracelets. They came in many colors and were a fad during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Vintage sets fetch good prices. Fisher-Price made a large colorful type of pop beads called Snap-Lock beads.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word breyer horse
Breyer Animal Creations (or just Breyer), a division of Reeves International, is one of the oldest model animal companies to date. The company specializes in model horses, although various wildlife and domestic animal models have been made in the past. It's model horses are some of the most renowned model horses in the hobby, being as the models are both inexpensive and realistic. It manufactures well over 5 million models annually.
The company specializes in realistic, scale animal models made from cellulose acetate. Most of the company's products focus on model horses and the tack and accessories (such as stables, barns, grooming implements) that accompany horse care.
Each horse is cast in a mold, then the seams are sanded and polished. Markings and color patterns are usually obtained by using a stencil, although most older models were airbrushed by hand, with markings such as undefined socks or a bald face merely left unpainted. Most detailing, such as eyewhites (common on 1950s and 1960s models and enjoying a resurgence in modern models), brands, or other individual markings are painstakingly handpainted.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word boohbah
Boohbah is a 2004 television show aimed at children between three and six years old. It premiered in 2003 on ITV in the United Kingdom, and on 19 January 2004 in the United States on PBS.
The Boohbahs are five furry, gumdrop-shaped creatures played by actors in full body costumes. Their thick, shimmery fur sparkles with tiny lights; their Kewpie doll style heads are hairless and feature big eyes with rows of lights for eyebrows. They do not speak, but instead make noises like squeaks, squeals, and clicks. The Boohbahs can retract their heads into their furry necks. Each Boohbah is a different color. They are:
Humbah (Yellow)
Zumbah (Purple)
Zing Zing Zingbah (Orange)
Jumbah (Blue)
Jingbah (Pink)
The Boohbahs can fly; part of their routine is to assemble into a circle, holding hands like skydivers. Each then emits a different musical note as a flash of colored light (matching the Boohbah's color) is sent out from their heads to a central point.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word spirograph
Spirograph is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc., for a geometric drawing toy.
The Spirograph produces mathematical curves of the variety technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids.
The Spirograph was invented by British engineer Denys Fisher who exhibited it in 1965 at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair. It was subsequently produced by his company. Distribution rights were acquired by Kenner, Inc., which introduced it to the United States' market in 1966.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word etch a sketch
Etch A Sketch is a registered trademark for a mechanical drawing toy manufactured by the Ohio Art Company.
An Etch A Sketch resembles a thick, flat gray screen in a plastic frame, and is equipped with two knobs on the front of the frame in the lower corners. The knobs move a stylus that displaces gray powder on the back of the screen, leaving a dark line as the stylus is moved. The knobs can thus be used to create lineographic images. One knob moves the stylus horizontally, and the other vertically.
Introduced near the peak of the Baby Boom, the classically simple Etch A Sketch is one of the best-known toys of that generation, and remains popular to this day.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word weebles
Weebles is a trademark for several lines of children's toys originating in Hasbro's Playskool division on July 23, 1971. Shaped like eggs with a weight at the fat, or bottom end, they wobble when pushed, but never fall completely over, hence the name. Some Weebles were designed to look like humans.
The popular catchphrase, "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down", was used in advertising during their rise in popularity in the 1970s and during the relaunch in the 2000s.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word water wiggle
A summertime outdoor water fun toy manufactured by Wham-o.
The toy was a seven-foot plastic hose attached to an aluminum water-jet nozzle. The nozzle was covered with a bellshaped plastic head with a silly expression. The toy was attached to a regular garden hose and when the water was turned on it danced and spun and squirted water over a wide and unpredictable area.
The Water Wiggle was voluntarily recalled by Wham-o and all manufacturing stopped in 1978 because of two separate deaths of children due to drowning.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word super ball
SuperBall (originally "Super Ball") is an example of a bouncy ball invented by Norman Stingley, and manufactured by Wham-O in 1965. It is an extremely elastic ball made of Zectron, which contains the synthetic rubber polymer polybutadiene, vulcanized with sulfur at a temperature of 165 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of 80 atmospheres. The Super Ball has an amazingly high coefficient of restitution. Dropped from shoulder level, Super Ball snapped nearly all the way back; thrown down, it could leap over a three-story building.
After watching his kids play with a Super Ball, Lamar Hunt, founder of the American Football League, coined the term Super Bowl.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ticker-tape parade
A ticker-tape parade is a parade event, held in a downtown urban setting, allowing the jettison of large amounts of shredded paper products from nearby office buildings onto the parade route, creating a triumphal effect by the snowstorm-like flurry.
The term originated in New York City after a spontaneous celebration held on October 29, 1886 during the dedication of the Statue of Liberty and is still most closely associated with New York City. The term ticker-tape referred originally to the use of the paper output of ticker tape machines, which were remotely-driven devices used in brokerages to provide updated stock market quotes. Nowadays, the paper products are largely waste office paper that have been cut using conventional shredders. The city also distributes paper confetti.
In New York City, ticker-tape parades are not annual events but are reserved for special occasions. Soon after the first such parade in 1886, city officials realized the utility of such events and began to hold them on triumphal occasions, for extraordinary events, and to honor heads of state.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word slap bracelet
A slap bracelet (or snap bracelet) is a bracelet consisting of layered, flexible stainless steel bi-stable spring bands sealed within a colorful fabric cover. The bracelet can be straightened out, creating tension within the springy metal bands. The straightened bracelet is then slapped against the wearer's forearm, causing the bands to spring back into a curve which wraps around the wrist, securing the bracelet to the wearer. The slap bracelet was a popular fad among children, pre-teens and teenagers in the early 1990s and was available in a huge number of then-popular patterns and colors.
The original "Slap Wrap" bracelet was invented by Stu Anders & Phil Bart at Main Street Industries, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gee whiz
a minced oath for Jesus
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word punk
I saw the Leaves several times and they RULED!
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word little bluestem
I think this is a beautiful name.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the list public-list-prairie-grasses
I love this list! With your interest in these grasses I assume you have stood upon the tallgrass prairie...it is an unforgettable experience.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word little golden book
Skipvia, I am checking some forums and I will try to locate the title for you.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word prairie
Lots of stotting and pronking going on out on the prairie. Be there or be square. See free-associate.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word baton
Baton twirling was popular among little girls in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Since then classes are available to young kids in much the same way as dance lessons are. A twirling baton was considered a toy even though it was also an instrument used by adults in marching bands.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tricycle
The word tricycle has been in use since the early 19th century and stems from the Greek tri (treia), meaning three, and kyklos, meaning a circle or wheel. The abbreviation trike has been in use since 1883.
The most common type of tricycle today is the child's toy pedal tricycle.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word alphabet blocks
Alphabet Block sets were wooden blocks with primary colored letters, numbers, and pictures. The best were embossed (not just printed) on 1 3/4" basswood blocks. Some sets were sold in wooden wagons pulled by a string.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word slot car
A slot car (sometimes, slotcar) is a powered miniature auto or other vehicle which is guided by a groove or slot in the track on which it runs. A pin or blade extends from the bottom of the car into the slot. Though some slot cars are used to model highway traffic on scenic layouts, the great majority are used in the competitive hobby of slot car racing or slot racing.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hot wheels
Hot Wheels is a brand of die cast toy car, introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel acquired rights to the Matchbox brand from Tyco.
The original, and now famous, Hot Wheels logo was designed by California artist Rick Irons, who at that time worked for Mattel.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word little golden book
Little Golden Books is a popular series of children's books. The first 12 titles were published October 1, 1942.
The Little Golden Books, which initially sold for 25¢, were published by Simon and Schuster in cooperation with the Artist and Writers Guild, Inc.
Western Printing and Lithographing Company in Racine, Wisconsin, was Simon and Schuster's partner in the Little Golden Books venture. Western handled the actual printing. In 1958, Simon and Schuster sold its interest in Little Golden Books to Western.
Ownership and control of the series has changed several times since. In 2001, Random House acquired Golden Books for about 85 million dollars.
_Wikipedia
These are small picture books with cardboard covers and characteristic gold foil spines.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word crayola crayon
Crayola Crayons were invented by cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith. Binney's wife Alice coined the word "Crayola" by combining the French word for chalk (craie) and the "ola" part of "oleaginous" (oily).
The first box of Binney & Smith crayons, produced in 1903, sold for a nickel and contained eight colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and black. While it was widely known that the 8 count box was the box they initially sold their crayons in, they carried a full line of boxes in different sizes and colors for many uses.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word matchbox car
Matchbox is a die cast toy brand currently owned by Mattel, Inc. Matchbox toys were so named because the original models were packed in boxes similar in size and style to boxes of matches. The series became so popular that the Matchbox name was once widely used by the public as a genericized trademark for all die cast toy cars measuring approximately 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) in length, regardless of brand. In the 1970s, Matchbox switched to the more conventional, plastic and cardboard "blister packs" used for other die cast cars such as Hot Wheels, although the box style packaging was re-introduced for the collector market in recent years, particularly successfully with the release of the "35th Anniversary of Superfast" series in 2004.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lionel trains
Lionel Corporation's trains, produced from 1901 to 1969, are the most famous toy trains in the United States and among the most famous in the world. Lionel Trains were inducted in the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2006.
The National Toy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame that recognizes the contributions of toys and games that have sustained their popularity for many years. Established in 1998, the National Toy Hall of Fame is in the Strong Museum (now the Strong - National Museum of Play) in Rochester, New York.
Thirty-nine toys have been enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word corn pone
Corn pone (sometimes referred to as "Indian pone") is a type of cornbread, made of a thick, malleable dough made of cornmeal or hominy grits, shaped by hand and then baked or fried in butter, margarine, lard or bacon grease. Corn pone has been a staple of Southern U.S. cuisine, and has been discussed by many American writers, including Mark Twain. Typically corn pone is formed in two to three inch oval shapes and features a crunchy and/or chewy texture.
The term "corn pone" is sometimes used as a noun to refer to one who possesses certain rural, unsophisticated peculiarities ("he's a corn pone"), or as an adjective to describe particular rural, folksy or "hick" characteristics (e.g., "corn pone" humor). The term is sometimes intended as a pejorative, often directed at persons from rural areas of the southern and midwestern U.S.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word thingmaker
reesetee, I wish we had Picadoos when I was a kid...we just had the boy stuff...to make cars and boats and snakes and bugs. Picadoos sound much cooler.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word prairie skirt
A prairie skirt is an American style of skirt, an article of women's and girls clothing.
Prairie skirts are slightly flared to very full, with one or more flounces (deep ruffles) or tiers, and are often worn over a ruffled eyelet or lace-trimmed petticoat. They were introduced to fashion by Ralph Lauren in his fall 1978 Western-themed collection.
Prairie skirts are so-called after their resemblance to the home-sewn skirts worn by pioneer women in the mid-nineteenth century, which in turn are a simplified version of the flared, ruffled skirts characteristic of high-fashion dresses of the 1820s.
In keeping with their design inspiration, traditional prairie skirts are usually made of "country" fabrics such as denim and flowered calico. Prairie skirts are a staple of women's western wear, and very full prairie skirts are worn for square dancing.
Mid-calf length, button-front denim prairie skirts with a single flounce, worn with a petticoat that was slightly longer than the skirt, became a mainstream fashion in the 1970s and early '80s following Lauren's introduction.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word vac-u-form
See also Thingmaker and Creepy Crawlers
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word thingmaker
Creepy Crawlers is the best-known name associated with an activity toy made by Mattel beginning in 1964. A more generic term for the toy is "Thingmaker".
A Thingmaker toy consists of a series of die-cast metal molds, into which are poured a liquid chemical substance called Plasti-Goop, which came in many colors and varieties. The mold is then heated atop an open-face electric hot plate oven. The Plasti-Goop is cured by the heat, and when cooled, is removed from the mold, forming solid, rubbery replicas.
The concept of the Thingmaker was actually introduced in 1963, as part of Mattel's "Vac-U-Maker" set. This omnibus toy combined the new "molds and Plasti-Goop" technology with the existing "Vac-U-Form" machine, which molded simple sculptures by heating thin sheets of plastic, then using a vacuum pump to form the softened plastic over hard plastic forms. Following this introduction period, the Thingmaker portion was "spun off" as a separate set, and the "Creepy Crawlers" line began in earnest.
Mattel produced many Thingmaker sets as follow-ups to the original "Creepy Crawlers" throughout the 1960s, utilizing a variety of themes, aimed at both boys and girls.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word creepy crawlers
Creepy Crawlers is the best-known name associated with an activity toy made by Mattel beginning in 1964. A more generic term for the toy is "Thingmaker".
A Thingmaker toy consists of a series of die-cast metal molds, into which are poured a liquid chemical substance called Plasti-Goop, which came in many colors and varieties. The mold is then heated atop an open-face electric hot plate oven. The Plasti-Goop is cured by the heat, and when cooled, is removed from the mold, forming solid, rubbery replicas.
The concept of the Thingmaker was actually introduced in 1963, as part of Mattel's "Vac-U-Maker" set. This omnibus toy combined the new "molds and Plasti-Goop" technology with the existing "Vac-U-Form" machine, which molded simple sculptures by heating thin sheets of plastic, then using a vacuum pump to form the softened plastic over hard plastic forms. Following this introduction period, the Thingmaker portion was "spun off" as a separate set, and the "Creepy Crawlers" line began in earnest.
Mattel produced many Thingmaker sets as follow-ups to the original "Creepy Crawlers" throughout the 1960s, utilizing a variety of themes, aimed at both boys and girls.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word vac-u-form
Vac-U-Form was a toy made by Mattel in the 1960s. It enabled you to melt a sheet of styrene plastic and quickly make a mold of a toy car, boat, etc.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word shrinky dinks
Shrinky Dinks were invented in 1973 by Kate Bloomberg and Betty Morris from Wisconsin. The first kits were manufactured by the major toy companies of the time such as Milton Bradley, Colorforms, Western Publishing and Skyline Toys. The shrink plastic is still available from many retailers and can be used for anything from charms to pins.
Prior to heating, the thin, flexible polystyrene plastic sheets can be coloured with felt-tip pens, colored pencils or crayons and cut into shapes. When heated in the oven or with a heat gun, the plastic shrinks by about 5/8ths and becomes thicker and more rigid, while retaining the colored design.
Although Shrinky Dinks is considered to be an arts and crafts product for children, many adult crafters find the product to be suitable for jewelery making and other projects.
_Wikipedia
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word knuckle replacement
Surgical replacement of knuckle joints damaged by rheumatoid arthritis using various types of artificial joints.
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word knuckle buster
When you turn a tight nut too hard with your wrench and it suddenly lets go and your knuckles slam into the machine you are working on and graze the skin. Ow!
February 12, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fetch-light
A single moving light said to appear as a warning of impending death. Also called dead man's candle.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cimaruta
Cimaruta (Chee-Mah-Roo-Tah): Also called Mallocchio, Spring of Rue, Jettatura, Witch’s Charm, and Cima di Ruta. A very ancient protective charm dating back to 4500-3000 B.C.E., depicting a bird, fish, serpent, and spiral.
Steeped in history and witchcraft, a version of the Cimaruta, or Italian Witch Charm, was mostly used in ancient Italy. “Cimaruta,�? means “spring of rue�? and the branches of the charm are the branches of that most sacred plant. From the rue branches at each end is a sprout; out of the sprout comes forth many occult symbols, such as the key, dagger, blossom, and moon. All Cimaruta are different according to region of origin, and the symbols vary. Some of the variations include: a rose, a hand holding a wand or sword, a flaming heart, a crescent moon, a snake, an owl, a plumed Medieval helmet, a Vervain flower blossom, a dolphin, a cock, and a crow.
The Cimaruta was always made of silver, and was traditionally double-sided. The Cimaruta was often placed upon the breasts of infants, as a protection (evoking the goddess Diana whom ancient Roman women gave offeings to for an easier childbirth). Before it became popular among the common people, it was used by witches as a sign of membership in the Witch-cult. The Cimaruta charm was used by the Society of Diana, the Old Religion of the Witches, in the past centuries, and many Italian witches still wear them. Because most Cimaruta charms are fairly large - some almost 4 inches across - not only can it be worn around the neck but it can also be hung above any door, on the wall, and near any sacred altar space. However, Cimaruta are rare and can be very difficult to find. A few can be found on Internet shops and in some physical shops that carry witchcraft supplies.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word astral projection
Astral projection (or astral travel) is a paranormal interpretation of an out-of-body experience achieved either awake or via lucid dreaming or deep meditation. The concept of astral projection assumes the existence of another body, separate from the physical body and capable of traveling to non-physical planes of existence. Commonly such planes are called astral, etheric, or spiritual. Astral projection is often experienced as the spirit or astral body leaving the physical body to travel in the spirit world or astral plane.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word astral plane
The astral plane, also called the astral world or desire world, is a plane of existence according to esoteric philosophies, some religious teachings and New Age thought. Although the word "astral" is often associated with New Age ideas, this term was also used historically by alchemists. In the late 19th and early 20th century the term was popularised by Theosophy, especially as developed by Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater, and later Alice Bailey. In this cosmology, the astral is the first metaphysical plane beyond the physical, but is "denser" than the mental plane. The astral plane is also sometimes termed the world of emotion or world of illusion, and corresponds to Blavatsky's Kamic Plane.
According to Occult, Theosophical, and New Age teachings, the astral plane can be visited consciously with the astral body through means of meditation and mantra, lucid dreaming, or other forms of training and development.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word akashic records
The Akashic records (Akasha is a Sanskrit word meaning "sky", "space" or "aether") is a term from Hinduism that was incorporated into Theosophy denoting a collection of mystical knowledge encoded in a non-physical plane of existence. The records are supposed to contain all knowledge, including all human experience, of the history of the Cosmos. The Akashic records are metaphorically described as a library and are also likened to a universal computer or the 'Mind of God'. The records are supposed to be constantly updated. The concept originated in the theosophical movements of the 19th Century, and remains prevalent in New Age discourse.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rue
folkname herb-of-grace
Among the Strega, Italian witches, a most sacred herb, see cimaruta
"A sprig of rue was used to sprinkle holy water during High Masses during the Medieval period."
_Encyclopedia of Wicca and Witchcraft, Raven Grimassi
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sigil
A sigil (pronounced /'sɪdʒ.ɪl/ or /'sɪg.ɪl/; pl. sigilia or sigils) is a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. A sigil is usually made up of a complex combination of several specific symbols or geometric figures each with a specific meaning or intent.
The term sigil derives from the Latin sigilum meaning "seal," though it may also be related to the Hebrew סגולה (segulah meaning "word, action or item of spiritual effect"). The old Norse binding rune is an example of the idea. A sigil may have an abstract, pictorial or semi-abstract form. It may appear in any medium -- physical, virtual, or mental. Visual symbols are the most popular form, but the use of aural and tactile symbols in magic is not unheard of.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hand of glory
The Hand of Glory is the dried and pickled hand of a man who has been hanged, often specified as being the left (Latin: sinister) hand, or else, if the man were hanged for murder, the hand that "did the deed."
According to old European beliefs, a candle made of the fat from a malefactor who died on the gallows, virgin wax, and Lapland sesame oil (the candle could only be put out with milk), and the hand having come from the said hanged criminal, lighted and placed in the Hand of Glory (as in a candlestick) would have rendered motionless all persons to whom it was presented. (In another versions the hair of the dead man is used as a wick, also the candle is said to give light only to the holder.) The Hand of Glory also purportedly had the power to unlock any door it came across.
The legend is traceable to about 1440, but the name only dates from 1707. It was originally a name for the mandrake root (via French "mandragore" and thus, "maindegloire" - "hand of glory") that became conflated with the earlier legend. The confusion may have occurred because mandrakes are said to grow beneath the bodies of hanged criminals.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word worry doll
Worry dolls, or trouble dolls, are very small dolls originally made in Guatemala. A person who cannot sleep due to worrying can place a worry doll under the pillow; the doll is thought to worry in the person's place, thereby permitting the person to sleep. In the morning the children wake up without their worries, which have been taken away by the dolls during the night. The dolls are about 1/2 inch (13 mm) tall and handmade from cotton, wood and cardboard.
_Wikipedia
I have dozens of these and hence, very few worries. They come in both male and female attire and a wide variety of colored fabrics are used in creating them.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word wild hunt
The Wild Hunt was a folk myth prevalent in former times across Northern, Western and Central Europe. The fundamental premise in all instances is the same: a phantasmal group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground, or just above it. It is often a way to explain thunderstorms.
The hunters may be the dead, or the fairies (often in folklore connected with the dead). The hunter may be an unidentified lost soul, a deity or spirit of either gender, or may be a historical or legendary figure like Dietrich of Berne, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag, Satan, Odin (or other reflexes of the same god, such as Alemannic Wuodan in Wuotis Heer of Central Switzerland, etc.), or Arawn. Women may also be the hunters, as in related cult of Diana or Holda . The hunt is often for a woman, who is captured or killed, or a moss maiden.
It has been variably referred to as the Wild Hunt, Woden's Hunt, the Raging Host (Germany), Herlathing (England), Mesnee d'Hellequin (Northern France), Cŵn Annwn (Wales) Cain's Hunt, Ghost Riders (North America), Herod's Hunt, Gabriel's Hounds, Asgardreia (Asgard ride) and even in Cornwall "the devil's dandy dogs."
_Wikipedia
Jane Yolen wrote a wonderful children's book called The Wild Hunt that does the legend proud and brings it into the modern world with skill and originality.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tuatha dé danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann ("peoples of the goddess Danu", pronounced /tu�?ˈəhə dʲɛ�? danˈən) are a race of people in Irish mythology. In the invasions tradition which begins with the Lebor Gabála Érenn, they are the fifth group to settle Ireland, conquering the island from the Fir Bolg.
They are thought to derive from the pre-Christian gods of Ireland. When the surviving stories were written, Ireland had been Christian for centuries, and the Tuatha Dé were represented as mortal kings and heroes of the distant past, but there are many clues to their former divine status. A poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of the Tuatha Dé, but ends "Although the author enumerates them, he does not worship them." Goibniu, Creidhne and Luchta are referred to as Trí Dé Dána ("three gods of craftsmanship"), and the Dagda's name is interpreted in medieval texts as "the good god." Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lugh, the Morrígan, Aengus and Manannan appear in stories set centuries later, showing all the signs of immortality.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sidhe
In Irish mythology the aos sí (older form, aes sídhe), pronounced "ess shee", are a powerful, supernatural race comparable to the fairies or elves of other traditions. They are variously believed to live underground in the fairy mounds, across the western sea, or in an invisible world that coexists with the world of humans.
In the Gaelic languages, the "people of the mounds" are also referred to in Irish as the daoine sídhe ("deena shee"), and in Scottish Gaelic as the daoine sìth or daoine sìdh. They are variously believed to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or the goddesses and gods themselves.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tylwyth teg
Tylwyth teg is a common Welsh name for fairies, which means "the fair folk." Sometimes called "bendith y mamau" which means "a mother's blessing" and is a euphemism for these fairies in Glamorganshire. Their king is said to be Gwyn ap Nudd. They are associated with the lake, Llyn y Fan Fach in south Wales.
Calling fairies by a favorable name "fair folk" or "mother's blessing" was hoped to avert kidnapping in which the faeries would typically leave a sickly changeling child in the place of the healthy child they had stolen.
These fairies were described as fair-haired and as loving golden hair. They were said to covet mortal children with blond or fair hair. They are usually portrayed as benevolent but capable of mischief. They are neither entirely good or completely evil, unlike the Selee and Unselee (See also seelie and unseelie.) In their benevolent capacity, they might, for example, reward a woman who kept a tidy house with gifts of silver.
The Tylwyth Teg are said to fear iron and unbaptized children could supposedly be protected from them by placing a a poker over their cradle.
Gwlad y Tylwyth Teg is a Welsh name for fairy-land.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word trooping fairies
William Butler Yeats, in Irish Fairy and Folk Tales, divided them into the Trooping Fairies and the Solitary Fairies. Katharine Mary Briggs noted that a third distinction might be needed for "domesticated fairies" who live in human household, but such fairies might join with other fairies for merry-making and fairs.
The trooping fairies contained the aristocracy of the fairy world, including the Irish Daoine Sídhe. They were known as trooping faeries because they traveled in long processions, such as the one from which Tam Lin was rescued. But the trooping fairies also included other fairies of lesser importance; a trooping fairy could be large or small, friendly or sinister.
The Welsh fairies, Tylwyth Teg, and the Irish Sídhe were usually not classified as wholly good or wholly evil.
Unlike the trooping fairies, solitary fairies live alone and are inclined to be wicked and malicious creatures, except for the brownie who is said to help with household chores.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word unseelie
Two of the most prominent categories of fairies, derived from Scottish folklore, are the division into the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court.
The Unseelie (Unholy) Court consisted of the malicious and evilly-inclined fairies. Unlike the Seelie Court, no offense is necessary to bring down their assaults. As a group (or "host"), they would appear at night and assault travelers, often carrying them through the air, beating them, and forcing them to commit such acts as shooting elfshot at cattle.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word seelie
Two of the most prominent categories of fairies, derived from Scottish folklore, are the division into the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court. The Seelie (Blessed or Holy) Court was seen as more beneficent toward humans. They were known to seek help from humans, to warn those who had accidentally offended them, and to return human kindness with favors of their own. Still, a fairy belonging to this court would avenge insults and could be prone to mischief. The most common time of day to see them was twilight.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dullahan
The Irish Dullahan (also Durahan, Gan Ceann) is a type of unseelie faerie. It is headless, usually seen riding a headless black horse and carrying his head under one arm. The head's eyes are massive and constantly dart about like flies, while the mouth is constantly in a hideous grin that touches both sides of the head. The flesh of the head is said to have the color and consistency of moldy cheese. The dullahan's whip is actually a human corpse's spine, and the wagons they sometimes use are made of similarly funereal objects (e.g. candles in skulls to light the way, the spokes of the wheels made from thigh bones, the wagon's covering made from a worm-chewn pall). When the dullahan stops riding, it is at where a person due to die is. The dullahan calls out their name, at which point they immediately perish.
There is no way to bar the road against a dullahan--all locks and gates open on their own when it approaches. Also, they do not appreciate being watched while on their errands, throwing a basin of blood on those who dare to do so (often a mark that they're among the next to die), or even lashing out the watchers' eyes with their whips. Nonetheless, they are frightened of gold, and even a single gold pin can drive a dullahan away. The myth may have inspired the Headless Horseman in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
_Wikipedia
In the Disney film "Darby O'Gill and the Little People", a dullahan makes an appearance as the coachman of the cóiste-bodhar (death coach).
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cóiste-bodhar
The cóiste bodhar is a legendary Death Coach. It is an ancient legend of Ireland. The spectral black coach sometimes driverless and sometimes driven by a dullahan, is pulled by black horses, or headless horses, or skeletal horses and comes to pick up the souls of the newly dead.
This is depicted in a very satisfying way in the 1959 Walt Disney film, "Darby O'Gill and the Little People."
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word woggle
A wonderful picture book by Adrienne Adams called A Woggle of Witches shows a woggle to be a group of witches.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word powder blue
Can you imagine? In 1962 my mother bought me a pair of powder blue patent leather flats to wear for Easter, along with a powder blue dress and a skimmer
with a powder blue ribbon hatband and streamers.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hot pink
A bright neon almost magenta shade of pink, see also shocking pink
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word shocking pink
Shocking Pink, (also called neon pink) is bold and intense. Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli popularized this color in 1936, naming it shocking pink; it was the color of the box her perfume called Shocking Pink came in (the box was shaped like the torso of film star Mae West).
"This intense magenta was called shocking pink in the 1930s, hot pink in the 1950s, and kinky pink in the 1960s.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word baby blue
Baby blue is a lighter shade of cyan and a shade of blue. It is known as a pastel color.
The first recorded use of baby blue as a color name in English was in 1892.
In Western culture, the color baby blue is often associated with baby boys (and pastel pink for baby girls), particularly in clothing and linen and shoes. This is a recent tradition, however, and until the 1940s the convention was exactly the opposite: pink was considered the appropriate for boys as the more masculine and "decided" while blue was the more delicate and dainty color and therefore appropriate for girls.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word powder blue
Powder blue may refer to two different colors. Originally, it referred to a dark blue color, but it has since come to refer to a pale blue color (perhaps resulting from confusion over the word's origin), possibly because the name reminded people of baby powder and so people thought of it as a color similar to baby blue. The original color is now called dark powder blue.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word star anise
Star anise, star aniseed, badiane or Chinese star anise, (Chinese: 八角, pinyin: b�?jiǎo, lit. "eight-horn") is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor, obtained from the star-shaped pericarp of Illicium verum, a small native evergreen tree of southwest China. The star shaped fruits are harvested just before ripening. It is widely used in Chinese cuisine, in Indian cuisine where it is a major component of garam masala, and in Malay/Indonesian cuisine. It is widely grown for commercial use in China, India, and most other countries in Asia. Star anise is an ingredient of the traditional five-spice powder of Chinese cooking.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word waterwings
Water wings, also called floaties, arm bands and swimmies, are a device to help a wearer float in water and learn to swim.
Water wings are typically cylindrical inflatable plastic bands that are inflated and worn on the upper arm. When the wearer is in water, the air inside the water wings provides buoyancy on account of its far lower density than the water. Although often thought of as a child's floatation device, water wings are also available in adult sizes.
Although water wings are popular among small children, swimming experts caution against using them, because although water wings help the child to float, they do not prevent him/her from accidentally going under water and potentially drowning. Waterwings are not a life-saving device. Mistaking them for one can create a potentially fatal false sense of security.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word star fruit
Also seen as starfruit
The carambola is a species of tree native to Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka and is popular throughout Southeast Asia Trinidad Malaysia and parts of East Asia. It is also grown in Dominican Republic, Brazil, Peru, Ghana, Guyana, Samoa, Tonga, Taiwan, French Polynesia, Costa Rica and Australia. Carambola is commercially grown in the United States in south Florida and Hawaii. Its fruit, the carambola, more popularly known as star fruit, but also coromandel gooseberry, kamranga, or five finger, is a golden-yellow to green berry. When cut across it shows a 5-pointed (sometimes 6-pointed or 7-pointed) star shape, hence the name, "star fruit." Star fruits are crunchy, and have a slightly tart, acidic, sweet taste, reminiscent of pineapples, apples, and sometimes kiwi fruit. The fruits are a good source of vitamin C. Its seeds are small and brown. They consist of a tough outer skin and a tangy white inside.
There are two varieties of star fruit - acidulate and sweet. The tart varieties can often be identified by their narrowly spaced ribs. The sweet varieties usually have thick fleshy ribs.
The fruit starts out green, and goes to yellow as it ripens, though it can be eaten in both stages.
Individuals with kidney trouble should avoid consuming the fruit, due to the presence of oxalic acid. Juice made from carambola can be even more dangerous due to its concentration of the acid.Fatal outcomes after ingestion of star fruits have been described in uraemic patients.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chocolate star
A chocolate star is a small milk chocolate candy extruded in the shape of a starburst, manufactured in the United States by Brach Candy Company. Sold in bulk and in family size bags.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word swim cap
Swim caps were made of rubberized fabric during the early 20th century. By the 1920s they were made of latex. The earliest chin strap caps were know as "aviators style" as they resembled the strapped leather helmets of flyers of the day. During the 1940s swim caps became scarce as rubber was needed for war materials. It was a lucky girl who had a swim cap to protect her "wave" ( hair style) during that period. The permanent wave hairstyle took time to obtain and was expensive, so many women wanted to protect their hair while swimming. The 1950s saw decorated caps come into vogue, and during the 1960s colorful flower petal swim caps became popular.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fern frost
Fernlike patterns formed on windows by ice crystals in very cold weather.
See Jack Frost
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word jack frost
In English folklore, Jack Frost appears as an elfish creature who personifies crisp, cold, winter weather; a variant of Father Winter (AKA "Old Man Winter").
Tradition holds Jack Frost responsible for leaving frosty crystal patterns on windows on cold mornings (window frost or fern frost).
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dome home
Residential housing comprised of or based upon the geodesic dome...reportedly much better suited to withstanding high winds such as those found in hurricanes than conventional housing.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is an almost spherical structure based on a network of great circles (geodesics) lying approximately on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and yet also distribute the stress across the entire structure. It is the only man-made structure that becomes proportionally stronger as it increases in size. When completed to form a full sphere, it is known as a geodesic sphere. Of all known structures made from linear elements, a geodesic dome has the highest ratio of enclosed volume to weight.
The first dome that could be called "geodesic" in every respect was designed just after World War I by Walther Bauersfeld, chief engineer of the Carl Zeiss optical company, for a planetarium to house his new planetarium projector. Some thirty years later R. Buckminster Fuller further investigated this concept and named the dome "geodesic" from field experiments with Kenneth Snelson and others at Black Mountain College in the late 1940s. Although Fuller cannot be said to be the first inventor, he exploited and developed the idea, receiving a U.S. patent.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word octagon house
An octagon house is an eight-sided house. A unique fad in residential architecture, they were particularly popular during the mid-19th century in the United States.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cantrip
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Pronunciation: \ˈkan-trəp\
Function: noun
Etymology: probably alteration of caltrop
Date: 1719
1chiefly Scottish : a witch's trick : spell
2chiefly British : hocus-pocus
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sistrum
The sistrum was a sacred instrument in ancient Egypt. Perhaps originating in the worship of Bast, it was used in dances and religious ceremonies, particularly in the worship of the goddess Hathor, with the U-shape of the sistrum's handle and frame seen as resembling the face and horns of the cow goddess. It was also shaken to avert the flooding of the Nile and to frighten away Set. Isis in her role as mother and creator was depicted holding a pail symbolizing the flooding of the Nile, in one hand and a sistrum in the other. The goddess Bast too is often depicted holding a sistrum, symbolizing her role as a goddess of dance, joy, and festivity.
_Wikipedia
The sistrum is also used in rites to propitiate the goddess Sekhmet.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sod house party
"House party? I told you I wasn't going to another house party. I've got one thing to say on the subject!"
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sod house
The sod house or "soddy" was a corollary to the log cabin during frontier settlement of the United States and Canada. The prairie lacked standard building materials such as wood or stone; however, sod from thickly-rooted prairie grass was abundant. Prairie grass had a much thicker, tougher root structure than modern landscaping grass.
Construction of a sod house involved cutting patches of sod in rectangles, often 2'×1'×6" (600×300×150mm) long, and piling them into walls. Builders employed a variety of roofing methods. Sod houses could accommodate normal doors and windows. The resulting structure was a well-insulated but damp dwelling that was very inexpensive. Sod houses required frequent maintenance and were vulnerable to rain damage. Stucco or wood panels often protected the outer walls. Canvas or plaster often lined the interior walls.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies. They flourished in areas with rich loess soils and moderate rainfall of around 30 to 35 inches (760 to 890 mm) per year.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word yule log
A Yule log is a large log which is burned in the hearth as a part of traditional Yule or Christmas celebrations in some cultures. It can be a part of the Winter Solstice festival or the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or Twelfth Night.
The expression "Yule log" has also come to refer to log-shaped Christmas cakes, also known as "chocolate logs" or "Buche de Noel"
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word buche de noel
Yule log cake
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word potato barn
Without realizing it I have just posted a potato word as well...sweet potato...a term of endearment for my grandson...seeing this word it makes me think of him as my potato bairn.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sweet potato
The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), commonly called a yam in parts of the United States (especially in the southern and western portions of the country; this terminology causes some confusion with true yams), is a crop plant whose large, starchy, sweet tasting tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. The sweet potato is only distantly related to the potato (Solanum tuberosum). It is even more distantly related to the true yam (Dioscorea species) which is native to Africa and Asia. Thus, a sweet potato and a yam are in fact different foods.
_Wikipedia
A term of endearment that I call my grandson.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bodhrán
The bodhrán (pronounced /ˈbɔ�?rɑ�?n/ or /ˈbaʊrɑ�?n/; plural bodhráns or bodhráin) is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65cm (10" to 26") in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45cm (14" to 18"). The sides of the drum are 9 to 20cm (3½" to 8") deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (although nowadays, synthetic heads, or new materials like kangaroo skin, are sometimes used). The other side is open ended for one hand to be placed against the inside of the drum head to control the pitch and timbre. One or two crossbars, sometimes removable, may be inside the frame, but this is increasingly rare on professional instruments.
The drum is usually played in a seated position, held vertically on the player's thigh and supported by his or her upper body and arm (usually on the left side, for a right-handed player), with the hand placed on the inside of the skin where it is able to control the tension (and therefore the pitch and timbre) by applying varying amounts of pressure and also the amount of surface area being played, with the back of the hand against the crossbar, if present. The drum is struck with the other arm (usually the right) and is played either with the bare hand or with a lathe-turned piece of wood called a "bone", "tipper", "beater", or "cipín". Tippers were originally fashioned from a double-ended knuckle bone, but are now commonly made from ash, holly or hickory.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word frame drum
A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead diameter greater than its depth. Usually the single drumhead is made of rawhide or man-made materials. Shells are traditionally constructed of bent wood (rosewood, oak, ash etc.) scarf jointed together; plywood and man-made materials are also used. Some frame drums have mechanical tuning and on many the drumhead is stretched and tacked in place. It is the earliest skin drum known to have existed. Examples are found in many places and cultures.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word milky way
Earth is located in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Visible from Earth as a hazy band of white light that is seen in the night sky, arching across the entire celestial sphere, the visual phenomenon of the Milky Way (as seen in the night sky) originates from stars and other material which lies within the galactic plane.
The Milky Way looks brightest in the direction of the constellation of Sagittarius, toward the galactic center. Relative to the celestial equator, it passes as far north as the constellation of Cassiopeia and as far south as the constellation of Crux, indicating the high inclination of Earth's equatorial plane and the plane of the ecliptic relative to the galactic plane. The fact that the Milky Way divides the night sky into two roughly equal hemispheres indicates that our Solar System lies close to the galactic plane. The Milky Way has a relatively low surface brightness, making it difficult to see from any urban or suburban location suffering from light pollution.
Some sources hold that, strictly speaking, the term Milky Way should refer exclusively to the observation of the band of light, while the full name Milky Way Galaxy, or alternatively the Galaxy should be used to describe our galaxy as an astrophysical whole.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word trundle bed
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
Excerpt from Wynken, Blynken and Nod by Eugene Field
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word trundle bed
Trundle beds (or truckle beds) are usually considered a pair of beds, one slightly smaller than a twin bed that is on rollers or casters so that it may be put beneath the upper twin bed for storage. Trundle beds allow for two separate beds to be available when necessary, but do not require the space constantly. It is a space-saving idea. The lower bed on some trundle beds can "pop-up" to be the same height as the bed they are stored beneath, creating a larger bed that may be used for guests.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bunny hop
The Bunny Hop is a novelty dance that was created at Balboa High School of San Francisco in 1952. It is a social dance mixer, sometimes also referred to as a "party" or "dance party" dance.
The dance has been generally done to Ray Anthony's big band recording of the song. Ray Anthony's single release of the "Bunny Hop" featured another novelty dance classic, the "Hokey Pokey" on the B side.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mudpuppy
The Mudpuppies are a family of aquatic salamanders.
The mudpuppy family, Proteidae, is divided into two genera - the mudpuppies proper, Necturus with six North American species, and Proteus with one European species. They represent an ancient group, dating from the time of the dinosaurs.
In contrast to more familiar amphibians such as frogs, mudpuppies never lose their gills during maturation from the tadpole into the adult stage-- beneficial since they will spend their entire lives underwater.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word limnic eruption
A limnic eruption, also referred to as a lake overturn or exploding lake, is a rare type of natural disaster in which CO2 suddenly erupts from deep lake water, posing the threat of suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans.
_Wikipedia
I can't help it...an exploding lake...what a concept.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word meromictic
A meromictic lake has layers of water which do not intermix. In ordinary, "holomictic" lakes, at least once each year there is a physical mixing of the surface and the deep waters. This mixing can be driven by wind, which creates waves and turbulence at the lake's surface, but wind is only effective at times of the year when the lake's deep waters are not much colder than its surface waters. In a "monomictic" lake, this mixing occurs once a year; in "dimictic" lakes, the mixing occurs twice a year (typically Spring and Autumn), and in "polymictic" lakes the mixing occurs several times a year. In meromictic lakes, the layers of the lake water remain unmixed for years, decades, or centuries.
Occasionally carbon dioxide (CO2) or other dissolved gasses can build up relatively undisturbed in the lower layers of a meromictic lake. When the stratification is disturbed, as could happen due to an earthquake, a limnic eruption may result.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word playa
A playa; also known as an alkali flat, sabkha, or salt flat; is a dry lakebed, generally the shore of, or a remnant of, an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Their surface is generally very dry, hard and smooth in the summer months, but wet and very soft in the winter months. Playas are small, round depressions in the surface of the ground. A playa lake is formed when rain fills this hole with water, creating a small lake. Playas can also form when the water table intersects the surface and water seeps into them.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tar pit
A tar pit, or more properly asphalt pit, is a geological occurrence where subterranean bitumen leaks to the surface, creating a large puddle, pit, or lake of asphalt.
_Wikipedia
The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles are so cool.
The La Brea Tar Pits (or Rancho La Brea Tar Pits) are a famous cluster of tar pits located in Hancock Park in the urban heart of Los Angeles, California, United States. Asphalt (colloquially termed tar, which in Spanish is termed brea) has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years, forming hundreds of sticky pools that trapped animals and plants which happened to enter. Over time, the asphalt fossilized the remains. The result is an incredibly rich collection of fossils dating from the last ice age.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word concretion
Lake Superior concretions are really beautiful. Most of them are spheroid or like a grouping of spheres. Most have concentric rings on their surface.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word remote viewing
Remote viewing (RV) is the purported ability for a person to gather information on a remote target that is hidden from the physical perception of the viewer and typically separated from the viewer at some distance, a form of extra-sensory perception.
_Wikipedia
An interesting subject that the CIA has dabbled in.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fetch
The fetch (Anglo-Saxon fæcce; also known as fylgja), is a person's guardian spirit or familiar. The fetch is an attendant spirit that is bound to someone through the process of their naming until their death. The fetch is held "to appear as an animal resembling one's disposition or as a member of the opposite sex". If the fetch is perceived in animal form, it will most often assume this form. Fetches may take the form of: wolves, bears, cats, hawks, eagles, sea faring birds, and livestock. The fetch is hailed to be perceived by those with second sight. The fetch usually controls the allocation of one's mægen (spiritual energy) in accordance with one's wyrd. The fetch also records an individual's actions and intentions within their personal wyrd. Fetchs are recorded as fleeing the wicked in The Eddas.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word wyrd
Wyrd is a concept in Anglo-Saxon and Nordic culture roughly corresponding to Fate. It is ancestral to Modern English weird, which has acquired a very different signification. The cognate term in old Norse is Urðr, with a similar meaning, but also personalized as one of the Norns, Urðr (anglicized Urd). The concept corresponding to "fate" in Old Norse is Ørlǫg.
The Well of Urd is the holy well, the Well Spring, the source of water for the world tree Yggdrasil.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word anodyne
The name of a great album by Uncle Tupelo.
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville Records, before signing with Sire Records and expanding to a five-piece. Shortly after the release of the band's major label debut album Anodyne, Farrar announced his decision to leave the band due to a soured relationship with his co-songwriter Tweedy. Uncle Tupelo split on May 1, 1994, after completing a farewell tour. Following the breakup, Farrar formed Son Volt with Heidorn, while the remaining members continued as Wilco.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word images
This is awesome, John! Thanks.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word synchronicity
I wanted to list gardenia before but I was having an Alzheimer's moment and I couldn't think of the name of the flower that was given to me as a corsage when I was taken to my first formal dance. So I turned on the TV and started watching Turner Classic Movies and The Maltese Falcon was playing. The very first scene that came up features Mary Astor wearing a gardenia.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word birthday cake
The birthday cake is traditionally highly decorated, and typically covered with lit candles when presented, the number of candles signifying the age of the celebrant. The person whose birthday it is makes a silent wish and then blows out the candles. If done in one breath, the wish is supposed to come true (but only if the person keeps the wish to himself or herself). It is also common for the "birthday boy" or "birthday girl" to cut the initial piece of the cake as a newlywed couple might with a wedding cake. If the knife touches the bottom, or when withdrawn from the cake comes out with pieces of cake adhering to it, the birthday boy or girl may have to kiss the nearest person of the opposite sex.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word labradorite
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: Labrador Peninsula, Canada
Date: 1814
: an iridescent feldspar used especially in jewelry
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word birthstone
Merriam-Webster Dictonary:
noun
Date: 1907
: a gemstone associated symbolically with the month of one's birth
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sotto voce
Skipvia...I never heard that song but I do love the Deep Purple cheese of April Stevens and Nino Tempo.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word funny bone
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: from the tingling felt when it is struck
Date: 1840
1 : the place at the back of the elbow where the ulnar nerve rests against a prominence of the humerus
2 : a sense of humor
I just gave my funny bone a whack and there was surprisingly little humor in the humerus.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word golden birthday
One's golden birthday, also called a champagne birthday, is the day when the age someone turns is the same as the day in the month he or she was born. For example, someone born on January 31st would celebrate his or her golden birthday when he or she turns 31. According to the Dictionary of American Regional English, this meaning is most prevalent in Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, although it is used elsewhere.
_Wikipedia
I'm from Wisconsin and today is my nephew Alexander's golden birthday.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word astolat
Astolat is a legendary city of Great Britain named in Arthurian legends. It is the home of Elaine, "the fair maiden of Astolat", and of her father Sir Bernard and her brothers Lavaine and Tirre. The city is called Shallott in many cultural references, derived from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shallott".
Chapter nine of Sir Thomas Malory's book Le Morte d'Arthur identifies Guildford in Surrey with the legendary Astolat:
And so upon the morn early Sir Launcelot heard mass and brake his fast, and so took his leave of the queen and departed. And then he rode so much until he came to Astolat, that is Guildford; and there it happed him in the eventide he came to an old baron’s place.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lady of the lake
The Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play integral parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, taking the dying king to Avalon after the Battle of Camlann, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father. Different writers and copyists give her name variously as Nimue, Viviane, Niniane, Nyneve, and other variations.
_Wikipedia
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word joyous guard
The Tradition: The evil Sir Brian of the Isles lived at Dolorous Guard. It was a dangerous enchanted place where passing knights by would find themselves obliged to fight two sets of ten knights at the two gates. They were never successful and were locked up in the nearby Dolorous Prison, while memorial gravestones marked their demise. Victims included Sirs Yder, Guivret, Yvain of Leonel, Cadoain, Kehedin, Kay Le Strange, Girflet, Dodinel, Taulas, Mador, Galegantin, Gawain and King Arthur's illegitimate son, Sir Loholt. Eventually, with the help of several magical shields, Sir Lancelot defeated the mystical knights and released all the prisoners. Sir Brian fled to Pendragon Castle and Lancelot took on Dolorous Guard as his new home. However, in order to free the castle residents completely from their enchantment, Lancelot had to stay there for forty consecutive nights. His many adventures, of course, kept him away and his new vassals became quite annoyed. So he descended, through the castle chapel, into a cave beneath where he defeated a huge monster and won the keys to unlock the enchantment from a damsel dressed in copper. The menacing gravestones magically disappeared and Lancelot decided to rename the place as Joyous Guard.
February 11, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sotto voce
Sotto voce (literally "under voice"), an Italian expression, means to speak under one's breath or to speak confidentially. In music, a dramatic lowering of the vocal or instrumental tone -- not necessarily pianissimo, but with a hushed quality. May also denote muttering in theatrical or film scripts. Actual translation means "Soft Voice".
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beau brummell
Beau Brummell, né George Bryan Brummell (7 June 1778, London, U.K. – 30 March 1840 (aged 61), Caen, France), was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent. He established the mode of men wearing understated, but fitted, beautifully cut clothes, adorned with an elaborately-knotted cravat.
Beau Brummell is credited with introducing and establishing as fashion the modern man's suit, worn with a tie. He claimed five hours to dress, and recommended that boots be polished with champagne. To wit, his style of dress was known as dandyism.
_Wikipedia
From It's Still Rock 'n Roll to Me by Billy Joel:
How about a pair of pink sidewinders
And a bright orange pair of pants
Well, you could really be a Beau Brummell baby
If you just give it half a chance
Don't waste your money on a new set of speakers
You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers
Next phase, new wave , dance craze, anyways
It's still rock and roll to me.
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word comfort food
Comfort food is typically inexpensive, uncomplicated, and easy to prepare. Many people turn to comfort food for familiarity, emotional security, or special reward.
Comfort foods are typically composed largely of simple or complex carbohydrate, such as sugar, rice, refined wheat, and so on.
The term "comfort food" was added to the Webster's Dictionary in 1972.
_Wikipedia
Usually home-cooked with attendant memories
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word caboose
Pronounced Koodie-moose by my son when he was 2 years old. I am sad to say that now that his son is two years old, the caboose is a thing of the past and even though my grandson LOVES trains...he knows nothing of the wonders of the koodie-moose.
A caboose (North American railway terminology) or brake van or guard's van (British terminology) is a manned rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train in North America, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.
The caboose provided the train crew with a shelter at the rear of the train. From here they could exit the train for switching or to protect the rear of the train when stopped. They also used windows to inspect the train for problems such as shifting loads, broken or dragging equipment, and overheated journals (hotboxes). The conductor kept records and otherwise conducted business from a table or desk in the caboose. For longer trips the caboose provided minimal living quarters.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word velveeta
I admit it! I eat Velveeta on occasion. Are you ready for this? Broiled on hamburger buns! Served with Campbell's tomato soup with a pat of butter floating in the middle...It's a nostalgia thing. My arteries were probably hard by kindergarten thanks to Mom's cuisine.
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word stole
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Pronunciation: \ˈst�?l\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English, from Latin stola, from Greek stolē equipment, robe, from stellein to set up, make ready
Date: before 12th century
1 : a long loose garment : robe
2 : an ecclesiastical vestment consisting of a long usually silk band worn traditionally around the neck by bishops and priests and over the left shoulder by deacons
3 : a long wide scarf or similar covering worn by women usually across the shoulders
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word picture hat
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1887
: a woman's dressy hat with a broad brim
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hue
Interesting notes on the obsolete word "hue"Click HERE
See also hue and cry
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word loving cup
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: from its former use in ceremonial drinking
Date: 1812
1 : a large ornamental drinking vessel with two or more handles
2 : a loving cup given as a token or trophy
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word baby's breath
Gypsophila (Baby's-breath; Gypsophila) is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe, Asia and north Africa. Many species are found on calcium-rich soils, including gypsum, whence the name of the genus. Some species are also sometimes called "baby's breath" or simply, "Gyp", among the floral industry. Its botanical name means "lover of chalk", which is accurate in describing the type of soil in which this plant grows.
They are herbaceous annual and perennial plants growing to 5-120 cm tall. The leaves are opposite, linear to narrow triangular, often falcate (sickle-shaped), 1-7 cm long and 2-8 mm broad. The flowers are produced in large inflorescences, which may be either dense or open and lax; each flower is small, 3-10 mm diameter, with five white or pink petals.
_Wikipedia
I love the trade name of gypsophila paniculata: Bristol Fairy
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word brigadoon
Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.
It tells the story of a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years, though to the villagers, the passing of each century seems no longer than one night. The enchantment is viewed by them as a blessing rather than a curse, for it saved the village from destruction. According to their covenant with God, no one from Brigadoon may ever leave, or the enchantment will be broken and the site and all its inhabitants will disappear into the mist forever. Two American tourists, lost in the Highlands, stumble upon the village just as a wedding is about to be celebrated, and their arrival has serious implications for the village's inhabitants.
Lerner's book was based on a much older German story by Friedrich Gerstäcker about the mythical village of Germelshausen that fell under an evil magic curse.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word neverland
Neverland (also called Never-Never-Land, Never Land and other variations) is the fictional island and dream world featured in the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by Scottish writer J. M. Barrie, his subsequent novel Peter and Wendy, and later works by others. While sojourning in Neverland, people may cease to age; therefore, Neverland is often seen as a metaphor for eternal childhood (and childishness), immortality, and escapism. In the earliest drafts of Barrie's play, the island was called Peter's Never Never Never Land. When the play was first performed in 1904, the island was referred to as the Never Never Land. In the 1923 published version, it was shortened to the Never Land. In the 1911 novel, it was spelled as one word: the Neverland.
Peter led Wendy Darling and her brothers to Neverland by flying "second to the right, and straight on till morning," though it is stated in the novel that Peter made up these directions on the spot to impress Wendy. In the 1953 Disney film, Peter Pan, the word "star" is added to the directions Peter speaks, "second star to the right, and straight on till morning."
The novel explains that Neverlands are found in the minds of children, and although they are "always more or less an island", and they have a family resemblance, they are not the same from one child to the next. For example, John Darling's "had a lagoon with flamingos flying over it" while his little brother Michael's "had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it".
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word reel
The Virginia reel is a folk dance that dates from the 17th century. Though the reel may have its origins in Scottish country dance and the Highland reel, and perhaps have an even earlier influence from an Irish dance called the Rinnce Fada, it is generally considered to be an English country dance. The dance was most popular in America from 1830-1890 and was first published in England (1865).
The Virginia reel was a popular dance, and in each area there would be slight differences. This has given rise to a large number of dances called the Virginia reel. All of the versions have certain similarities, such as the reel figure.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word nursery
In Victorian and Edwardian times, for the wealthy and mid-tier classes, a nursery was a suite of rooms at the top of a house, including the night nursery, where the children slept, and a day nursery, where they ate and played. The nursery suite would include some bathroom facilities and possibly a small kitchen. The nurse (nanny) and nursemaid (assistant) slept in the suite too, to be within earshot of the sleeping children. The schoolroom might also be adjacent, but the governess, whose job it was to teach the children, would not be part of the nursery; she would have her own bedroom, possibly in another wing. Fictional portrayals of nurseries abound, for example in the writings of Kipling and E. Nesbit; perhaps the most famous nursery is that in Mary Poppins, or the nursery in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word electric eel
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1794
: a large eel-shaped fish (Electrophorus electricus) of the Orinoco and Amazon basins that is capable of giving a severe shock with its electric organs
Despite its name it is not an eel at all but rather a knifefish.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word brass bed
Brass beds are beds in which the headboard and footboard are made of brass; the frame rails are usually made of steel. Brass beds can be made of 100 per cent brass or of metals that have been brass plated. The brass used in making brass beds is usually 70 per cent copper and 30 per cent zinc; however, the ratio of metals varies between manufacturers.
In the 1800s, having a brass bed was a status symbol and sign of wealth. When America's oldest maker of brass beds made his first in 1855, Charles P. Rogers built a workshop in New York City using early mass production techniques, bringing very high quality to an affordable price levels. His firm Charles P. Rogers, Inc. is still in New York making beds over 150 years later. It is estimated that more than half the beds he ever made are still in use or museums. The prestige and popularity of brass beds grew during the 19th and 20th centuries to the point where sales surpassed those of wooden beds. Because of their timeliness and range of styles, brass beds are the beds of choice for people renovating historic homes.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word perpendicular
This is the 1st "big" word my dad taught me.
I would sit up on his work bench and watch him making jigs and tying flies for his fishing hobby. Instead of attempting conversation with a child he would grill me on words and I would have to parrot them back with their meanings for later exhibition in front of "company." Upon reflection, kind of odd but I loved it and I still love words. So, thanks, Dad.
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word antidisestablishmentarianism
bluebirdcry,
my father taught it to me when I was five...he got a kick out of me saying it...he taught me the word perpendicular the same day and I had to recite the meaning of that word...he didn't hold me to the meaning of the "longest" word.
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gila monster
Gila monsters rule!
The Gila Monster (pronounced /ˈhi�?lə/, HEE-la), Heloderma suspectum, is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is a heavy, slow moving lizard, up to 60 cm (2 feet) long, and is the only venomous lizard native to the United States. Its skin has the appearance of black, pink, orange, and yellow beads, laid down in intricate patterns. These beads are small bony plates that form scales, and are known as osteoderms.
In 2005 the US Food and Drug Administration approved a drug for the management of type 2 diabetes, Byetta (exenatide), a synthetic version of a protein derived from the Gila monster's saliva. The effectiveness is due to the fact that "The lizard hormone is about 50 percent identical to a similar hormone in the human digestive tract, called glucagon-like peptide-1 analog, or GLP-1, that increases the production of insulin when blood sugar levels are high. Insulin helps move sugar from the blood into other body tissues where it is used for energy. The lizard hormone remains effective much longer than the human hormone, and thus its synthetic form helps diabetics keep their blood sugar levels from getting too high.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ghost in the machine
The ghost in the machine is British philosopher Gilbert Ryle's derogatory description for René Descartes' mind-body dualism. The phrase was introduced in Ryle's book The Concept of Mind, written in 1949, to highlight the perceived absurdity of dualist systems like Descartes' where mental activity carries on in parallel to physical action, but where their means of interaction are unknown or, at best, speculative.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word afrit
See also afreet
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word afreet
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: Arabic ʽifrīt
Date: 1786
: a powerful evil jinni, demon, or monstrous giant in Arabic mythology
Also seen as afrit
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word wicker man
The Wicker Man was a large wicker statue of a human allegedly used by the ancient Druids for human sacrifice by burning it in effigy, according to Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentary on the Gallic Wars). In modern times the figure has been adopted for festivals as part of neopagan-themed ceremonies, notably without the human sacrifice element.
Caesar's words are looked on with skepticism by some scholars, who claim a lack of corroborating evidence and point out that the general, as the leader of the Gauls' enemies, may have just been repeating a sensationalistic rumor as propaganda to encourage his supporters back home.
Today, a wicker man is burned as part of neopagan festivities, especially Beltane, a rite of spring. Wicker men are tall, humanoid wooden structures, woven from flexible sticks such as those of willow as used in wicker furniture and fencing.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word joe hill
I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night
This song is still a popular Organized Labor song in the United States and is sung on picket lines and at rallies and other group endeavors.
Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund, and also known as Joseph Hillström (October 7, 1879 – November 19, 1915) was an American radical songwriter, labor activist and member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), also known as the Wobblies. He was executed for murder after a controversial trial. After his death, he became the subject of several folk songs. Joe Hill was memorialized in a tribute poem written about him c. 1930 by Alfred Hayes titled "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night", sometimes referred to simply as "Joe Hill". Hayes's lyrics were turned into a song in 1936 by Earl Robinson.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word stork
In Western culture the White Stork is a symbol of childbirth. In Victorian times the details of human reproduction were difficult to approach, especially in reply to a younger child's query of "Where did I come from?"; "The stork brought you to us" was the tactic used to avoid discussion of sex. This habit was derived from the once popular superstition that storks were the harbingers of happiness and prosperity, and possibly from the habit of some storks of nesting atop chimneys, down which the new baby could be imagined as entering the house.
The image of a stork bearing an infant wrapped in a sling held in its beak is common in popular culture. The small pink or reddish patches often found on a newborn child's eyelids, between the eyes, on the upper lip, and on the nape of the neck are sometimes still called "stork bites". In reality they are clusters of developing veins that soon fade.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word earl
Goodbye Earl, Dixie Chicks, 1999
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word alison
Alison, Elvis Costello, 1977
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mukluks
Mukluks are a soft boot traditionally made of reindeer skin or sealskin and were originally worn by Arctic natives, including the Inuit and Yupik.
The word "mukluk" is of Yupik origin, from maklak, the Bearded Seal.
Mukluks weigh little and allow hunters to move very quietly. They may be adorned with pompons and beads and may be lined with furs such as rabbit, fox and raccoon.
_Wikipedia
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word valerie
Valerie, Steve Winwood, 1987
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sheila
Oh Sheila by Ready for the World went to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985.
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tracy
The song Tracy, recorded by The Cuff Links, went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rhiannon
Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win), Fleetwood Mac, 1976
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word davy crockett
The Ballad of Davy Crockett went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1955 for Bill Hayes.
It also charted well that same year for Fess Parker and for Tennessee Ernie Ford, topping out at #5.
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word louie
Brother Louie, The Stories, #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1973
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word clyde
The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde by Georgie Fame went to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. It is from the film Bonnie and Clyde
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word eddie
Eddie My Love was recorded by both the Fontane sisters and the Chordettes in 1956
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chloe
Chloe, Elton John, 1981
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sloopy
Hang On Sloopy, The McCoys, 1965
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word angelia
Angelia, Richard Marx, 1989
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word amanda
Amanda, Boston, 1986
Amanda, Waylon Jennings, 1980
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word amie
Amie, Pure Prairie League, 1975
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word alfie
Alfie recorded by Cher in 1966 and Dionne Warwick in 1967 is from Alfie, a 1966 British film starring Michael Caine.
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word amos moses
Amos Moses, Jerry Reed, 1971
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word axel
Axel F, Harold Faltermeyer, 1985, from the film Beverly Hills Cop, named for Eddie Murphy's character in the film, Axel Foley
February 10, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bruce
Bruce is a song that went to #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985 and was recorded by Rick Springfield. The song is about Rick Springfield bumming out that people confuse him with Bruce Springsteen. Ha! As if!
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kookie
The song Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb) by Edward Byrnes and Connie Stevens went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. It was a song about a character (played by Byrnes) on the TV show 77 Sunset Strip that ran from 1958 to 1964.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word larry
Hats Off to Larry, Del Shannon, 1961
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word geronimo
Geronimo's Cadillac, Michael Murphy, 1972
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word george
George Jackson, Bob Dylan, 1972
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fernando
Fernando, Abba, 1976
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lollipop
My Boy Lollipop, Millie Small, 1964
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mickey
Mickey, Toni Basil, 1982
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word liberty valance
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Gene Pitney, 1962. From the 1962 film of the same name.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word stagger lee
Stagger Lee, Lloyd Price, 1959
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tom
Tom Dooley, Kingston Trio, #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ringo
The spoken word song Ringo recorded by Lorne Greene, went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964 and was about the real life gunslinger Johnny Ringo.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word teddy
The song Teddy by Connie Francis went to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word billie joe
Ode to Billie Joe, 1967, Bobbie Gentry
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word albert
The song Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, performed by Paul and Linda McCartney, went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 11 in 1971.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word scotty
The cringe-worthy Watching Scotty Grow, 1971, Bobby Goldsboro
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word civet cat
Civet cats are perhaps best known for the scrapings of their perineal glands, which produce a musky substance used in high-end fragrances.
The substance has also traditionally been used in "Civet absolute," an ingredient in the food additives used to add butter, caramel, and rum flavorings to sweets.
from http://www.slate.com/id/2093538/
I have read elsewhere that civet cat perineal glands are also used in creating some artificial grape flavoring for sweets and soft drinks.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word arizona
Arizona is a song that went to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, recorded by Mark Lindsay, formerly of Paul Revere and the Raiders
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word aubrey
Aubrey, 1973, Bread
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word jude
I read somewhere, donkey's years ago, that "Jude" is actually Julian Lennon. I wonder if there is any truth to that.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word merseybeat
(archaic) A name for the characteristic style of music produced by pop groups from Merseyside between 1958 and 1964, typified by the Beatles.
_Wiktionary
See More on Merseybeat
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word aunt rhoda
I love Lonnie Donegan but I've never heard his Aunt Rody. I'd like to do so.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word niki hoeky
Niki Hoeky, 1967, P.J. Proby
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word nadia
Nadia's Theme (The Young and the Restless), 1976, Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word maria
Take a Letter, Maria by R. B. Greaves went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word patches
Patches, 1962, Dickey Lee (about a girl)
Patches, 1971, Clarence Carter (about a boy)
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word judy
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby, Stills and Nash, 1969
Judy in Disguise (with Glasses) - John Fred and His Playboys, #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1968
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word josie
Josie by Donovan, 1966
Josie by Steely Dan, 1978
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word joanna
Joanna, 1984, Kool and the Gang
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word jean
Jean by Oliver went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. This is a song from the soundtrack of the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and was written by Rod McKuen who also recorded it.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word iesha
Iesha by Another Bad Creation made it to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word aunt rhoda
I have a little school singing book from the early 1950s and it has this same song in it but they use the name of Aunt Nancy. I think Rhoda and Rhodie sound better.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word aunt rhoda
My kids were brought up with a folk song called Go Tell Aunt Rhodie, about a grey goose who died in the mill pond a 'standing on her head. Is this the same song?
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the list songbirds
Oh, gangerh, I know what you mean about earworm! I am a pop music victim of serious earworm from waaaaay back!
This is a fun list.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word charlotte
Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte is the title song of the soundtrack for the film of the same name. It was recorded by Patti Page in 1965 and went to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hazel
Hooray for Hazel is a song by Tommy Roe that went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word holly
Holly Holy is a song by Neil Diamond that went to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word helen
Helen Wheels, 1974, Paul McCartney
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gina
Gina, 1962, Johnny Mathis
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word frankie
Frankie and Johnny, 1961, Brook Benton
also 1963, Sam Cooke and 1966, Elvis Presley
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fanny
Fanny (Be Tender with My Love), 1976, Bee Gees
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word emma
Emma, 1975, Hot Chocolate
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word elenore
Elenore, 1968, The Turtles
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word diana
A song called Diana by Paul Anka went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1957
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lisa
I'm Not Lisa, 1975, Jessi Colter
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word jenny
The name Jenny figures in these two songs:
Jenny, Jenny, 1957, Little Richard
Jenny, Take a Ride!, 1966, Mitch Ryder
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word desiree
Desiree, 1978, Neil Diamond
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dede dinah
DeDe Dinah, 1958, Frankie Avalon
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word daisy jane
Daisy Jane, 1975, America
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word clair
Clair, 1972, Gilbert O'Sullivan
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cindy
Cindy's Birthday, 1962, Johnny Crawford
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word clementine
Clementine by Bobby Darin is a song that went to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word carrie-ann
Carrie-Ann, 1967, The Hollies
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word candida
Candida is the name of a song that went to # 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973, by Dawn (before they became Tony Orlando and Dawn)
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word elvira
Elvira, Oak Ridge Boys, 1981
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word betty
Black Betty, 1977, Ram Jam (also covered by Tom Jones)
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beth
Beth, 1976, Kiss
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word linda
Linda, 1963, Jan and Dean
Bella Linda, 1969, Grassroots
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word yoko
Ballad of John and Yoko, 1969, The Beatles
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word athena
Athena, 1982, The Who
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ariel
Ariel, 1977, Dean Friedman
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mary lou
Hello Mary Lou, 1961, Ricky Nelson (Written by Gene Pitney)
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word allison
Allison Road, 1994, Gin Blossoms
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word leah
Ah! Leah!, 1981, Donnie Iris
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word abigail
Abigail Beecher, 1964, Freddie Cannon
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word silver bullet
The metaphor of the silver bullet applies to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technology or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem.
The term originates from folklore. Traditionally, the silver bullet is the only kind of bullet for firearms that is effective against a witch, vampire, monster, or a person living a charmed life.
The best known magical creature which is vulnerable to a silver bullet is a werewolf. The werewolf's vulnerability to silver actually dates back to the legend of The Beast of Gévaudan in which a gigantic Wolf is killed by a person wielding a gun loaded with silver bullets.
In different traditions, silver is thought to be the metal associated with the moon and with the human soul. It is likely that these associations have contributed to the legend of the silver bullet.
_Wikipedia
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cabin fever
Cabin fever is a condition that produces restlessness and irritability caused from being in a confined space. The actual term is slang for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a party is isolated and/or shut in, alone or together, for an extended period.
The term possibly originated in the United States at the time when settlers would be snowed into their log cabins and had to wait for the spring thaw in order to travel to town. Another possible source for this phrase could be that during an outbreak of some disease, people who had a fever were confined to a cabin as a quarantine. Most likely, the phrase may be associated with ocean-crossing sailing ships in which passengers had to endure weeks and months of slow travel while living in cramped cabins below deck.
_Wikipedia
February 9, 2008
treeseed commented on the word maple sugar candy
Maple syrup can also be processed into a wide variety of candy or confections including granulated or molded maple sugar, molded soft-sugar candy, maple cream, maple fondant, and "Jack Wax" or "Maple on Snow."
_http://www.baking911.com/candy/maple.htm
My favorite is molded maple sugar...semi-hardened maple sugar cooked down from maple syrup, molded into (usually) maple leaf shapes. Melts quickly in the mouth and has an surprisingly creamy consistency.
February 8, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rock candy
Rock candy (also called rock sugar) is a type of confectionery composed of relatively large sugar crystals. Homemade rock candy is commonly formed by allowing a supersaturated solution of sugar and water to crystallize onto a string or some other surface suitable for crystal nucleation. Heating the water before adding the sugar allows more sugar to dissolve and thus produces larger crystals. Crystals form after several days. Food coloring is often added to the mixture to produce colored candy.
_Wikipedia
Excerpt from Big Rock Candy Mountain by Harry McClintock
On a summer day in the month of May a burly bum came hiking
Down a shady lane through the sugar cane, he was looking for his liking.
As he roamed along he sang a song of the land of milk and honey
Where a bum can stay for many a day, and he won't need any money
Oh the buzzin' of the bees in the cigarette trees near the soda water fountain,
At the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings on the Big Rock Candy Mountains
February 8, 2008
treeseed commented on the word turbinado sugar
Turbinado sugar, also known as turbinated sugar, is a type of sugar cane extract. It is made by steaming unrefined raw sugar. Turbinado sugar is similar in appearance to brown sugar but paler, and in general the two can be exchanged freely in recipes. A popular brand name is Sugar in the Raw.
_Wikipedia
February 8, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sugar beet
Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), a member of the Chenopodiaceae family, is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar.
The sugar beet is directly related to the beetroot, chard and fodder beet, all descended by cultivation from the sea beet.
Beet sugar accounts for 30% of the world's sugar production.
_Wikipedia
February 8, 2008
treeseed commented on the word phosphoron
I'm glad to hear that...such a nice word.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word phosphoron
Well, I made a corrected entry...but this word has a nice ring to it. What is it called when Treeseed not only can't spell but can't see the light of day? A Phosmoron.
Thanks, Mollusque.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word prosphoron
A prosphoron (Greek: Π�?όσφο�?ον, Offering) is a small loaf of bread used in Orthodox Christian ritual The plural form is prosphora(Π�?όσφο�?α).
A prosphoron is made up of two separate round pieces of dough which are placed one on top of another and baked together to form a single loaf. This double-loaf represents the two natures of Christ: human and divine. Before baking, each prosphoron is stamped with a seal usually bearing the image of a cross with the Greek letters IC XC NIKA ("Jesus Christ conquers") around the arms of the cross. This impression is baked into the bread and serves as a guide for the priest who will be cutting it.
_Wikipedia
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word flutterby
To me it brings up the image of a butterfly and seems like a nick name that someone innocent and childlike would use for a butterfly.
Also it seems like it could mean someone "mingling" at a party, in a sincere way, only hurried by circumstance. Like a hostess who wants to be able to spend at least a few minutes with everyone at her party.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pork barrel
A pork barrel, literally, is a barrel in which pork is kept. The term is more commonly used as a political metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for projects that are intended primarily to benefit particular constituents or campaign contributors. This usage originated in American English.
_Wikipedia
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word eureka
Eureka (Greek "I have found it") is an exclamation used as an interjection to celebrate a discovery.
It is most famously attributed to the ancient Greek scholar Archimedes; he reportedly said "eureka!" when he stepped into a bath and noticed the water level rise -- he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. This meant that the volume of irregular objects could be calculated with precision, a previously intractable problem. He is said to have been so eager to share it that he leapt out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked.
_Wikipedia
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word epicanthal fold
Please excuse me for putting all this technical jargon in here but I am saving this to share with my son later. My grandson has issues with this.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word epicanthal fold
An epicanthal fold, epicanthic fold, or epicanthus is a skin fold of the upper eyelid (from the nose to the inner side of the eyebrow) covering the inner corner (medial canthus) of the human eye. The epicanthal fold is present in people of East Asian and Southeast Asian descent, as well as other ethnic groups including some Native Americans and Africans. Epicanthal folds may also be seen in young children of any race before the bridge of the nose begins to elevate.
The term "epicanthal fold" refers to a visually categorized feature; however the underlying physiological reason and purpose for its presence in any given individual may be entirely different.
All humans initially develop epicanthal folds in the womb. Some children lose them by birth, but epicanthal folds may also be seen in young children of any ethnicity before the bridge of the nose begins to elevate. They may persist where birth is pre-term, and sometimes also where the mother is alcoholic.
Epicanthal folds can cause a child's eyes to appear crossed, a scenario known as pseudostrabismus.
In many caucasian backgrounds and other groups who don't commonly possess the trait, the presence of the epicanthal fold can be a symptom of fetal alcohol syndrome, chromosomal disorders such as Down syndrome, Cri du Chat syndrome, or pre-term birth.
_Wikipedia
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pseudostrabismus
Pseudostrabismus is the false appearance of crossed eyes. When the eyes are actually crossed or not completely aligned with one another it is called strabismus. Pseudostrabimus generally occurs in infants and toddlers whose facial features are not fully developed. The bridge of their nose is wide and flat. With age, the bridge will narrow and the folds in the corner of the eyes will go away. This will cause the eyes to appear wider, and thus not have the appearance of strabismus. To detect the difference between strabismus and pseudostrabismus use a flashlight to shine into the child's eyes. When the child is looking at the light a reflection can be seen on the front surface of the pupil. If the eyes are aligned with one another then the reflection from the light will be in the same spot of each eye. If strabismus is present then the reflection from the light will not be in the same spot of each eye.
_Wikipedia
See also epicanthal fold
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ploidy
Ploidy is the number of homologous sets of chromosomes in a biological cell. The ploidy of cells can vary within an organism. In humans, most cells are diploid (containing one set of chromosomes from each parent), but sex cells (sperm and egg) are haploid. In contrast, tetraploidy (four sets of chromosomes) is a type of polyploidy and is common in plants, and not uncommon in amphibians, reptiles, and various species of insects.
_Wikipedia
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the list •-de-rerum-natura
I'm not sure I understand what kind of words you are looking for, kewpid. I love diatoms. Would that be a word that would fit on your list?
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the user skipvia
Thanks so much for that classic toy article. Loved it!
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word coconut mushroom cloud
Wow...I never heard of a coconut mushroom until I googled these...they look cute.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word strange
one of six flavors of quarks
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word flavor
There are six different types of quark, usually known as flavors: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word interference
Interference is the addition (superposition) of two or more waves that results in a new wave pattern.
_Wikipedia
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bruja
Female witch (Spanish)
Both men and women can be witches, brujos and brujas respectively. Brujos is the plural term that can mean either a group of male witches or both male and female witches. The female witch is considered the most powerful, and traditional brujos believe that the female passes down the sacred bloodline or spiritual bloodline (matriarchal lineage). This means that the line is inherited from a female but ends with a male.
The word bruja is believed to derive from bruxa, which is from the Celto-Iberian dialect in Spain evolving to what is known today as Gallego. It shares its roots with Portuguese. The present day Portuguese use the term bruxa. The original meaning is roughly, evil or unwholesome night-bird, but has evolved both in Portuguese and in Spanish to mean simply 'witch'.
_Wikipedia
.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word glamour
(n.)a physical illusion created by magic
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dweller on the threshold
The Dweller on the Threshold refers to an invisible malevolent entity that attaches to a human being. The term was first used by Bulwer-Lytton in his novel Zanoni.
_Wikipedia
One explanation is that provided by Alice Bailey on Esoteric astrology, "From ancient recesses of the memory, from a deeply rooted past, which is definitely recalled, and from the racial and the individual subconscious (or founded and established thought reservoirs and desires, inherited and inherent) there emerges from individual past lives and experience, that which is the sumtotal of all instinctual tendencies, of all inherited glamours, and of all phases of wrong mental attitudes; to these, (as they constitute a blended whole) we give the name of the Dweller on the Threshold. This Dweller is the sumtotal of all the personality characteristics which have remained unconquered and unsubtle, and which must be finally overcome before initiation can be taken. Each life sees some progress made; some personality defects straightened out, and some real advance effected. But the unconquered residue, and the ancient liabilities are numerous, and excessively potent, and - when the soul contact's adequately established - there eventuates a life wherein the highly developed and powerful personality becomes, in itself, the Dweller on the Threshold.
_Wikipedia
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word noodle
See also pool noodle
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word metropolis
In DC Comics, the Earth home of Superman
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gotham
Interesting, kewpid. Brings to mind Batman's Gotham City.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mushroom cloud
That makes me think of psilocybin when you talk about mushrooms in lieu of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cauliflower ear
Cauliflower ear (also hematoma auris or perichondrial hematoma) is a condition most common among wrestlers, rugby players, mixed martial artists, and boxers. If the external portion of the ear suffers a blow, a blood clot or other fluid may collect under the perichondrium. This separates the cartilage from the overlying perichondrium that is its source of nutrients, causing the cartilage to die. This leads to a formation of fibrous tissue in the overlying skin. When this happens, the outer ear becomes permanently swollen and deformed, thus resembling a cauliflower.
_Wikipedia
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mushroom cloud
Kewpid agrees with Weart, quoted in Wikipedia article:
Later in 1946, the Operation Crossroads nuclear bomb tests were described as having a "cauliflower" cloud, but a reporter present also spoke of "the mushroom, now the common symbol of the atomic age." Mushrooms have traditionally been associated both with life and death, food and poison, making them a more powerful symbolic connection than, say, the "cauliflower" cloud.
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bible code
Bible codes, originally known as Torah codes, are information patterns said to exist in encrypted or coded form in the text of the Bible, or, more specifically, in the Hebrew Torah, the first five books of Old Testament. The existence of these codes has been a topic of research by Old Testament scholars and students of Kabbalah for over a thousand years, and in more recent times have been a topic of study by modern mathematicians. In the mid-17th century influential mathematician Blaise Pascal, widely regarded as the "father of probability science" and "father of the modern computer" summarized his view in a one sentence assertion in his philosophical Pensées, concluding that "The Old Testament is a cipher."
_Wikipedia
February 7, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gematria
Gematria (Rabbinic Hebrew גימטריה gēmaṭriy�?, from the Greek γεωμετ�?ία; English since the 17th century) is the numerology of the Hebrew language and Hebrew alphabet, and is used by its proponents to derive meaning or relative relationship. Several forms can be identified: the "revealed" form, which is prevalent in many forms of Rabbinic Judaism, and the "mystical form," a largely Cabbalistic practice. The word itself comes from the Greek word 'geometry' and the concept or system is the same as the Greek isopsephy and the Arabic Ḥis�?b al-Jummal. There is also a gematria of Latin-script languages, dating from the early Middle Ages, and very possibly back into Roman times, too. Recent times have also seen an emergence of new gematrias, though these lack a length of exploration that more ancient versions have seen.
The most common form of gematria is used occasionally in the Talmud and Midrash and elaborately by many post-Talmudic commentators. It involves reading words and sentences as numbers, assigning numerical instead of phonetic value to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. When read as numbers, they can be compared and contrasted with other words.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word augur
The Augur (pl: augurs) was a priest and official in the classical world, especially ancient Rome. His main role was to interpret the will of the gods by studying the flight of the birds (flying in groups/alone, what noises they make as they fly, direction of flight and what kind of birds they are), known as "taking the auspices." The ceremony and function of the augur was central to any major undertaking in Roman society--public or private--including matters of war, commerce, and religion.
The derivation of the word augur is uncertain; ancient authors believed that it contained the words avi and gero --Latin for "directing the birds"--but historical-linguistic evidence points instead to the root aug-, "to increase, to prosper."
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word daemon
The words daemon, dæmon, are Latinized spellings of the Greek δαίμων (daimon), used purposely today to distinguish the daemons of Ancient Greek religion, good or malevolent "supernatural beings between mortals and gods, such as inferior divinities and ghosts of dead heroes" (see Plato's Symposium), from the Judeo-Christian usage demon, a malignant spirit that can seduce, afflict, or possess humans.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word boom and bust
In economics, the term boom and bust refers to the movement of an economy through economic cycles.
The boom and bust cycle describes the cycle of economic upswings and downswings in the business economy and is considered inseparable from capitalism.
According to most economists, an economic boom is typically characterized by an increased level of economic output, a corresponding increase in aggregate demand, falling unemployment, and often, a rise in the inflation rate. During busts, or recessions, aggregate demand is low, inflation decreases, unemployment rises and national income falls. In extreme recessions deflation (a sustained fall in the general price level) may occur.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mushroom cloud
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: circa 1909
: a mushroom-shaped cloud; specifically : one caused by the explosion of a nuclear weapon
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word easter grass
Shredded colored cellophane simulating grass that is used as a bed for candies in Easter baskets
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chernobyl
See ghost town
I have seen this word used as a generic term for a manmade ecological catastrophe, as in "We've got to clean up the river and stop the mill from dumping here. This thing is turning into a Chernobyl."
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ghost town
noun
Date: 1931
: a once-flourishing town wholly or nearly deserted usually as a result of the exhaustion of some natural resource
_Wikipedia
Also as the result of an ecological disaster as in the Love Canal neighborhood of Niagara Falls, New York or Chernobyl
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gore with the wind
Great minds think alike, as the saying goes, reesetee.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word demiurge
This sounds like it should mean "an accidental erection occurring during a massage or an examination by a female doctor"
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word horah
See also Hava Nagila
The most popular of Jewish folk dances/Israeli folk dances. It is usually performed to Jewish folk songs/Israeli folk songs, typically to the music of Hava Nagila.
To start the dance, everybody forms a circle, holding hands, and steps forward toward the right with the left foot, then follows with the right foot. The left foot is then brought back, followed by the right foot. This is done while holding hands and circling together in a fast and cheerful motion to the right. Large groups allow for the creation of several concentric circles.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hava nagila
"Hava Nagila" (הבה נגילה in Hebrew) is a Hebrew folk song, the title meaning "Let us rejoice". It is a song of celebration, especially popular amongst irreligious Jewish and Roma communities. In popular culture, it is used as a metonym for Judaism, and is a staple of band performers at Jewish festivals.
_Wikipedia
When I was growing up in southern California in the early 1960s we were taught this song in public school physical education class along with a dance. The dance and the song together were called "The Hava Nagila" but the dance was actually the Horah.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word baggywrinkle
reesetee, I love this word and the name of your list on which it is found.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bathing machine
The bathing machine was a device, popular in the 19th century, which was intended to allow people to wade in the ocean at beaches without violating Victorian notions of modesty. Bathing machines were in the form of roofed and walled wooden carts which would be rolled into the sea. Some had solid wooden walls; others had canvas walls over a wooden frame.
The bathing machine was part of sea-bathing etiquette which was more rigorously enforced upon women than men, but was expected to be observed by people of both sexes among those who wished to be considered "proper".
_Wikipedia
I really urge you to read the rest of the Wikipedia entry for this contraption and see the pictures. Who knew?
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word muskellunge
Nickname: Muskie
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sheepshead
Sheepshead is a card game related to the Skat family of games, originating in Central Europe in the late 1700s under the German name Schafkopf. Although Schafkopf literally means "sheepshead", the term is actually derived from Middle High German and referred to playing cards on an overturned barrel (from kopfen, meaning playing cards, and Schaff, meaning a barrel).
Sheepshead is played by two to eight players, where the variant with five players is the most common, by far. In the United States, Sheepshead is most commonly played in Wisconsin, which has a strong Germanic population.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lucifer's hamper
Before now I've never known anyone else that has read Lucifer's Hammer.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word orange blossom
Orange blossom is a traditional flower at weddings and its use dates back to the Crusades. It is believed to have been used by the Saracens to symbolise chastity and purity and the evergreen leaves are a symbol for everlasting love. A traditional ingredient of love potions
_http://www.webwedding.co.uk/articles/traditions.htm
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word flying buttress
In architecture, a flying buttress, or arc-boutant, is usually on a religious building, used to transmit the thrust of a vault across an intervening space (which might be an aisle, chapel or cloister), to a buttress outside the building. The employment of the flying buttress means that the load bearing walls can contain cut-outs, such as for large windows, that would otherwise seriously weaken the vault walls.
The purpose of a buttress was to reduce the load on the vault wall. The majority of the load is carried by the upper part of the buttress, so making the buttress as a semi-arch provides almost the same load bearing capability, yet in a much lighter as well as a much cheaper structure. As a result, the buttress flies through the air, rather than resting on the ground and hence is known as a flying buttress.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gore with the wind
In which Al Gore tries to sell the idea of wind mill power to ease Global Warming
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word game show
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1958
: a television program on which contestants compete for prizes in a game (as a quiz)
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word host horizon
In which an errant game show MC stumbles upon a mythical paradise
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gravels with charley: in search of america
In which John Steinbeck and his poodle Charley take work in a quarry
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word phaeton
The name phaeton derives from a Greek mythological character, Phaethon, who almost set the world on fire with his reckless driving. This type of carriage was made of wicker, making it quite lightweight. The Phaeton was intended for pleasure driving.
He drove a great roomy, double "phaeton" drawn by two satin bay horses.
_From Pat of Silver Bush by L.M. Montgomery, 1933
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word maraschino cherry
A maraschino cherry is a preserved, sweetened cherry, typically made from light-colored sweet cherries such as the Royal Ann, Rainier, or Gold varieties. The cherries are first preserved in a brine solution (usually sulfur dioxide or alcohol), then soaked in a suspension of food coloring, sugar syrup, artificial and natural flavors, and other components. Maraschino cherries dyed red are typically almond-flavored, while cherries dyed green are usually peppermint-flavored.
The name maraschino refers to the marasca cherry and the maraschino liqueur made from it, in which maraschino cherries were originally preserved. They were, at first, produced for and consumed as a delicacy by royalty and the wealthy. Today they are a common dessert and drink garnish. Carmine, the coloring agent commonly used as a food dye, is derived from the cochineal insect.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bishop's bread
This an old "company bread" and I'm not sure of its origins but I know it was old in my grandmother's day. It is a dessert quick bread containing walnuts, chocolate morsels, and most importantly cherries, maraschino cherries in particular. It is usually served at Christmastime. There are many recipes for Bishop's Bread on the Internet. Try making one.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word antidoron
The Antidoron (Greek: Ἀντίδω�?ον, Antíd�?ron) is ordinary, blessed, but non-eucharistic and non-consecrated, leavened bread seen in Eastern Orthodox and other Christian churches. It comes from the remains of the loaves of bread (prosphora) from which portions are cut for consecration as the Eucharist during the Divine Liturgy. Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite also follow the practice of blessing and distributing antidoron.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pandowdy
Pandowdy - It is a deep-dish dessert that can be made with a variety of fruit, but is most commonly made with apples sweetened with molasses or brown sugar. The topping is a crumbly type of biscuit except the crust is broken up during baking and pushed down into the fruit to allow the juices to come through. Sometimes the crust is on the bottom and the desert is inverted before serving. The exact origin of the name Pandowdy is unknown, but it is thought to refer to the deserts plain or dowdy appearance.
_Whatscookingamerica.net/History
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word buckle
A buckle is a type of cake made in a single layer with berries added to the batter. It is usually made with blueberries. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word crisp
See crumble
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word crumble
Crisps and Crumbles - Crisps are baked with the fruit mixture on the bottom with a crumb topping. The crumb topping can be made with flour, nuts, bread crumbs, cookie or graham cracker crumbs, or even breakfast cereal. Crumbles are the British version of the American Crisp.
_whatscookingamerican.net/History
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word brown betty
Betty or Brown Betty - A Betty consist of a fruit, most commonly apples, baked between layers of buttered crumbs. Betties are an English pudding dessert closely related to the French apple charlotte. Betty was a popular baked pudding made during colonial times in America.
_Whatscookingamerica.net/History/cobblerhistory.htm
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chromo
Thefreedictionary.com:
n. pl. chro·mos Informal
A chromolithograph.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word coronet
See Georgette crepe
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tulle
See Georgette crepe
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word georgette crepe
from dictonary.reference.com:
noun. a sheer silk or rayon crepe of dull texture.
My note: Often with a crinkled look.
The New York Times of August 8, 1918, reporting on the wedding of President Woodrow Wilson's daughter Alice Wilson had this to say:
"The bride wore a gown of white Georgette crepe embroidered in beads and silk threads, made over satin. The skirt was short, with a panel in the back. Her tulle veil, which formed a train, was held with a coronet of rare old lace, loaned by Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, and the orange blossoms were those worn by the sisters of the bridegroom at their weddings."
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word whiffet
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: probably alteration of whippet
Date: 1839
: a small, young, or unimportant person
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word umiak
The umiak, umiaq, umiac, oomiac or oomiak is a type of boat used by the Inuit for transportation. Its name means "woman's boat," as opposed to the kayak, which means "man's boat".
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kalpa
Wow...that is so wonderful. Thank you for sharing that.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hoop skirt
A hoop skirt or hoopskirt is a women's undergarment worn in various periods to hold the skirt extended into a fashionable shape.
Hoop skirts typically consist of a fabric petticoat with casings to hold a stiffening material, variously rope, osiers, whalebone, steel or nylon.
Lightweight hoop skirts, usually with nylon hoops, are worn today under very full-skirted wedding gowns.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gibson girl
The Gibson Girl was the personification of the feminine ideal as portrayed in the satirical pen and ink illustrated stories created by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson during a twenty year period spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States.
The Gibson Girl was tall, slender yet with ample bosom, hips and bottom in the S-curve torso shape achieved by wearing a swan-bill corset. The images of her epitomized the late nineteenth and early 20th-century Western preoccupation with statuesque, youthful features, and ephemeral beauty. Her neck was thin and her hair piled high upon her head in the contemporary bouffant, pompadour, and chignon ("waterfall of curls") fashions.
The tall, narrow-waisted ideal feminine figure was portrayed as multi-faceted, always at ease and fashionable. Gibson depicted her as an equal and sometimes teasing companion to men.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word man-about-town
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Inflected Form(s): plural men–about–town \ˌmen-\
Date: 1734
: a worldly and socially active man
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word junebug
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Usage: often capitalized J
Date: 1829
: any of numerous rather large leaf-eating scarab beetles (subfamily Melolonthinae) that fly chiefly in late spring and have larvae that are white grubs which live in soil and feed chiefly on the roots of grasses and other plants —called also june beetle
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cup and ring marks
Cup and ring marks or cup marks are a form of prehistoric art found predominantly in the upland parts of the British Isles but also in some parts of continental Europe.
They consist of a concave depression, no more than a few centimetres across, pecked into a rock surface and often surrounded by concentric circles also etched into the stone. Sometimes a linear channel called a gutter leads out from the middle.
The decoration occurs as a petroglyph on natural boulders and outcrops and also as an element of megalithic art on purposely worked megaliths such as the slab cists of the Food Vessel culture, some stone circles and passage graves such as the clava tombs and on the capstones at Newgrange.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ticking
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: 2tick
Date: 1649
: a strong linen or cotton fabric used in upholstering and as a covering for a mattress or pillow
See feather tick and bedtick
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word feather tick
A casing or bag made of ticking which is stuffed with feathers or goose down as a type of bedding or mattress.
See bedtick
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bedtick
freedictionary.com:
n. 1. A tick or bag made of cloth called ticking, used for inclosing the materials of a bed.
See feather tick
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word honeysuckle
See Junebells
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word junebells
Linnea borealis or americana, Caprofoliaceae, also known as twinflowers. Pink or white bell-shaped flowers of the honeysuckle family, which grow in terminal pairs. They bloomfrom late June to early August.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word washstand
In addition to the basin and pitcher for washing the hands and face, washstands often had a roller or peg on the side for a towel and a cupboard underneath for the chamber pot.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word braided rug
Also called braid rug or rag rug
A rug made with left-over scraps of fabric or from the remants of old clothes. In modern times made of new fabric. Long ropes are braided together from the scraps then the ropes are stitched together in an oval or round shape. See Braided rug example here
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word morning star
Another name for Venus, see also evening star
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word evening star
Venus is known as the evening star and also as the morning star
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word knack
Some think knacks are natural born magical or paranormal or supernatural powers...uncanny knack...such as psychic ability
Orson Scott Card's series of novels called The Alvin Maker Series is full of characters with this type of knack.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word wincey
This is the fabric that the famous Anne of Green Gables was wearing when she first arrived at the train station where Matthew met her.
"A child of about eleven, garbed in a very short, very tight, very ugly dress of yellowish-gray wincey."
_From Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery, 1908
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word replicant
A replicant is a bioengineered or biorobotic being created in the film Blade Runner (1982).
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word terminator
a cyborg assassin
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the list in-the-name-of-all-that-is-good-and-holy
Freemasons use the term the Architect or the Grand Architect...and there was that character in the Matrix trilogy by that name. Hmmm?
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rose of sharon
The word wrath and the Grapes of Wrath (quite possibly my favorite book) brought to mind the wonderful character, Rose of Sharon. See Free Associate
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Etymology: Plain of Sharon, Palestine
Date: circa 1847
: a commonly cultivated Asian shrub or small tree (Hibiscus syriacus) having showy bell-shaped rose, purple, or white flowers
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the user sonofgroucho
Thank you for stopping by, S of G. It's a pleasure to be getting to know you...in this strange and fun way.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word corner
In square dancing the lady on a man's left is his corner, and conversely the man on a lady's right is her corner. See also allemande
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word allemande
In square dancing allemande is a series of moves where dancers face their corners and turn around each other 360 degrees, dropping the handhold at the end as the dancers rejoin their respective partners. A lot of people in square dancing spell this "alamand." The caller usually calls out "allemande left" or "allemande right".
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word allemande
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: French, from feminine of allemand German
Date: 1685
1: a musical composition or movement (as in a baroque suite) in moderate tempo and duple or quadruple time
2 a: a 17th and 18th century court dance developed in France from a German folk dance b: a dance step with arms interlaced
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word right and left grand
'Right and Left Grand', also known as 'Grand Right and Left', is a square dance move in which all eight dancers in the set, moving in a circular fashion, execute a series of four alternating hand pull-bies (right pull by, left pull by, right pull by, left pull by). Men (or gents) travel counter-clockwise around the ring, and ladies travel clockwise. The result is that all dancers end up half way across the set facing the same person they started with.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dosado
Dosado (also written do-sa-do) or Dos-a-dos (also written dos a dos) or do-si-do (also written do si do) is a basic dance step in such dances as square dance, contra dance, polka, various historical dances, and some reels.
The term is a corruption of the original French term dos-à-dos for the dance move, which means "back to back", as opposed to "vis-à-vis" which means "face to face".
It is a circular movement where two people, who are initially facing each other, walk around each other without or almost without turning, i.e, facing in the same direction (same wall) all the time. In most cases it takes 6-8 counts to complete.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beau
In square dancing, the dancer in the left-hand position, relative to his (or her) partner. See belle
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word belle
In square dancing, the dancer in the right-hand position, relative to his (or her) partner. See beau
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tectonic plate
A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plate size can vary greatly, from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest. Plate thickness also varies greatly, ranging from less than 15 km for young oceanic lithosphere to about 200 km or more for ancient continental lithosphere (for example, the interior parts of North and South America).
from http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/tectonic.html
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also called a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano composed of many layers of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash. These volcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word effluvia
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Inflected Form(s): plural ef·flu·via also ef·flu·vi·ums
Etymology: Latin effluvium act of flowing out, from effluere
Date: 1651
1: an invisible emanation; especially : an offensive exhalation or smell
2: a by-product especially in the form of waste
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word eluviation
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Pronunciation: \(ˌ)ē-ˌlü-vē-ˈ�?-shən\
Function: noun
Etymology: eluvial of eluviation (from e- + -luvial—as in alluvial) + -ation
Date: 1899
: the transportation of dissolved or suspended material within the soil by the movement of water when rainfall exceeds evaporation
— elu·vi·al \ē-ˈlü-vē-əl\ adjective
— elu·vi·at·ed \-ˈlü-vē-�?-təd\ adjective
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word alluvial fan
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1873
: the alluvial deposit of a stream where it issues from a gorge upon a plain or of a tributary stream at its junction with the main stream
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fry bread
Also seen as "frybread"
Two great memories of mine:
Navajo fry bread with red beans and rice at a small market stand in Monument Valley and a thin hungry Indian dog with which to share them.
Oneida fry bread with sugar and cinnamon at the big summer pow-wow on the reservation in Oneida, Wisconsin
See fry bread here.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word debutante
See deb
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word debut
See coming out party
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word coming out party
A debutante (or deb) (from the French débutante, "female beginner") is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal presentation known as her "debut" or "coming out". Originally, it meant the young woman was eligible for marriage, and part of the purpose was to display her to eligible bachelors and their families with a view to marriage within a select upper class circle. This traditional event varies by region, but is typically referred to as a debutante ball if it is for a group of debutantes. A lone debutante might have her own "coming out party", or she might have a party with a sister or other close relative.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word come out
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
intransitive verb
Date: 13th century
1 a: to come into public view : make a public appearance b: to become evident
2: to declare oneself especially in public utterance
3: to turn out in an outcome : end up
4: to make a debut
5 a: to openly declare one's homosexuality b: to openly declare something about oneself previously kept hidden —often used with as
— com·ing–out \ˌkə-miŋ-ˈau̇t\ noun or adjective
— come out with
1: to give expression to
2: publish
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word woodpile
Out behind the woodpile or in some cases the wood shed is where your pa takes you to get a lickin', sometimes with a hick'ry switch. It is also the subject of a wonderful poem called The Wood-pile by Robert Frost.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tip-up
See a classic wooden tip-up here
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tip-up
(noun)
a piece of ice-fishing tackle
A device that signals when a fish hits on your line. A flag "tips up" when the fish strikes and gives you the freedom to leave the fishing hole for a moment. (Possibly to drink beer or to warm up in the shanty.)
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word parchman farm
I went straight to the Parchman Farm from delta. Ain't never done no man no harm. See Free Association
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word parchman farm
Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison in the state of Mississippi, USA. It is located on 18,000 acres (73 km²) in Parchman, Mississippi, and was built in 1901.
A number of bluesmen have been imprisoned in Parchman Farm and the prison features in a number of blues songs such as "Parchman Farm".
"Parchman Farm" is the title of songs about Mississippi State Penitentiary, known as Parchman Farm, a hard time prison because of the Trusty system which was later outlawed.
There have been a number of blues songs written about Parchman Farm and several Blues musicians were imprisoned there, including Bukka White (who wrote "Parchman Farm Blues"), and Eddie 'Son' House. In 1939, folklorist Alan Lomax recorded White and others at Parchman Farm for the Library of Congress. (Louisiana's Angola Prison Farm had a similar musical impact.)
Mose Allison created a much-covered version of "Parchman Farm". It has been covered by Blues Project, Cactus, Michael Chapman, Blue Cheer, Ray Condo, Rick Derringer, Georgie Fame, The Kingston Trio, John Mayall, Johnny Winter and others.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word duck call
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1872
: a device for imitating the calls of ducks
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word twin bed
a single bed
one of two identical single beds usually placed side by side in a single bedroom. Many married couples slept in twin beds in the 1940s and 1950s for the sake of "decency" and also individual comfort
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dentures
As a child, my grandmother's dentures in a glass of water on the nightstand used to traumatize me.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word junket
My grandmother used to make junket for dessert. It was kind of gross, like runny pudding.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word junk mail
Postal mail used in direct marketing
Spam: electronic junk mail
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word worthless junk trip
1. any trip to the Dollar Store or one in which nothing of interest is purchased
2. a trip on a small Chinese boat where the fishing cormorants do not succeed
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beetle
See splitting maul
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word splitting maul
A splitting maul (or mall) is a heavy, long-handled hammer used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain. One side of it is identical to a sledge hammer and the other side is an axe. In parts of England the word denotes a tool with a very heavy wooden head, used for splitting wood in conjunction with a metal wedge. This tool is also known as a beetle; there is a well known pub on the Thames at Goring called the Beetle and Wedge.
_Wikipedia
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word log splitter
a hydraulic machine used to quickly split logs for fire wood
If you are as careless as my ex-husband it can be used to split fingers, too.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word oriflamme
What a cool word!
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fields
Ha ha! That's a fine mind you have there, sionnach!
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word creosote
Creosote is the sticky resin left behind in the stovepipe when wood is burned. It can build up and cause chimney fires.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fire screen
Merriam-Webster Dictonary:
noun
Date: 15th century
: a protective screen before a fireplace
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word coal hod
also called a coal scuttle
also used for wood or ash
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word scuttle
coal or fireplace scuttle also called a coal hod
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word face cord
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: circa 1926
: a unit of wood cut for fuel equal to a stack 4 × 8 feet with lengths of pieces from about 12 to 16 inches
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fireset
A small, usually five piece set of tools that is kept by the fireplace or woodstove to use in the management of the fire. Pieces include the rack which the tools are hung on, a small dust broom, a small ash shovel, a prod or poker, a hook or sometimes a set of tongs. Often made of cast iron.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kindling wood
small pieces of dry wood or sticks used to start a fire
In our house these are stored in the kindling box right next to the woodstove.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word potbelly stove
A potbelly stove is a cast iron wood burning stove, round with a bulge in the middle. They were designed to heat large spaces and were often found in train stations or one-room schoolhouses.
_Wikipedia
We used to have an old potbelly stove in our garage that my dad used to burn papers in. He also used it to warm up the garage when he was out there working on the car.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cook stove
In cooking, a cook stove is a very basic stove heated by burning wood or fossil fuels. Cook stoves are the most common way of cooking and heating food in developing countries.
_Wikipedia
When I was growing up this is what we called the large cast iron wood stove in my grandma's kitchen.
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word guitar picking nose
the sound of a guitar being played badly, as in "That's a guitar picking nose!"
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chamber pot plant
a poorly tended marijuana plant that is dwarfed or unhealthy...schwag
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cold sore
Herpes simplex type 1 is usually the cause of common nonsexually transmitted cold sores.
_Wikipedia
Herpes is a disease of the nerve endings and the frequent blowing or whiping of the nose during a cold can irritate the skin around the mouth and nose which can irritate nerve endings already afflicted with the dormant virus and cause it to become active. Sunburns can have the same effect.(My personal observations.)
While both oral and genital herpes are characteristically "nuisance infections" that are not life-threatening, cold sores (on the face) can cause rare severe or fatal disease if they travel to the eyes or brain.
_Wikipedia
(I say that it is for this reason that one should be careful that one's doctor does not misdiagnose a cold sore as impetigo as happened to my ex-husband.0
February 6, 2008
treeseed commented on the word varicella zoster
The Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is one of the eight herpes viruses known to affect humans (and other vertebrates). Multiple names are used to refer to same virus, creating some confusion. Varicella virus, zoster virus, human herpes 3 (HHV-3), and Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) all refer to the same viral pathogen. The disease caused by this pathogen is called chickenpox or Varicella disease during the initial infection. A reactivation of the infection is commonly called shingles, herpes zoster or simply zoster.
_Wikipedia
See impetigo
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word impetigo
Certain forms of herpes can be and are frequently misdiagnosed as Impetigo. Make sure to question your doctor. See cold sore
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word herpes
Herpes is actually a generic term which includes chickenpox, shingles, cold sores. It can be mistaken as Impetigo so make sure your doctor is careful with the diagnosis.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word shingles
I had shingles as a child and the nerves were so inflamed and painful that even if someone yelled at me or upset me emotionally they would react in severe pain. Horrible disease...my doctor said it was related to Chickenpox.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word red the table
A phrase used by my relatives and others of our circle of friends from western Pennsylvania in the 1950s to mean "clear the dinner table of dishes following dinner." I think it came from the word "rid" meaning rid the table of dishes. However they also used the term "red up" as in, "I'll be with you in a minute as soon as I red up the kitchen a bit," which meant to "restore order to the kitchen".
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lay the table
a phrase meaning "set the table with dishes and flatwear for a meal"
also lay the cloth meaning to put the tablecloth on the table
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word my whockety
from the 1881 novel for children by Margaret Sidney, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew:
"Two hundred candles!" echoed Joel, in amazement. "My whockety! what a lot!"
"Don't say such dreadful words, Joel," put in Polly, nervously, stopping to pick up her spool of basting thread that was racing away all by itself; "'tisn't nice."
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word potty mouth
childish term for someone using foul language or swearing
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chamber pot
from cello to chamber music to chamber pot...Get yer mind outta the potty, Treeseed! See Free Association
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bourdaloue
A peculiar form of chamber pot, the Bourdaloue, was designed specifically for females. The oblong rectangle or oval shape of the vessel, sometimes with a higher front enabled the woman to urinate from a squatting or standing posture without much risk of mishap, and also to help deal with the clothing of the day. The name "Bourdaloue" allegedly comes from that of a famous French Catholic priest, Louis Bourdaloue (1632 - 1704), who delivered such long sermons that females of the aristocracy attending them had their maids bring in such pots discreetly under their dresses so that they could urinate without having to leave. However, this explanation is probably a myth.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word 7
This is a song by Prince, too.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word 7
I cross my Zs and 0s but not my 7s.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word santa ana wind
The Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry offshore winds that characteristically sweep through in Southern California and northern Baja California in late fall and winter. Temperature-wise, they can range from hot to cold, depending on the prevailing temperatures in the source regions, the Great Basin and upper Mohave Desert.
There are claims that the original form is Santana winds, from the Spanish vientos de Satán ("winds of Satan".) According to the Los Angeles Almanac: "The original spelling of the name of the winds is unclear, not to mention the origin. The name Santana Winds is said to be traced to Spanish California, when the winds were called devil winds due to their heat.
_Wikipedia
There are numerous wonderful popular references to the Santa Ana winds on the Wikipedia page concering them...worth checking out.
See also my account at tumbleweed
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tumbleweed
When I was a child growing up in southern California, the Santa Ana winds that came in late fall and winter were so strong that they would uproot the tumbleweeds and propel them with such force that even though they are extremely light weight, in and of themselves, they would actually knock me down if I couldn't get out of the way fast enough.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word oopsie-daisy
According to Wikipedia oopsie-daisy is baby talk. I agree and I use it to minimize the upset when a small accident happens or a small mistake is made by my toddler grandson.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word baby talk
Baby talk is a long-established and universally understood traditional term. Baby talk, motherese, parentese or child-directed speech (CDS) is a nonstandard form of speech used by adults in talking to toddlers and infants. It is usually delivered with a "cooing" pattern of intonation different from that of normal adult speech: high in pitch, with many glissando variations that are more pronounced than those of normal speech. Baby talk is also characterized by the shortening and simplifying of words. Baby talk is also used by people when talking to their pets, and between adults as a form of affection, intimacy, bullying or patronizing.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word heat lightning
Heat lightning is a misnomer for the faint flashes of lightning on the horizon or other clouds from distant thunderstorms that do not have accompanying sounds of thunder. Heat lightning was named because it often occurs on hot summer nights, and to distinguish it from lightning with accompanying thunder.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word spring peeper
A Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer, synonym Hyla crucifer) is a small tree frog widespread throughout the eastern USA. Spring peepers are nocturnal frogs, so they are mostly heard but not seen. They are especially easy to hear due to their extremely loud mating call which gives them the name "peeper," but it is often hard to pinpoint the source of the sound, especially when many are peeping at once.
_Wikipedia
See also pinkletink
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pinkletink
The folk name for a spring peeper frog on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in the United States.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word leopard frog
Leopard frogs, which are also called meadow frogs and grass frogs, are a collection of so-called true frog within the genus Rana. Once abundant in North America and Canada, their population has declined in recent years because of pollution and deforestation. Leopard frogs are often used as environmental indicator species because of their heightened sensitivity to chemical pollutants found in the air and water.
Leopard frogs are recognized by their green or brown coloration with distinct light-edged dark spots across the back and white underside. They also have a characteristic line of raised glandular skin, called the dorsolateral ridge, extending from each eye to the groin.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word garbage pail kids
Garbage Pail Kids is a series of trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls created by Xavier Roberts, which were immensely popular at the time. Each sticker card featured a Garbage Pail Kid character, with some comical abnormality or suffering some terrible fate, and a humorous, word play-rich character name. Two (and occasionally three) versions of each card were produced, with variations featuring the same artwork but different character names. Fifteen regular series were released in the United States, with various sets released in other countries. Two large format card editions were also released, as well as a set of posters.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cabbage patch kid
Cabbage Patch Kids are a brand of doll created by Xavier Roberts in 1978. The Cabbage Patch Kids name was created by Atlanta designer, writer and licensing agent, Roger L. Schlaifer. His original idea was inspired by the old wives that babies were born under a cabbage leaf. The plastic version of the Robert' dolls became the toy phenomenon of the eighties — with people rioting in stores to purchase the hot, new dolls — and everything else branded Cabbage Patch Kids.
_Wikipedia
A Cabbage Patch Kid came with a birth certificate and a name and description of their personality but you could send in a corrected form and choose a name you preferred. There were dozens and dozens of variations in hair and eye color and gender and age and clothing style.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the list chillin-with-the-villains
I am late to the game but may I suggest Krang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word standardbred
Standardbreds are a breed of horse best known for their ability to race in harness at a trot or pace instead of under saddle at a gallop. Developed in North America, the breed is now recognized worldwide for its harness racing ability. They are solid, well-built horses with good dispositions that are also used under saddle for a variety of equestrian activities, particularly in the Midwest and eastern United States.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse-racing in which the horses race in a specified gait. They usually pull two-wheeled carts called sulkies.
Races can be conducted in two differing gaits; trotting and pacing. The difference is that a trotter moves its legs forward in diagnonal pairs, right front and left hind, then left front and right hind striking the ground simutaneously, whereas a pacer moves its legs laterally, right front and right hind together, then left front and left hind.
In continental Europe races are conducted exclusively between trotters, whereas in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States races are also held for pacers.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dust devil
A dust devil is a rotating updraft, ranging from small (half a meter wide and a few meters tall) to large (over 10 meters wide and over 1000 meters tall). Dust devils are usually harmless, but rare ones can grow in size to threaten both people and property. They are comparable to tornadoes in that both are an unusual weather phenomenon of swirling air vortices. Tornadoes form as an updraft attached to a wall cloud at the back of a thunderstorm. Dust devils form as an updraft under sunny conditions during clear to fair weather, rarely coming close to the intensity of a tornado.
In the southwestern United States, dust devils can be known as dancing devils. In Death Valley, California, they may be called a sand auger or dust whirl.
In Australia they are called willy-willies or whirly-whirlies, a word thought to come from Yindjibarndi or a neighbouring language.
Navajo refer to them as chiindii, a ghost or spirit of a Navajo. If a chiindii spins clockwise it is said to be a good spirit; if it spins counterclockwise it is said to be a bad spirit.
In Egypt, they are usually called "Fasset El 'Afreet" or the ghost's wind.
Among the Kikuyu of Kenya, it is known as "ngoma cia aka" meaning women's devil's/demon's.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fire whirl
A Fire whirl or swirl, sometimes called fire devils or fire tornadoes, can be seen during intense fires in combustible building structures or more commonly in forest or bush fires. A fire whirl is a vortex-shaped formation of burning gasses being released from the combustible material. The genesis of the vortex is probably similar to that of a dust devil. But, as distinct from the dust devil, it is improbable that the height reached by the fire gas vortex is greater than the visible height of the vortical flames because of turbulence in the surrounding gasses which inhibit creation of a stable boundary layer between the rotating/rising gasses relative to the surrounding gasses.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dr. scholl's
See Original Women's Wooden Exercise Sandal
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word nerf ball
Parker Brothers originally developed NERF, beginning with a four-inch (102 mm) polyurethane foam ball. In 1969, a games inventor came to the company with a volleyball game that was safe for indoor play. After studying the game carefully, Parker Brothers decided to eliminate everything but the foam ball. In 1970, the NERF ball was introduced as the "world's first official indoor ball". Marketed that one can "Throw it indoors; you can't damage lamps or break windows. You can't hurt babies or old people." The ball filled a strong consumer need and by the year's end more than four million NERF balls had been sold. The four-inch (102 mm) ball was followed closely by a large version called "Super NERF Ball". Shortly after, in 1972, a basketball game called "NERFoop" and the NERF football joined the family. The football fast became the most popular NERF ball.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tract housing
I remember, as a young child, touring a model home that was a design that was to be a part of a tract housing development. It was so plain and impersonal. I hated it. I'm glad my parents decided against buying one. See Skipvia's Free Association List
Tract housing (also known as Cookie-Cutter Houses) is a style of housing development in which multiple identical, or nearly-identical, homes are built to create a community. Tract housing may encompass dozens of square miles of areas. Tract housing developments are typically found in American suburbs.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word concord grape
These are wonderful American grapes and they have an interesting history. They are the usual grapes used in the jelly for the traditional peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and 'Concord' jelly is universally sold in U.S. supermarkets. 'Concord' grapes are used for grape juice, and their distinctive purple color has led to grape flavored soft drinks and candy being artificially colored purple.
Concord grapes are a cultivar derived from the grape species Vitis labrusca (a.k.a. fox grape) which are used both as table grapes, wine grapes and juice grapes.
The skin of a Concord grape is typically dark blue or purple, and often is covered with a lighter colored "bloom" which can be rubbed off. It is a slip-skin variety, meaning that the skin is easily separated from the fruit. Concord grapes have large seeds and are highly aromatic. They are often used to make grape jelly, grape juice, grape-flavored soft drinks, and candy. The grape is sometimes used to make wine, particularly kosher wine, though it is not generally favored for that purpose due to the strong "foxy" (sometimes described as candied-strawberry/musky) flavor. Traditionally, most commercially produced Concord wines have been finished sweet, but dry versions are possible if adequate fruit ripeness is achieved.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mirror ball
A mirror ball, disco ball, glitter ball, or ball mirror is a roughly spherical object that reflects light directed at it in many directions, producing a complex display. Its surface consists of hundreds or thousands of facets, nearly all of approximately the same shape and size, and each having a mirrored surface. Usually it is mounted well above the heads of the people present, suspended from a device that causes it to rotate steadily on a vertical axis, and illuminated by spotlights, so that stationary viewers experience beams of light flashing over them, and see myriad spots of light spinning around the walls of the room.
What are now called "disco balls" were first used in nightclubs in the 1920s.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gazing ball
A gazing ball, also known as a yard globe, lawn ball, garden ball, gazing globe, mirror ball, or chrome ball, is a mirrored sphere typically displayed atop a conical ceramic or wrought iron stand as a lawn ornament, and is often cited as a premier example of camp or kitsch. Its size ranges from 2 to 22 inches in diameter, with the most popular gazing ball being about 12 inches (33 cm). Gazing balls were traditionally glass but can now be stainless steel, ceramic, or stained glass.
Gazing balls originated in 13th century Venice workshops where they were hand-blown by skilled Italian craftsmen.
_Wikipedia
See witch ball
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word witch ball
A witch ball is a hollow sphere of plain or stained glass with glass filaments suspended in its interior that was hung in cottage windows in 18th century England to ward off evil spirits, witch's spells or ill fortune. Later, they were often posted on top of a vase or suspended by a cord (as from the mantelpiece or rafters) for a decorative effect. Witch balls appeared in America in the 19th century and are often found in gardens under the name "gazing ball". However, "gazing balls" contain no strands within their interior.
According to folk tales, witch balls would entice evil spirits with their bright colours; the strands inside the ball would then capture the spirit and prevent it from escaping.
Witch balls sometimes measure as large as 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter.
-Wikipedia
Witch Balls have made a comeback in the present time.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word steamer trunk
Steamer trunks which are sometimes referred to as Flat-Tops, first appeared in the late 1870s, although the greater bulk of them date from the 1880-1920 period. They are distinguished by either their flat or slightly-curved tops and were usually covered in canvas, leather or patterned paper.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word saratoga trunk
Saratoga trunks were the premium trunks of many makers (or the exclusive design of many premium trunk makers) and actually can encompass nearly every other style of trunk manufactured if loosely-defined, although generally they are limited to before the 1880s. The most readily-recognizable feature of Saratogas are their myriad (and generally very complex) compartments, trays, and heavy duty hardware.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word jenny lind trunk
Jenny Lind Trunks have a distinctive hour glass or keyhole shape when viewed from the side. They were named after the Swedish singer of the same name (and figure) who toured America in the mid 19th Century along with PT Barnum. In fact, she was well-known to carry a trunk of this style with her while on the road, and they became quite popular even though they were only made for a relatively short period of time (1855-1865.)
_Wikipedia
See also Jenny Lind crib
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word jenny lind crib
Jenny Lind was a Swedish-born opera singer. Her full name was Johanna Maria Lind, and she lived from 1820 to 1887. In 1850, Lind traveled to the United States as part of a concert tour promoted by none other than P.T. Barnum, of Barnum & Bailey's Circus fame. While in America, Lind became America's first big celebrity. P.T. Barnum, being a master of marketing, played upon her virtues, namely modesty and charity, to endear her to the public.
Supposedly, during her popular tour of the U.S., Lind slept in a bed with turned posts or spindles. So, cribs with turned posts became known as Jenny Lind cribs, and they are still known as such today. Jenny Lind cribs today tend to be simple designs with drop sides, and are sold by many different manufacturers. These cribs still feature the same turned, knobby legs and posts as they did when they were first named for The Swedish Nightingale.
_About.com
See also Jenny Lind trunk
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word steamer
A Steamer is a flavored milk beverage available in some coffeehouses and cafes in North America. A steamer consists of steamed milk and a shot of flavor syrup. The result is a hot, flavored non-coffee beverage.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word carbon dating
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1951
: the determination of the age of old material (as an archaeological or paleontological specimen) by means of the content of carbon
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word supervolcano
Supervolcano is the popular term for a large volcano that usually has a large caldera and can potentially produce devastation on an enormous, sometimes continental, scale. Such eruptions would be able to cause severe cooling of global temperatures for many years afterwards because of the huge volumes of sulfur and ash erupted. They are the most dangerous type of volcano. Examples include Yellowstone Caldera in Yellowstone National Park of western USA, Lake Taupo in New Zealand and Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia. Supervolcanoes are hard to identify centuries later, given the enormous areas they cover.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pyroclastic flow
A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current) is a common and devastating result of some volcanic eruptions. The flows are fast-moving currents of hot gas, and rock (collectively known as tefra), which travel away from the volcano at speeds generally greater than 80 km/hr (50mph).1 The gas can reach temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 F). The flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity. Their speed depends upon the density of the current, the volcanic output rate, and the gradient of the slope. The word pyroclast is derived from the Greek πυ�?ος, meaning fire, and κλαστός, meaning broken.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pannekuchen
There once was a chain of restaurants in Minnesota called The Pannekuchen Huis. They specialized in what they said were Dutch souffles. They were called pannekuchen. They were kind of like a Yorkshire pudding only sweet. They took up a whole dinner plate and they were very puffy and light. The girls would literally come running from the kitchen with the hot pannekuchen so that it would get to you before it began to deflate. They were served with wonderful sauteed fruits and syrups or with pecans. I actually have the recipe and they are astonishingly good.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kuchen
Kuchen, the German word for "cake," is used as the name for several different types of sweet desserts, pastries, and gateaux. The term itself may cover as many distinct desserts as its English counterpart "cake."
Kuchen desserts are presumably handed down from people of German heritage and as such are often popular in many areas of German settlement in the United States, particularly North Dakota, South Dakota, Indiana, and Minnesota. Kuchen was introduced into the Chilean cuisine when German immigrants settled southern Chile in the 1850s. Kuchens in Chile do always have fruits, such as apples, strawberries or murtas. Now kuchens are found in nearly every Chilean supermarket. In Brazil, it is called "cuca" and it is found in areas of German settlement, like Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kugel
Kugel (Yiddish: קוגל kugl or קוגעל, pronounced either koogel with the "oo" like the "oo" in "book or "look", or kigel, as was pronounced in Galicia, Central Europe) is any one of a wide variety of traditional baked Jewish side dishes or desserts. It is sometimes translated as "pudding" or "casserole".
Kugels may be sweet or savory. The most common types are made from egg noodles (called lochshen kugels) or potatoes and often contain eggs, but there are recipes in everyday use in modern Jewish kitchens for a great diversity of kugels made with different vegetables, fruit, batters, cheese, and other flavorings and toppings.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word blind mole rat
Blind mole rats are rodents in the family Spalacidae, but are unique enough to be given a separate subfamily, Spalacinae.
Blind mole rats are truly blind. Their very small eyes are completely covered by a layer of skin. Unlike many other fossorial rodents, Blind mole rats do not have enlarged front claws and do not appear to use their forearms as a primary digging tool. Digging is almost exclusively conducted using their powerful front teeth, which are separated from the rest of the mouth by a flap of skin. When a blind mole rat closes its mouth, its incisors are still on the outside.
_Wikipedia
They have a really interesting social network.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lactation consultant
A job that used to be done by the mother or grandmother of the new mother or if failing that, by one's own common sense and trial and error.
A lactation consultant is a healthcare provider recognized as an expert in the fields of human lactation and breastfeeding. The USLCA, United States Lactation Consultant Association, is the presiding organization in the United States of America and the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) is the professional association for certified laction consultants internationally. A Board Certified Lactation Consultant will have the initials IBCLC and/or RLC after her/his name, as a physician would have MD or DO, or a registered nurse would have RN. Lactation Consultants can be found in private practice, on staff in hospitals, and in the public health arena.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the user vanishedone
I loved those Cannon Fodder videos. You rock.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word whoopee cushion
A whoopee cushion, also known as a poo-poo cushion and Razzberry Cushion, is a practical joke device that produces a noise resembling a raspberry or human flatulence. It is made from two sheets of rubber that are glued together at the edges. There is a small opening with a flap at one end for air to enter and leave the cushion.
To use it, one must first inflate it with air and then place it on a chair. An unsuspecting victim sits on the whoopee cushion, forcing the air out of the opening, which causes the flap to vibrate and produce its distinctive sound.
The item was invented around 1950 by the Jem Rubber Co. of Toronto, Canada, by employees who were experimenting with scrap sheets of rubber. The owner of the company approached Samuel Adams, the inventor of numerous practical jokes and owner of S.S. Adams Co., with the newly invented item. Adams said that the item was "too vulgar" and would never sell. Fortunately for Jem Rubber, other companies were interested and the product quickly proved to be a success.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word peat moss
Another name for decayed, compacted Sphagnum moss, called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires.
Peat moss can be used as a soil additive which increases the soil's capacity to hold water. This is often necessary when dealing with very sandy soil, or plants that need an increased moisture content to flourish.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fritos
Fritos® is the name of a brand of corn chips made by Frito-Lay. Originally called Fritatas, Elmer Doolin was so taken with the bag of corn chips served with his lunch in San Antonio, Texas that he paid $100 for the recipe. In 1932, he started the Frito Corporation. Original Fritos ingredients are limited to whole corn, corn oil, and salt. Even today, Fritos (original and barbecue flavor) are a vegan snack.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word 4-f
Under the Selective Service System in the United States, a registrant not acceptable for military service is said to be classified 4-F. To be eligible for Class 4-F, a registrant must have been found not qualified for service in the Armed Forces by a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) under the established physical, mental, or moral standards.
Also 4-F'er - a man with this classification
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word selective service system
The Selective Service System is the means by which the United States administers military conscription. It entails registering all men between the ages of 18 and 25 with the system for the purpose of having information available about potential soldiers in the event of war.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (CO) is an individual following the religious, moral or ethical dictates of his or her conscience that are incompatible with being a combatant in military service, or being part of the armed forces as a combatant organization. In the first case, conscientious objectors may be willing to accept non-combatant roles during conscription or military service. In the second case, the objection is to any role within armed forces and results in complete rejection of conscription or military service and, in some countries, assignment to an alternative civilian service as a substitute for conscription or military service. Some conscientious objectors may consider themselves either pacifist or antimilitarist.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cannon fodder
Cannon fodder is an informal term for military personnel who are regarded or treated as expendable in the face of enemy fire. The term is generally used in situations where soldiers are forced to deliberately fight against hopeless odds (with the foreknowledge that they will suffer extremely high casualties) in an effort to achieve a strategic goal. An example is the trench warfare in World War I. The term may also be used (somewhat pejoratively) to differentiate infantry from other forces (such as artillery, air force or the navy), who generally have a much higher survival rate.
The term derives from fodder - food for livestock - however in this case soldiers are the metaphorical food for cannons.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word little girl
What Mike Myers' character Dieter from Saturday Night Live says:
Dieter: Would you like to touch my monkey?
Guest: I would be honored to.
Dieter: Touch him! Love him! Liebe meine abschmenkee!
Guest shakes hands with Dieter's pet monkey
Dieter: Now I am as happy as a little girl.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word colcannon
Colcannon (Irish: cál ceannan - white head) is a food made from mashed potatoes, kale or cabbage, butter, salt, and pepper. It can contain other ingredients such as milk, cream, leeks, onions, chives, garlic, boiled ham or Irish bacon. At one time it was a cheap, year-round staple food.
An old Irish Halloween tradition was to serve colcannon with prizes of small coins concealed in it, as the English do with Christmas pudding. This is still done today and small amounts of money are placed in the potato.
_Wikipedia
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fingerling potato
There are many varieties of these small, finger-shaped potatoes, but they all tend to be low in starch, and great for roasting or making potato salads.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the list poetic-butterfly-names
We have a fritillary called the aphrodite fritillary. I love the sound of that. I think my favorite name is the pearl cresent. I love your list!
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the list poetic-butterfly-names
Have you heard of the Hackberry Emperor? It lives in my state of Wisconsin.
February 5, 2008
treeseed commented on the word grunion
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: probably from Spanish gruñón grunter
Date: 1917
: a silverside (Leuresthes tenuis) of the California coast notable for the regularity with which it comes inshore to spawn at nearly full moon
As a child growing up in California I remember the "grunion run" when crowds of people would assemble on the beach in the moonlight and scoop up dozens and dozens of the grunion fish as they came inshore to spawn. In those days I thought it was quite a fun and festive time but now it seems unfair and cruel.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word swedish fish
The nearest Trader Joe's to me is two hours away! Now that's suffering.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bossa nova
Bossa Nova is a style of Brazilian music popularized by Vinicius de Moraes, Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. Bossa Nova acquired a large following, initially by young musicians and college students. Although the Bossa Nova movement only lasted six years (1958-63), it contributed a number of songs to the standard jazz repertoire.
_Wikipedia
Excerpt from the lyrics to Blame It On the Bossa Nova by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil as performed by Eydie Gorme
Blame it on the bossa nova with its magic spell
Blame it on the bossa nova that he did so well
Oh, it all began with just one little dance
But then it ended up a big romance
Blame it on the bossa nova
The dance of love
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bubble and squeak
Bubble and squeak in my auntie's kitchen in south Wales...one of my fondest and tastiest memories.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word blotter
Sheets of paper which are soaked into an LSD solution, dried, and perforated into small squares of individual dosage units. The paper is then cut into small square pieces called "tabs" or "hits". The user can then absorb the LSD out of the paper using his/her tongue, or simply swallow it. Individual producers often print designs onto the paper serving to identify different makers, batches or strengths, and such "blotter art" often emphasizes psychedelic themes.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word microdot
small tablet, small pill, a dose of LSD
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word entheogen
An entheogen, in the strictest sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious or shamanic context. Entheogens generally come from plant sources which contain molecules closely related to endogenous neurochemicals. They occur in a wide variety of sacraments of various religious rites UDV/NAC and have been shown to directly provoke what users perceive as spiritual/mystical experiences.
The word entheogen is a neologism derived from the ancient Greek : ἔνθεος (entheos) and γενέσθαι (genesthe). Entheos literally means "god (theos) within", translates as "inspired" and is the root of the English word "enthusiasm". The Greeks used it as a term of praise for poets and other artistscitation needed. Genesthe means "to generate". So an entheogen is "that which generates God (or godly inspiration) within a person".
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tracers
A type of hallucination, after image-like trails of moving objects, also called simply "trails" or "acid trails"
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word set and setting
Set and setting describes the context for psychoactive and particularly psychedelic drug experiences: one's mindset and the setting in which the user has the experience. This is especially relevant for psychedelic or hallucinogenic experiences; the term was coined by Timothy Leary.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lysergic acid diethylamide
Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, LSD-25, or acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family. Probably the best known psychedelic, it has been used mainly as a recreational drug, an entheogen, and a tool to supplement various practices for transcendence, including in meditation, psychonautics, art projects, and illicit (though at one time legal) psychedelic psychotherapy, whether self-administered or not. It is synthesized from lysergic acid derived from ergot, a grain fungus that typically grows on rye and was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word laid
Something to get
Also a cool song by the band James
James is a rock band from Manchester, England, formed in 1981. After an uphill struggle throughout the 1980s, they went on to become a consistently successful act of the 1990s, scoring a string of hit singles during the decade including "Sit Down" and "Laid".
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word twizzlers
Twizzlers are a popular brand of licorice candy in the United States, although most of its flavors do not contain the licorice extract of traditional black licorice. They are the product of Y&S Candies, Inc., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, now a subsidiary of The Hershey Company.
Y&S Candies was founded in 1845, then known as Young and Smylie; they established the Y&S trademark in 1870. In 1902, three small firms (S.V. & F.P. Schudder, H.W. Petherbridge, and Young & Smylie) merged to create the National Licorice Company. In 1968, the company dropped the "National Licorice Company" moniker in favor of the current name. In 1977, the company was acquired by Hershey Foods, which became The Hershey Company in 2005.
The company produces Twizzlers in cherry, strawberry, chocolate, watermelon, and licorice flavors, and a variety of shapes and sizes. In addition to their Twists, Bites, and Nibs of various sizes.
Limited edition cherry cola and "rainbow" (fruit variety consisting of strawberry, lemonade, orange, watermelon, blue raspberry and grape) flavors were sold in 2006 and 2007.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word swedish fish
Have you had chocolate flavored Twizzlers? Well, that's an odd little sideroom of heaven.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word derobe
So, Reesetee are you a scion of the peanut butter cup family?
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word civil liberties
Civil liberties is the name given to freedoms that protect the individual from government to a certain extent. Civil liberties set limits for government so that it cannot abuse its power and interfere with the lives of its citizens.
Common civil liberties include freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech, and additionally, the right to due process, to fair trial, and to privacy.
The formal concept of civil liberties dates back to the Magna Carta of 1215 which in turn was based on pre-existing documents.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hair testing
Hair testing is a type of drug testing considered highly accurate and can go back normally 3 months (6 months or longer possible with specialist tests), showing any drugs of abuse used in the detection window. As hair grows out, any drugs used are encased in the hair shaft, so the longer the hair, the longer back in the individual's drug history the laboratory can detect. Accredited hair drug testing laboratories, however, only use hair within about 2.5–4 cm of the scalp, and discard the rest. With head hair each 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) corresponds to about 30 days. This limits the detection history to about 90 days, depending upon the rate at which the individual's hair grows. Some people attempt to circumvent this through shaving their heads. This does not usually work.In the absence of the required amount of hair on the scalp, body hair can be used as an acceptable substitute. If all hair is shaven, the follicles of the hair may be used in place of the hair. Removing the hair follicles is more painful.
Additionally, for pre-employment hair testing, the inability to obtain a sample may be grounds for not hiring the individual. There is a growing trend in major companies and law enforcement agencies to utilize hair analysis on account of its efficiency and reputation as the gold standard when considering test accuracy. This technology makes use of radioimmunoassay technology with subsequent confirmation by mass spectrometry.
In recent years, hair testing has been the subject of a number of law suits. Studies have shown that different ethnic groups have different hair structure, potentially leading to false-positive
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hair follicle
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1838
: the tubular epithelial sheath that surrounds the lower part of the hair shaft and encloses at the bottom a vascular papilla supplying the growing basal part of the hair with nourishment
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word drug test
A drug test is commonly a technical examination of urine, blood, sweat, hair follicles, or oral fluid samples to determine the presence or absence of specified drugs or their metabolized traces.
_Wikipedia
See also hair testing
In my opinion, drug testing has become a serious civil liberties violation as it is required more and more frequently by employers in the United States and with increasingly more invasive techniques for even low-level employment where the outcome of a drug test is largely irrelevant. They are used to marginalize certain elements of the population. Often "insurance regulations" are the justification.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pâte à choux
Chou(x) pastry, paste, or dough (French pâte à choux, German Brandteig) is a light pastry dough used to make profiteroles, croquembouches, eclairs, French crullers, beignets, and gougères. It contains only butter, water, flour, and eggs. Its raising agent is the high moisture content, which creates steam during cooking, puffing out the pastry.
Choux pastry is usually baked but for beignets it is fried. In Austrian cuisine it is also boiled to make Marillenknödel, a sweet apricot dumpling; in that case it does not puff, but remains relatively dense.
A chef by the name of Panterelli invented the dough in 1540, seven years after he left Florence, along with Catherine de' Medici and the entirety of her court. He used the dough to make a gâteau and named it Pâte à Panterelli. As time passed, the recipe of the dough evolved, and the name changed to Pâte à Popelin, which was used to make Popelins, small cakes made in the shape of a woman's breasts. Then, Avice, a pâtissier in the eighteenth century, created what was then called Choux Buns. The name of the dough changed to Pâte à Choux, as Avice's buns looked similar in appearance to choux, which is French for cabbages. From there, Antoine Carême made modifications to the recipe, resulting in the recipe most commonly used now for profiteroles.
_Wikipedia
See also chou
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word simple syrup
Simple syrup is an essential ingredient in numerous cocktails. Simply put, it is sugar and water. The sugar is super-saturated by heating the water.
Simple syrup is often used to offset the tart taste of many drinks to make a more balanced mixture. For example, in a Whiskey Sour, simple syrup is added to lemon juice to make flavorful mix.
The ratio of sugar to water can be left to personal preference, traditionally it is one part water to two parts sugar.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word royal icing
Royal icing is a hard white icing, made from softly beaten egg whites, icing sugar (powdered sugar), and sometimes lemon juice. It is used on Christmas cake, wedding cakes, gingerbread houses and many other cakes and biscuits, either as a smooth covering like marzipan, or in sharp peaks. Glycerine is occasionally added to prevent the icing from setting too hard.
As well as coating cakes and biscuits, royal icing is usually considered a decorative icing since it can be used to create many decorative effects, such as flowers and figures. Royal icing is often piped into shapes which are allowed to harden on a non-stick surface. These can then be arranged to create edible decorative effects on a variety of sweet foods.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sugar
Especially amoung black people in the southern United States, sugar means affection, as in "Give me some sugar." By extension it can mean give me some sex.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word boll weevil
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1895
: a usually grayish or brown weevil (Anthonomus grandis grandis) that feeds on the squares and bolls of the cotton plant
The Boll Weevil Song lyrics as sung by Eddie Cochran
wah-hoo)
well the boll weevil is a little black bug
come from a-mexico they say
came all the way to texas
just a-lookin' for a place to stay
just a-lookin' for a home, just a-lookin' for a home
(doo-doo-wop-wop)
well the first time that i seen the boll weevil
he was a-sittin' on the square
well the next time that i seen him
he had his a-family there
just a-lookin' for a home, just a-lookin' for a home
(doo-doo-wop-wop)
well the farmer took the boll weevil
and he put him on the red hot sand
well the weevil said this is a-mighty hot
but i take it like a man
this will be my home, this will be my home
well the f armer took the boll weevil
and he put him on a keg of ice
well the weevil said to the farmer
this is mighty cool and nice
this will be my home, this will be my home
(doo-doo-wop-wop)
well if anybody should ask you
who it was who sang this song
say a guitar picker from a-oklahoma city
with a pair of blue jeans on
just a-lookin' for a home, just a-lookin' for a home
(doo-doo-wop-wop)
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word exorcise
The free association is obvious here...I wish my mind would have been a little more creative...but there you have it. See Skipvia's Free Association List
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word golden oldie
A song that was once popular
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word top banana
yourdictionary.com:
noun
a top performer in show business; specif., the star comedian in a burlesque show
the most important person in any group
Etymology: prob. so named from the banana-shaped soft club carried by burlesque comedians
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word song and dance
thefreedictionary.com:
n. pl. song and dances or songs and dances
1. A theatrical performance that combines singing and dancing.
2. Slang
a. An excessively elaborate effort to explain or justify.
b. An elaborate story or explanation intended to deceive or mislead.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dixieland
Dixieland music is a style of jazz which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s. Dixieland jazz combined brass band marches, French quadrilles, ragtime and blues with collective, polyphonic extemporization by trumpet (or cornet), trombone, and clarinet over a "rhythm section" of piano, guitar, banjo, drums, and a double bass or tuba.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bojangles
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949) was a pioneer and pre-eminent African-American tap dance performer.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word soft-shoe
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
adjective
Date: 1920
: of or relating to tap dancing done in soft-soled shoes without metal taps
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tap dance
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1928
a step dance tapped out audibly by means of shoes with hard soles or soles and heels to which taps have been added
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word black light
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1927
invisible ultraviolet light
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word matinee
In modern movie theaters, the showings of a film that occur before 5:00 pm and which usually cost less to see, sometimes half of the regular price.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word method acting
Also called The Method
Acting approach, based on Stanislavsky's teachings. As explained in the book "An Actor Prepares", it involves internal rather than external preparation. It was taught by Lee Strasberg and his Actor's Studio, graduates of which included Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Montgomery Clift, Julie Harris and others.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word revue
A famous example of a revue is the Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway in the 1920s
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word passion play
Religious drama depicting Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.Passion plays originated in the Middle Ages, when they were performed as part of the celebration of Good Friday.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cabaret
Excerpt from the lyrics to the song "Cabaret" by Fred Ebb from the Musical of the same name.
No use permitting
some prophet of doom
To wipe every smile away.
Come hear the music play.
Life is a Cabaret, old chum,
Come to the Cabaret!
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word theater of the absurd
Movement in the 1940s-1960s that expressed existentialist philosophy through theatrical style. Absurdist plays are filled with non-sensical dialogue and plot, which convey the inability of people to communicate with each other and the irrationality of existence. Principal figures in absurdist theatre were Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco and Jean Genet.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dénouement
In literature, a dénouement (pronounced /deɪnu�?ˈmɑ̃/) consists of a series of events that follow a dramatic or narrative's climax, thus serving as the conclusion of the story. Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader. Etymologically, the French word dénouement is derived from the Old French word denoer, "to untie", from nodus, Latin for "knot." Simply put, a dénouement is the unraveling or untying of the complexities of a plot.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word smudge pot
A smudge pot (also known as a choofa or orchard heater) is an oil-burning device used to prevent frost on fruit trees. Usually a smudge pot has a large round base with a chimney coming out of the middle of the base. The smudge pot is placed between trees in an orchard, allowing the heat and smoke from the burning oil to prevent the accumulation of frost on the fruit of the grove. Smudge pots were developed after a disastrous freeze in Southern California in 1913 wiped out a whole crop.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word break a leg
"Break a leg" is a well-known saying in theatre which means "good luck". It is typically said to actors before they go out onto stage to perform.
The expression is a theatrical superstition that replaces the phrase "good luck," which is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the user sionnach
Thank you, sionnach. I am having fun. I like to see how other people connect with words, too. This is such an interesting site. I have enjoyed your humor from day one.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word balling the jack
Balling the jack is best known as the name of a dance from the Dixieland heyday around 1913.
"First you put your two knees close up tight
Then you sway them to the left, then you sway them to the right
Step around the floor kind of nice and light
Then you twist around and twist around with all your might,
Stretch your loving arms straight out into space,
Then you do the Eagle Rock with style and grace.
Swing your foot way 'round then bring it back.
Now that's what I call Ballin' the Jack."
Later it was expanded to mean just dancing in general or just having a good time.
It also means risking everything on one attempt. At slangcity.com a reader had this to say about the "risk" meaning:
"To "ball" a "jack" refers possibly to the action of risking a shot in "Boules", or Bocce or its sister game Petanque. The jack in either case is the smaller ball for which the goal of the game is to either throw your team's ball closest to it, or to knock away your opponent's ball. To hit the target ball to another location, or to "ball the jack", is to alter the focus of the gameplay. To do so requires great accuracy, and assuming the game is scored for money instead of points (it is a drinking game, and takes skill and a bit of luck as well), takes risk as well, for in double or triple team play, you only get one shot (one ball per player). So to "ball the jack" is to risk a miss, and a wasted shot, at something that is really important to you."
It is also a term used by railroad men. Hobart Smith does a song with the lines "Balling the jack, lining track / You can't shovel no more" and the liner notes say it comes from railroad section gangs in the early 1870's. To fix a crooked rail you had one person sit on the track and site along it to see where it needed to be straightened (lining the track), then two men would put jacks at an angle against the inside ball of the rail and lever it until it was straight. Then you had to shovel ballast back in under the ties and tamp it down. The ball of the rail is the curved part going up to the flattened surface on top of the rail. The jack had a groove across the top that fit against the ball so it wouldn't slip off.
It has also been used as a euphemism for sexual intercourse in some jazz and blues lyrics.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word skip out
In Wisconsin when we wanted to play hooky from school we used to say, "Let's skip out today."
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word linea nigra
Linea nigra (Latin for "black line") or línea negra (altered by influence of Spanish negra) refers to the dark vertical line that appears on the abdomen during pregnancy. The brownish streak is usually about a centimeter in width. The line runs vertically along the midline of the abdomen from the pubis to the xiphoid process - the bottom-most part of the rib cage in the center or tip of the sternum.
It is caused by pregnancy hormones that increase production of the pigment melanin, also known as hyperpigmentation. Why this process of hyperpigmentation occurs in a straight vertical line is uncertain.
There is an old wives' tale associated with línea negra: if the línea negra runs to the navel, it's a girl, and if it goes all the way up to the xiphoid, it's a boy.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word spring fever pitch
Standing on the mound, ankle deep in melting snow, he winds up and lays one squarely across the plate.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fever pitch
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1846
: a state of intense excitement and agitation
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cooler
An insulated box usually with a handle or handles that holds ice and beer. Used to keep the beer refrigerated and close at hand at the same time. I'm watching the Super Bowl so that's the only relevant meaning at the moment.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chinoiserie
Just a little trick of the ear and the mind free associates with chained, even though the "shee" of chinoiserie sounds nothing like the "chay" of chained. See Free Association
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word deb
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1920
: debutante
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word uhhh!
Uttered with a breathy staccato sigh
A peevish expression of unwillingness, often accompanied by slumping the shoulders in dejection.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word toning
Toning is the elongation of a note or tone using breath and voice.
It is used in preparing for meditation and in ritual. It is an aid in relaxation and in the raising of energy. Group toning is quite beautiful and powerful.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word jodhpurs
I have been pronouncing this word wrong for at least 50 years. Thank goodness for Wordie
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word shortstop
My first baseball card of note was from a Topps pack in 1959 and it was of a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates named Dick Groat. See Free Associate
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dogfish
Bowfins are an order (Amiiformes) of primitive ray-finned fish. Only one species, the bowfin Amia calva, family Amiidae, exists today, although additional species in six families are known from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene fossils. These included the huge Leedsichthys, the biggest fish that ever existed. The bowfin and the gar are two of the freshwater fishes still extant that existed, almost unchanged from their current form, while the great dinosaurs roamed the earth.
_Wikipedia
I used to catch a bowfin that locals called a dogfish when I lived in Minnesota.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word coelacanth
I used to catch a kind of bowfin that was called a dogfish when I lived in Minnesota. They always reminded me of coelacanths. Bowfins are an order (Amiiformes) of primitive ray-finned fish. Only one species, the bowfin Amia calva, family Amiidae, exists today, although additional species in six families are known from Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Eocene fossils.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word euglena
My 10th grade Biology teacher, Mr. Miranda, loved euglenas...and so I've remembered them after all these years...now that's a good teacher.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word profiterole
YUM!
A profiterole or cream puff (U.S.) is a food made from a small, round baked choux pastry filled with a sweet filling. The most common form nowadays is a dessert filled with whipped cream or pastry cream, and often served with chocolate sauce or a caramel glaze.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bubblegum
Have you ever had a bubblegum cigar? My favorite were the yellow banana flavored ones that sold for 5 cents when I was a kid. See Free Associate
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cigar
Have you ever had a bubblegum cigar? My favorite are the yellow banana flavored ones that sold for 5 cents when I was a kid.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word holy card sharp
What Robin says when he and Batman happen upon a group of gamblers at a high stakes poker game.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word diving bell hop
a hospitality worker in competition with others of his craft, attempting to reach the door of an incoming taxi cab
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ululation
In Arab countries ululation is commonly used by women to express celebration or grief, especially at weddings and funerals.
It was used by Native American women of the Great Plains in much the same way.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word diving bell
A diving bell, also known as a wet bell, is a cable-suspended airtight chamber, open at the bottom, that is lowered underwater to operate as a base or a means of transport for a small number of divers. The pressure of the water keeps the air trapped inside the bell. They were the first type of diving chamber. Unlike a submarine the diving bell is not designed to move under the control of its occupants, nor to operate independently of its tether.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lodgepole pine
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tipi
A tipi (also teepee, tepee) is a conical tent originally made of animal skins or birch bark and popularized by the Native Americans of the Great Plains. Tipis are stereotypically associated with Native Americans in general, but Native Americans from places other than the Great Plains used different types of dwellings. The term wigwam is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a dwelling of this type.
The tipi was durable, provided warmth and comfort in winter, was dry during heavy rains, and was cool in the heat of summer. Tipis could be disassembled and packed away quickly when a tribe decided to move, and could be reconstructed quickly when the tribe settled in a new area. This portability was important to those Plains Indians who had a nomadic lifestyle.
The word "tipi" comes into English from the Lakota language; the word thípi consists of two elements: the verb thí, meaning "to dwell," and a pluralizing enclitic (a suffix-like ending that marks the subject of the verb as plural), pi, and means "they dwell." In Lakota, formal verbs can be used as nouns, and this is the case with thípi, which in practice just means "house."
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word wigwam
A wigwam or wickiup is a domed single-room dwelling used by certain Native American tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in American Southwest and West. Wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the American Northeast. The use of these terms by non-Native Americans is somewhat arbitrary and can refer to many distinct types of Native American structures regardless of location or cultural group including the tipi.
_Wikipedia
I know some Native Americans who scoff at the generic use of this word.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word longhouse
In North America two groups of longhouses emerged. The Native American long house of the tribes usually connected with the Iroquois in the northeast and an unrelated type used by many tribes long the west and northwest Pacific coast of North America.
_Wikipedia
The Oneida Indians who are part of the Iroquois have their Wisconsin reservation near my home and they have a longhouse on display at their museum.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word boomerang
S of G,
I wish we had The Magic Boomerang here in the U.S. back when I was growing up.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bowling
In the U.S. a term meant to refer to ten-pin bowling.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beer frame
A frame, one of ten "innings" in a bowling game; originally it referred to the box on the scoresheet where the score for a single frame is recorded, after which one bowler has to buy beer for all the others. This is often a pre-determined frame, with the low scorer in that frame getting stuck with the tab. Sometimes, if all bowlers but one roll strikes in a frame, that becomes the beer frame and the bowler who didn't strike has to buy.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bowling alley
In the U.S., an establishment where individuals and teams go to play the sport of ten-pin bowling. Usually has a bar and snack-bar as well as pool tables and pin ball machines.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word squat thrust
This term sounds vulgar to me.
A squat thrust is a calisthenic exercise. It typically is performed as follows:
From a standing "parade rest" position, drop to a squat position with your hands on the ground near your feet.
Throw the feet back, putting yourself into a push up position.
Again pull the feet forward to a squat position with hands on the floor.
Stand again in a parade rest position.
Repeat many times.
Performing the exercise at a fast speed maximizes its effectiveness.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word jumping jack
A Jumping Jack, or side straddle hop as it is called in the United States military, is a physical exercise performed by jumping to a position with the legs spread wide and the hands touching overhead and then returning to a position with the feet together and the arms at the sides.
More intensive versions include bending down and touching the floor in between each jump.
It is also commonly known as a star jump, especially to children of Commonwealth nations. In Canada, the term is stride jump, and the hands are not expected to touch above the head.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word boogie woogie
See honky tonk
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word honky tonk
The first genre of music to be commonly known as honky tonk music was a style of piano playing related to ragtime, but emphasizing rhythm more than melody or harmony, since the style evolved in response to an environment where the pianos were often poorly cared for, tending to be out of tune and having some nonfunctioning keys. Hence an out-of-tune upright piano is sometimes called a honky-tonk piano.
Such honky tonk music was an important influence on the formation of the boogie woogie piano style.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word guerrilla
See swamp fox
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word guerrilla theater
Guerrilla theater also called street theater is one form of guerrilla communication/communication guerrilla. Guerrilla communication refers to unconventional forms of communication and/or intervention in public events or discourse, for reasons ranging from political activism to marketing.
This form of guerrilla communication is the creation of ritual via participative public spectacle to disrupt or protest a public event or to shift the perspectives of passers-by. Another way to create such spectacle is via tactical frivolity.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word swamp fox
Francis Marion (February 26, 1732–February 27, 1795) was a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army and later brigadier general in the South Carolina Militia during the American Revolutionary War. He became known as the "Swamp Fox" for his ability to use decoys and ambushes to disrupt enemy communications, capture supplies, and free prisoners. His use of guerrilla tactics helped set in motion the decline of open battles in the conflict. Early records indicate that he was a sailor before the Revolutionary War.
Marion is considered one of the fathers of modern guerrilla warfare, and is credited in the lineage of the United States Army Rangers.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word scaredy cat
(also known as fraidy cat), from scared + cat, is a slang term for a person who is very skittish or fearful.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fraidy cat
Fraidy cat, from afraid + cat, (also known as scaredy cat) is a slang term for a person who is very skittish or fearful.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cap gun
A cap gun or cap pistol is a toy gun that creates a loud sound akin to a gunshot and a puff of smoke when the trigger is pulled. Cap guns were originally made of cast iron, but after World War II were made of zinc alloy, and most newer models are made of plastic.
Cap guns get their name from the small discs of explosive compounds (roughly 1.4 to 1.6 mm in diameter) that provide the noise and smoke, effectively the same as the separate percussion cap used to replace the flintlock in real firearms, although invariably smaller and made from cheap plastic or paper rather than soft metal. Some were typically arranged in plastic rings of six, seven, or eight. There were also single caps, roll caps (of 50 to 500), and disk caps, all of which were actually extremely small versions of percussion fireworks.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word shrovetide
Lovely etymology for carnival. Thank you, gangerh.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word white rabbits
This is lovely and I now have a new OCD symptom.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word harmony
I can't see the word war without yearning for harmony among people and peace for our planet. See Free Association
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the user skipvia
Skipvia, I love your new list of free associations. I hope lots of people play.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mensch
In Yiddish (from which the word has migrated into American English, although the use is still rare), mensch roughly means "a good person." A "mensch" is a particularly good person, like "a stand-up guy," a person with the qualities one would hope for in a dear friend or trusted colleague.
_Wikipedia
I free associate this word with Skipvia's word mounch because it sounds similar to me.
Go to Public List: Free Association and join in the fun of free associating with Skipvia.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dunk tank
A dunk tank, also known as a dunking booth or dunking machine, is an attraction mainly used in funfairs, fundraisers, and personal parties. Basically, a dunk tank consists of a large tank of water, over which a seat is suspended. By striking a target, the seat will tip or fall into the tank of water, thus "dunking" whoever is sitting on the seat.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word banana split
A banana split is an ice cream-based dessert. In its classic form it is served in a long dish called a "boat". A banana is cut in two lengthwise (hence the split) and laid in the dish. Variations abound, but the classic banana split is made with scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream served in a row between the split banana. Pineapple topping is spooned over the vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup over the chocolate, and strawberry topping over the strawberry. It is garnished with crushed nuts, whipped cream and maraschino cherries.
David Evans Strickler, a 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist at Tassel Pharmacy in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, who enjoyed inventing sundaes at the store's soda fountain, invented the banana-based triple ice cream sundae in 1904. The sundae originally cost 10 cents, twice the price of other sundaes, and caught on with students of nearby Saint Vincent College.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word relay race
During a relay race, members of a team take turns swimming or running (usually with a baton) parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. In the Olympic games, there are many types of relay races that are part of track and field.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fruit loop
Slang term for a crazy, whacky, goofy individual
Fruit Loops is a brand of breakfast cereal produced by Kelloggs and sold in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Germany and Latin America as well as South Africa. The cereal pieces come in a variety of bright colors and a blend of artificial fruit flavors. Kellogg's introduced Froot Loops in 1963.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word baton twirling
Baton twirling is a competitive sport involving the manipulation of a balanced metal rod with the hands and body to a co-ordinated routine, similar to rhythmic gymnastics. A baton routine may run solo or as a team in practiced sets.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word baton twirler
People who twirl batons
See Majorette
Also seen as simply "twirler"
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word shin splints
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun plural but singular or plural in construction
Date: circa 1930
: injury to and inflammation of the tibial and toe extensor muscles or their fasciae caused by repeated minimal traumas (as by running)
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word wax lips
Wax lips are the common name of a candy product made of colored and flavored wax, molded to resemble a pair of over-sized red lips. The lips have a bite plate in the back; when the plate is held between the teeth, the wax lips cover the wearer's own lips, to comic effect. Invented by the American Candy Company in the early 20th century, they became a popular novelty in the United States for many decades, especially during the Halloween season. Their popularity among children can be attributed mainly to the comedy of wearing the lips; although they were intended to be used as a sort of chewing gum after the novelty of the gag wore off, the lips were often simply discarded rather than eaten.
_Wikipedia
There were also several similar molds used to make wax teeth, wax moustaches, wax finger nails, etc.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word snickerdoodle
A snickerdoodle is a soft sugar cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar. It has a characteristically crackly surface, and can be crisp or soft, depending on preference. In modern recipes, the leavening agent is usually baking powder which, in baking, is most commonly used in cakes but not often in cookies. They traditionally contain cream of tartar. They're yummy. Google up a recipe and make some.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bobby sock
A bobby sock is a type of sock that was especially fashionable in the 1940s and 1950s. They are characteristically ankle-length and frilly, and worn by girls often as part of a school uniform. They were popular to wear with saddle shoes, loafers or Oxfords.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sock hop
Sock Hop is a term coined in the 1950s in the United States, following the growth in popularity of rock and roll, to refer to informal sponsored dances at American high schools, typically held on the grounds of the high school itself in the gymnasium or cafeteria. Music was often recorded, sometimes live.
Initially the term referred to the practice of removing one's shoes in order to dance in stocking feet, typically to spare the floor from the scuff marks of dress shoes.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word freemartin
Female born twin to a bull calf (about 9 out of 10 of these will not conceive). A sterile heifer born twin with a bull.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word springing
Springing: (Adj.)A term commonly associated with female cattle showing signs of advanced pregnancy, meaning they are close to giving birth. See heifer
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word heifer
a springing heifer or a springer is a young cow about to deliver her first calf
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word milk house
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1583
: a building for the cooling, handling, or bottling of milk
Our milk house was made of cinder blocks and fieldstones and was whitewashed inside and out and had a concrete floor. It contained a double sink and a large stainless steel bulk tank to hold the milk that was piped in from the electric milking machines in the milking parlor in the barn. The milk was unpasteurized and was taken away to the dairy by a service using large tank trucks called milk trucks. We sold individual glass bottles of the milk to our friends and neighbors for 25 cents a gallon as late as 1969.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word paranoid
Paranoid personality disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that denotes a personality disorder with paranoid features. It is characterized by an exaggeration of the cognitive modules for sensitivity to rejection, resentfulness, distrust, as well as the inclination to distort experienced events. Neutral and friendly actions of others are often misinterpreted as being hostile or contemptuous.
People with this disorder tend to have excessive trust in their own knowledge and abilities and usually avoid close relationships with others. They search for hidden meanings in everything and read hostile intentions into the actions of others. They are quick to “challenge the loyalties of friends and loved ones and often appear cold and distant to others�?. They usually shift blame to others and tend to carry long grudges.
Based on little or no evidence, they suspect that others are out to harm them and usually find hostile or malicious motives behind other people's actions.
_Wikipedia
Marrying a man like this can lead to divorce.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word snow globe
A snow globe is a transparent sphere usually made of glass enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a landscape. The sphere also encloses the water in the globe; the water serves as the medium through which the "snow" falls. To activate the snow, the globe is physically shaken to churn up the white particles. The globe is then placed back in its position and the flakes fall down slowly through the water. Today's snow globes sometimes have a built-in music box in the base.
Precisely when the first snow globe, also called a waterglobe or snowdome, was made remains unclear, but they appear to date from France during the early 1800s.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pool noodle
A pool noodle (also known as a water log) or as simply a noodle is a cylindrical piece of polyethylene foam. Pool noodles may used by people of all ages while swimming. They are useful when learning to swim, for floating, for rescue reaching, and in various forms of water play.
_Wikipedia
They come in various thicknesses and colors and are extremely buoyant.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pilot
The actual name of the device known as a cowcatcher.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cowcatcher
In railroading, the pilot is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles from the track that might otherwise derail the train. Archaically this was called a cowcatcher, and this is still the common layman's usage, but this term is deprecated and has not been used by railroad workers for more than a century.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word baler
A baler is a piece of farm machinery that is used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay or straw) into bales and bind the bales with twine. There are several different types of balers that are commonly used. Balers are also used in the material recycling facilities, primarily for baling plastic, paper or cardboard for transport to a recycling facility.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hay loft
Another word for hay mow
The upper story of a barn where loose or baled hay or straw is stored
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hay mow
Another word for hay loft
The upper story of a barn where loose or baled hay or straw is stored
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chert
"Climb a long tall hick'ry
Bend it over, "skinnin' cats."
Playin' baseball with chert rocks
Usin' sawmill slabs for bats"
_excerpt of lyrics from Mountain Music by Randy Owen of the band Alabama
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bunsen burner
A Bunsen burner is a common piece of laboratory equipment that produces a single open gas flame, which is used for heating, sterilization, and combustion.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lithotripsy
Lithotripsy is a surgical procedure that attempts to break up a kidney stone or a stone in the gallbladder with minimal collateral damage by using an externally applied, focused, high-intensity acoustic pulse.
The scientific name of this procedure is Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL).
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kidney stone
Kidney stones, also called renal calculi, are solid concretions (crystal aggregations) of dissolved minerals in urine; calculi typically form inside the kidneys or bladder. The terms nephrolithiasis and urolithiasis refer to the presence of calculi in the kidneys and urinary tract, respectively.
_Wikipedia
Passing a kidney stone is incredibly painful.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ju ju heart
a small red heart-shaped cherry flavored jelly candy available year round but commonly sold around Valentines Day.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sweethearts
Sweethearts are small heart-shaped candies sold around Valentine's Day. Each heart is printed with a message such as "Be Mine", "Kiss Me", "Call Me", and "Miss You". Sweethearts are made by the New England Confectionery Company, or NECCO.
The package from NECCO calls them "Sweethearts", which is the other common way of referring to them, but below that it says "tiny conversation hearts" as well as "#1 valentine candy." A similar type of candy is sold in the UK under the name Love Hearts.
_Wikipedia
See also conversation heart
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word conversation heart
Another name for an individual Sweethearts candy
Sweethearts are small heart-shaped candies sold around Valentine's Day. Each heart is printed with a message such as "Be Mine", "Kiss Me", "Call Me", and "Miss You". Sweethearts are made by the New England Confectionery Company, or NECCO.
The package from NECCO calls them "Sweethearts", which is the other common way of referring to them, but below that it says "tiny conversation hearts" as well as "#1 valentine candy." A similar type of candy is sold in the UK under the name Love Hearts.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word eggcorn
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: Middle English nekename additional name, alteration (resulting from misdivision of an ekename) of ekename, from eke eke, also + name name
Date: 15th century
1 : a usually descriptive name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to a person, place, or thing
2 : a familiar form of a proper name (as of a person or a city)
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word praying mantis
The insect order Mantodea or mantises consists of approximatively 2,300 species worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats.
The term "mantises" (or the more colloquial "praying mantises") should be used when referring to the entire order. Often mistakenly spelled preying mantis (an eggcorn, since they are notoriously predatory), they are in fact named for the typical "prayer-like" stance. The word mantis derives from the Greek word mantis for prophet or fortune teller. In Europe, the name "praying mantis" refers to only a single species, Mantis religiosa.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word woolly bear
During late Summer and early Fall we often see Woolly Bear caterpillars crossing the road...not sure why they do this.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word woolly bear
The true woolly bear, sometimes called woolly worm, is the caterpillar stage of the Isabella tiger moth, Pyrrharctia isabella.
This moth is found throughout the United States and in parts of Canada and Mexico.
_milkweedcafe.com
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word water birth
Water birth is a method of giving birth, which involves immersion in warm water. Proponents believe this method to be safe and provides many benefits for both mother and infant, including pain relief and a less traumatic birth experience for the baby.
In the late 1960s, French obstetrician Frederick Leboyer (see Leboyer Method)developed the practice of immersing newly-born infants in warm water to help ease the transition from the womb to the outside world, and to mitigate the effects of any possible birth trauma.
Another French obstetrician, Michel Odent, took Leboyer's work further, using the warm-water birth pool for pain relief for the mother, and as a way to normalize the birth process. When some women refused to get out of the water to finish giving birth, Odent started researching the possible benefits for the baby of being born under water, as well as the potential problems in such births. By the late 1990s, thousands of women had given birth at Odent's birthing center at Pithiviers, and the notion of water birth had spread to many other Western countries.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word leboyer method
A precursor to modern water birth, a gentle method of child birth
Frederick Leboyer (born 1918) is a French obstetrician, best known for his 1975 book, Birth Without Violence, which popularized gentle birthing techniques, in particular, the practice of immersing newly-born infants in a small tub of warm water — known as a "Leboyer bath" — to help ease the transition from the womb to the outside world. He graduated from the University of Paris School of Medicine.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lamaze
The Lamaze Technique is a prepared childbirth technique developed in the 1940s by French obstetrician Dr. Fernand Lamaze as an alternative to the use of medical intervention during labor. Dr. Lamaze was influenced by Soviet childbirth practices, which involved breathing and relaxation techniques under the supervision of a "monitrice" or midwife. The Lamaze method gained popularity in the United States after Marjorie Karmel wrote about her experiences in her 1959 book 'Thank You, Dr. Lamaze'.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word doula
See also monitrice
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word monitrice
See also doula, midwife
term commonly associated with Lamaze Technique Childbirth
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word scapular
In various Christian traditions the term scapular is also applied to a small devotional artifact worn by male and female non-monastics in the belief that this will be of spiritual benefit to them. The Roman Catholic Church considers it a sacramental. It consists of two small squares of cloth, wood or laminated paper, bearing religious images or text, which are joined by two bands of cloth. The wearer places one square on the chest, rests the bands one on each shoulder and lets the second square drop down the back.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word flying squirrel
The flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of squirrel (family Sciuridae). There are 43 species in this tribe. The 2 species of the genus Glaucomys (Glaucomys sabrinus and Glaucomys volans) are native to North America, and the Siberian flying squirrel is native to parts of northern Europe (Pteromys volans).
The term "flying" is somewhat misleading, since flying squirrels are actually gliders incapable of true flight. Steering is accomplished by adjusting tautness of the patagium, largely controlled by a small cartilaginous wrist bone. The tail acts as a stabilizer in flight, much like the tail of a kite, and as an adjunct airfoil when "braking" prior to landing on a tree trunk.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word holy card
Holy cards are small, mass-produced, devotional pictures made for the use of the Catholic faithful. They typically depict a religious scene or a saint on a small image that is about the size of a playing card or collectible card. The reverse typically contains a prayer, some of which promise an indulgence for its recitation. The circulation of these cards is an important part of the visual folk culture of Catholics.
_Wikipedia
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hoecake
My Granny makes the best cracklin' ho cake �?� It tastes so good I can't wait to dip my plate �?� She's cookin' ham hocks in some white-acre peas �?� She's cookin' turnip greens and macaroni and cheese �?� Get on out my way I got to ease up to that pot �?� I like my cornbread while it's still piping hot �?� I love this food Lord I can't get enough
_Excerpt of lyrics from Ho Cakes, lyrics by JJ Grey of Mofro
Special flat, round cast iron griddles called hoe cake griddles are available commercially. Google up Paula Deen's awesome recipe.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hammer, anvil and stirrup
Nicknames for the three bones of the middle ear, based on their shapes
The middle ear, an air-filled cavity behind the ear drum (tympanic membrane), includes the three ear bones or ossicles: the malleus (or hammer), incus (or anvil), and stapes (or stirrup).
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word give-a-show projector
This large plastic toy projector from Kenner was basically just a torch/flashlight and a lens. By sliding strips of slides through the projector you could project a 4 sq. feet image on to a screen or wall and "give-a-show".
Its plastic casing changed shape and colour over the years, but it always contained a bright projector light bulb and a slot that allowed the user to feed a strip of film through the light it emitted to create projected images. To put on a show, the Projector user dimmed the lights and aimed their Give-A-Show Projector at the blank wall of their choice. They then fed a projection strip containing six slides through the side of the Give-A-Show Projector. The end result was a series of four-foot images that told a story to the viewers through words and pictures.
_Nostalgia central.com
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word filmstrip
Filmstrips were a common form of instructional multimedia used by instructors in both primary school and secondary (K-12). They were popular because they were simultaneously an easy-to-use and inexpensive way for an instructor to enhance and invigorate their curriculum by offering students and opportunity to learn by watching and listening in addition to reading.
The filmstrip itself was a spool - a strip - of 35 mm positive film with usually 30-50 images arranged sequentially would have a duration of between 10-20 min. The instructor would turn on a film projector that would show the first frame of the filmstrip. The instructor would, then, turn on a 33 RPM record or cassette tape, containing the audio material for the filmstrip (including narration). At the appropriate point a tone would sound, signalling the instructor to advance to the next frame.
_Wikipedia
VCRs made filmstrips, for the most part, obsolete.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fuzzy dice
Fuzzy dice, known in the British Isles as furry dice or fluffy dice, are an automotive decoration consisting of two oversized plush dice which hang from the rear-view mirror.
_Wikipedia
A common prize at carnival games of chance in the 1960s.
February 4, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tang
Tang is a sugared, fruit-flavored, non-carbonated soft drink from the USA. The original orange flavored Tang was formulated by General Foods Corporation in 1957 and first marketed (in powdered form) in 1959.
It was initially intended as a breakfast drink, but sales were poor until NASA began using it on Gemini flights in 1965, and that use was heavily advertised.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dr. dentons
Dr. Denton is a (historically) well-known American brand of blanket sleepers, formerly manufactured by the Dr. Denton Sleeping Garment Mills of Centreville, Michigan. The company was founded in 1865, originally as the Michigan Central Woolen Company, and from the late 19th Century through the first half of the 20th Century was probably the single best-known manufacturer of blanket sleepers in the United States. The brand was so well-known that Dr. Dentons became (and remains today) a genericized trademark.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word union suit
A union suit is a type of one-piece long underwear. It originated as women's wear during the nineteenth-century United States clothing reform efforts, as an alternative to constricting garments, and soon gained popularity among men as well. The first union suit was patented in 1868. Traditionally made of red flannel with long arms and long legs, it buttoned up the front and had a button-up flap in the rear covering the buttocks (colloquially known as the "access hatch", "drop seat", "fireman's flap", and other names), allowing the wearer to eliminate bodily waste without removing the garment. Depending on the size, some union suits can have a dozen buttons on the front to be fastened through buttonholes from the neck down to the groin area.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word break wind
Whoever came up with this term must have been a poet.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word break wind
A euphemism for flatulence
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cuckoo clock
A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum driven, that strikes the hours using small bellows and pipes that imitate the call of the Common Cuckoo in addition to striking a wire gong. The mechanism to produce the cuckoo call was installed in almost every kind of cuckoo clock since the middle of the eighteenth century and has remained almost without variation until the present.
The design of a cuckoo clock is now conventional. Most are made in the "traditional style" or "chalet" to hang on a wall. In the "traditional style" the wooden case is decorated with carved leaves and animals. Most now have an automaton of the bird that appears through a small trap door while the clock is striking. The bird is often made to move while the clock strikes, typically by means of an arm that lifts the back of the carving.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word burial at sea
Burial at sea describes the procedure of disposing of human remains in the ocean.
Two reasons for burial at sea are if the deceased died while at sea and it is impractical to return the remains to shore, or if the deceased died on land but a burial at sea is requested for private or cultural reasons.
Burial at sea services are available at many different locations and with many different customs, either by ship or by aircraft. Usually, either the captain (or commanding officer) of the ship or aircraft or a representative of the religion performs the ceremony. Legally, a captain can bury remains at sea, provided that environmental regulations are satisfied. In the United States, ashes have to be scattered at least 3 miles from shore, and bodies can be given to the sea if the location is at least 600 feet (200 m) deep.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word epitaph
Epitaph to a Dog is a poem by the English poet Lord Byron. It was written in 1808 in honor of his Newfoundland dog, Boatswain, who had just died of rabies. Check it out..it's beautiful.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word funeral parlor
In the early 20th century before the common commercial use of a separate funeral location was popular the deceased were most often displayed in their casket in the parlor of the private home in which they had lived. When mortuaries began offering the service of displaying the deceased for public viewing and grieving, the term "funeral parlor" was used to make the practice seem like the more familiar custom of displaying the deceased at home.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word funeral home
A funeral home, or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.
_Wikipedia
Also called a funeral parlor
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word funeral parlor
Another term for mortuary or funeral home
A funeral home, or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mongoloid spot
Mongoloid spots are common in children from many different racial backgrounds. These patches of dermal melanocytosis are found in greater than 90% of African Americans, 81% of Asian, and 70% of Hispanic infants. Although they are often seen in the lumbosacral and gluteal areas they are not limited to those regions. They need to be distinguished from bruises of child abuse. Compared to a bruise they are more uniform in skin color, their borders are better defined, there is no induration or tenderness and they are stable over time.
_ethnomed.org
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word class ring
A class ring (also known as a graduate, senior, or grad ring) is a ring worn by students and alumni to commemorate their graduation, generally from a high school, college, or university.
_Wikipedia
Class rings were commonly exchanged in the 1950s and 1960s to commemorate a promise of going steady. These were usually high school rings but this was also practiced by college students. Girls would wrap the bands with thick layers of colored yarn in order to make the larger men's rings fit their own smaller fingers or they would wear them around their necks on a chain. Some men wore their girlfriend's ring on their pinky finger but most men did not wear the girl's class ring, considering it too effeminate.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word going steady
Exclusive dating
See promise ring
pinned
letter jacket
class ring
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word letter jacket
A letterman, in U.S. sports, performing arts or academics, is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation and/or performance on a varsity athletic team, marching band, or in other performance school-sponsored activities.
The term comes from the practice of awarding each such participant a cloth "letter", which is usually the school's initial or initials, for placement on a "letter sweater" or "letter jacket" intended for the display of such an award. In some instances, the sweater or jacket itself may also be awarded, especially for the initial award to a given individual.
_Wikipedia
The tradition of giving one's steady girlfriend one's letter jacket or letter sweater in lieu of a ring when going steady was common in the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pin
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
to present (a young woman) with a fraternity pin as a pledge of affection
Also "going steady"
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pinned
Going steady with a college fraternity boy/man
See pin
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word promise ring
Promise rings are bestowed to symbolize a promise that one person makes to another. In some cases, promise rings are precursors to engagement rings. While the latter symbolize a promise to marry, promise rings can stand for many other kinds of vows.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word snow nose
A fairly common trait in some breeds of dogs, notably in Siberian Huskies. A snow nose is a reddish or pink marking on a black or liver colored nose. Snow nose can disappear over warmer months and reappear over the winter months. There is nothing wrong with a snow nose, and it is perfectly acceptable in the breed.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word polaroid camera
A brand name that has become a generic term for a type of instant camera.
An instant camera is a type of camera with self-developing film. The most famous are those made by the Polaroid Corporation. The invention of modern instant cameras is generally credited to American scientist Edwin Land, who unveiled the first commercial instant camera, the Land Camera, in 1947, 10 years after founding the Polaroid Corporation.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kringle
In the United States, kringles are hand-rolled from Danish pastry dough (wienerbrød dough) that has been rested overnight before shaping, filling, and baking. Many layers of the flaky dough are layered, then shaped in an oval. After filling with fruit, nut, or other flavor combinations, the pastry is baked and iced.
In America, kringles are chiefly produced in Racine, Wisconsin, the North American city with the largest population of Danes outside of Greenland (which is a self-governing portion of the Kingdom of Denmark), and a center of expatriate Danish culture. Kringle and Danish culture are an important part of Racine's cultural identity, and several local bakeries make and ship the hundreds of thousands of kringles per year each.
_Wikipedia
I like the cherry ones and the pecan.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the list a-recipe-for-uselessness
What a totally cool list. I am inspired.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word candy striper
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: from the striped uniform worn suggesting the stripes on some sticks of candy
Date: 1963
: a teenage volunteer worker at a hospital
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word round
A round is a musical composition in which two or more voices sing exactly the same melody over and over again, but with each voice beginning at different times. "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is a well known children's round for 4 voices.
Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word spacey
Also spaced out
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word space case
Someone not grounded in reality
See also space cadet
spacey
airhead
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hippie dippy
(adjective)derogative term describing a hippie or other free spirited person, meaning not grounded in reality
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word airy-fairy
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
adjective
Date: 1850
1.chiefly British : delicate fairylike
2.chiefly British : lacking substance or purpose
not practical or not useful in real situations
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pie in the sky
something good that is unlikely to happen
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word easy as pie
Have you ever made a pie? It is not easy.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word piece of cake
In general usage the phrase piece of cake denotes a task that can be done easily, without much or any effort.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word burma-shave
Burma-Shave was a United States brand of brushless shaving cream, famous for its advertising gimmick of posting humorous rhyming poems on small, sequential highway billboard signs.
Burma-Shave was introduced in 1925 by the Burma-Vita company, owned by Clinton Odell. It was a pungent, soapy-smelling concoction which the company at first had difficulty selling. To increase sales, the owners developed the famous Burma-Shave advertising sign program, and sales took off. At its peak, Burma-Shave was the second-highest selling brushless shaving cream in the United States.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word peeps
Peeps (branded as PEEPS®) are small marshmallow candies, sold in the United States, that are shaped into baby chickens, rabbits, and other animals. Peeps are primarily used to fill Easter baskets. They are made from marshmallow, sugar, gelatin, and carnauba wax.
Peeps are produced by Just Born, a candy manufacturer based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Peeps were introduced in 1953 by Russian immigrant, Sam Born. When Just Born acquired Rodda Candy Company in 1953, they automated the process (originally the chicks were formed by hand) and mass-marketed them. Back in 1953, when the peeps were made by hand it took 27 hours to make one marshmallow peep. The yellow chicks were the original form of the candy — hence their name — but then the company introduced other colors and, eventually, the myriad shapes in which they are now produced.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lefse
Lefse is a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread made out of potato, milk or cream and flour, and cooked on a griddle. Special tools are available for lefse baking, including long wooden turning sticks and special rolling pins with deep grooves. There are significant regional variations in the way lefse is made and eaten, but it generally resembles a flatbread although it is far thinner. In some parts of the United States (such as North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, northern and central Iowa, Wisconsin, and Washington), lefse is available in grocery stores.
_Wikipedia
When I lived in Minnesota it was always possible to pick up part-time work hours making lefse for the huge Christmas rush demand for the product. So good with butter and cinnamon-sugar.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bagel
Boiling the dough before baking is what gives the wonderful chewy texture. You've never tasted a better bagel than one made in your own kitchen. Try it.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word persimmon
If you've never had persimmon spice cake, google up one of many recipes and end your suffering and deprivation.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word gefilte fish
Gefilte fish (Yiddish: געפֿילטע פֿיש) are poached fish patties or balls made from a mixture of ground deboned fish, mostly carp (common carp). They are popular in the Ashkenazi Jewish community.
In traditional recipes for gefilte fish, the fish is first deboned, often while still at the market. Next, the fish is ground together with eggs, onions and flour, matzoh meal or challah, and then stuffed into the skin of the deboned fish, giving it the name gefilte (filled or stuffed, compare the German gefüllte). The whole stuffed fish is then poached with carrots and onions. When prepared this way, it is usually served in slices. This form of preparation eliminated the need for picking fish bones at the table and stretched the fish further, so that even poor families could enjoy fish on the Sabbath.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kriah
Ritual rending of garments, part of the mourning tradition and ritual in Judaism.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kriah ribbon
Before a Jewish funeral service begins first-degree Jewish relatives engage in the act of kriah, or tearing one's garment or pinning a black ribbon called a kriah ribbon to one's lapel. It is a powerful and ancient reaction to the harsh reality of death and an acknowledgment that death tears an irreparable hole in the fabric of our lives. The kriah ribbon, or the torn garment, is worn for the sheloshim period, the thirty days extending from the funeral. Traditionally, it is removed on Shabbat, the Sabbath.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chrochet
Crochet (pronounced /kroʊˈʃeɪ/) is a process of creating fabric from yarn or thread using a crochet hook. The word is derived from the Middle French word croc or croche, meaning hook. Crocheting, similar to knitting, consists of pulling loops of yarn through other loops. Crochet differs from knitting in that only one loop is active at one time (the sole exception being Tunisian crochet), and that a crochet hook is used instead of knitting needles.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word granny square
A granny square is a crochet technique for producing square fabric by working in rounds from the center outward. Granny squares are traditionally handmade. They resemble coarse lace. Although there is no theoretical limit to the maximum size of a granny square, crocheters usually create multiple small squares and assemble the pieces to make clothing, purses, Afghan blankets, and other household textiles.
Granny square apparel is a cyclical fashion that peaked in the 1970s.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word features
Hi John,
Could you please add Playlist.com to the choose a service drop-down box? I would love to see what others like to listen to while playing on Wordie.
Thanks.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word porch
See porch swing
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word porch swing
"The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation that you ever had." — Anonymous
A bench style swing built of wooden slats that has a seat, a back and two arms and can usually seat two people. It is attached to chains at the arms and suspended from the ceiling beams of a porch.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tire swing
Tire swings are a form of swing made from a car tire suspended by a heavy rope from a sturdy tree branch. This is an old-fashoned, simple swing commonly seen in the country, near farm houses.
Special factory-made "tire swings" are suspended by three chains and are suspended from heavy beams and are mounted horizontally so that more than one child can sit along the top edge. Some dangerous stunts can be done using these swings so they are not as commonly used in playgrounds these days.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word skinny dipping
Skinny dipping, also spelled skinny-dipping, is swimming naked, i.e. without any swimsuit. It is best when done in an outdoor body of water.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lawn darts
Lawn darts (also called Jarts or yard darts) is a lawn game for two players or teams. A lawn dart set usually includes four large darts and two targets. The game play and objective are similar to both horseshoes and darts. The darts are similar to the ancient Roman plumbata. They are typically 12 inches long with a weighted metal or plastic tip on one end and three plastic fins on a rod at the other end. The darts are intended to be tossed underhand toward a horizontal ground target, where the weighted end hits first and sticks into the ground. The target is typically a plastic ring, and landing anywhere within the ring scores a point.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word wiffleball
Wiffleball or whiffleball is a variation of the sport of baseball designed for indoor or outdoor play in confined areas. "Wiffle" is a registered trademark of The Wiffle Ball, Inc., which manufactures Wiffle balls from its location in Shelton, Connecticut. It is played using a perforated, light-weight, plastic ball and a long, plastic (typically yellow) bat, generally on a triangular playing field.
The Wiffle ball was invented by David N. Mullany of Fairfield, Connecticut in 1953 when he designed a ball that curved easily for his 12-year old son. It was named when his son and his friends would refer to a strikeout as a "wiff" (actually whiff). A classic Wiffle ball is about the same size as a regulation baseball and is hollow plastic no more than 1/8th of an inch thick. One hemisphere is perforated with eight 3/4" inch oblong holes, with a solid second hemisphere. Wiffle balls are typically packaged with a hollow, hard plastic, yellow bat that measures 31 inches (790 mm) in length and about 1.25 inches in diameter.
_Wikipedia
Also refers to the game played with a Wiffleball and bat.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mud room
Also seen as mudroom.
A side or back door entryway that acts as a barrier between outdoors and indoors, where coats and shoes or boots can be removed and thus keep dirt out of the main house. Often seen in farmhouses. Usually has a concrete or linoleum floor, sometimes with a floor drain. May have a bench to sit on while removing heavy boots and hooks to hang up outerwear.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word summer kitchen
In the days before air-conditioning, a "summer kitchen" was sometimes added to homes in order to remove the heat of the cooking fires from the main house during hot weather.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hot pants
Commonly known as "short shorts." These are short, tight shorts, usually made of cotton, nylon, or some other common material. They are meant to emphasize the buttocks and the legs. Hot pants were very popular in the early 1970s, but declined in popularity during the late 1970s.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pop gun
A pop gun is a toy gun that uses air pressure to fire a small projectile (often cork or foam) out of a barrel via piston action. The mechanism consists of a hollow cylindrical barrel which is sealed at one end with the projectile and at the other with a long-handled plunger. The plunger is rapidly forced down the barrel, building up internal air pressure until the projectile is forced out with the "pop" sound that lends the toy its name. The projectile may be tethered to the toy to prevent loss or for safety.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bb gun
BB guns are a type of air gun designed to fire usually spherical projectiles, called BBs after the Birdshot pellet of approximately the same size.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dirt bike
Motorcycles designed for racing over closed circuits, often with jumps, over varied terrain of gravel/mud/sand. Also called motocross bikes, when not being raced, they can also be used for informal off-road recreation, or "mudding".
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cracker jack
Cracker Jack is a brand of snack consisting of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts. It is also well known for being packaged with a "Toy Surprise Inside" of nominal value. This attained pop-culture status with the term "came in a Cracker Jack box" referring to an object of no real value.
Chorus of Take Me Out to the Ballgame:
Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game.
Words written in 1908 by Jack Norworth
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kool-aid
Kool-Aid was invented by Gerard and Edwin Perkins in Hastings, Nebraska. Its predecessor was a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. To reduce shipping costs, in 1927, Perkins discovered a way to remove the liquid from Fruit Smack, leaving only a powder. This powder was named Kool-Ade (and a few years later, it was renamed 'Kool-Aid' due to a change in US Government regulations regarding the need for fruit juice in products using the term "Ade"). Perkins moved his production to Chicago in 1931 and Kool-Aid was sold to General Foods in 1953.
_Wikipedia
A powdered fruit flavoring that is mixed with regular granulated sugar and water by the customer to make a pitcherful of soft drink. It is a brand name that has become a generic term used to mean any inexpensive fruity soft drink mix or non-carbonated fruity soft drink.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fishstick
A fishstick is a processed food made using a whitefish such as cod which have been battered and/or breaded. They are commonly available in the frozen food section of Western supermarkets, and on children's menus in family-oriented restaurants.
_Wikipedia
In the 1950s they were nasty, soggy fishy little cakes with too much breading that were served to school children as part of the typical school lunch, especially on Fridays when Catholic children traditionally could not eat meat.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ears hat
A souvenir sold at Disney theme parks that is a small round felt beanie style hat with two large round plastic ears that is designed to make the child or child at heart who is wearing it look like Mickey Mouse.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word space blanket
A space blanket is a blanket designed to be used in emergency situations to reduce heat loss from a person's body. The blanket consists of a thin sheet of plastic material (often PET film) that is coated with a metallic reflecting agent, usually gold or silver in color, which reflects about 80% of the wearer's radiated body heat back to him or her.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rabbit ears
The most common dipole antenna is the "rabbit ears" type used with televisions. While theoretically the dipole elements should be along the same line, "rabbit ears" are adjustable in length and angle.
A dipole antenna, developed by Heinrich Rudolph Hertz around 1886, is an antenna with a center-fed driven element for transmitting or receiving radio frequency energy. These antennas are the simplest practical antennas from a theoretical point of view.
_Wikipedia
In the days before cable television rabbit ears sat on top of the TV to help reception. They usually had a small round or oval shaped plastic base that had two long metal wands that could be adjusted projecting up from the base.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chiclet
Chiclets are a brand of candy coated chewing gum made by Cadbury Adams. The product's name is derived from the Spanish word chicle (chewing gum) derived from (Nahuatl tziktli), the substance from which chewing gum was traditionally made. The original flavor was peppermint but many flavors have been added and discontinued over the decades since the introduction in 1906. Assorted fruit flavor is still available in Mexico, U.S. and Canada.
_Wikipedia
One piece of Chiclets gum is a chiclet. Chiclet has become a generic term for any candy coated, pillow shaped gum.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word drumstick
Drumstick is the brand name for different novelty ice cream cones sold in the United States, Australia, Canada, and other countries across the world.
A typical Drumstick-brand ice cream cone is a waffle cone filled with ice cream, topped with chocolate and nuts, has a chunk of chocolate in the bottom of the cone and is commonly found in the frozen food section of a US grocery store. However in Australia a chocolate cone variety called Drumstick Royale is available, which replaces the waffle cone with a solid chocolate cone.
The original product was invented by I.C. Parker of The Drumstick Company in 1928.
_Wikipedia
Drumstick has become a generic term for any brand or homemade icecream treat that features a sundae combination (icecream topped with a chocolate shell and chopped nuts) in a prepared waffle-type sugar cone.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word car coat
Car coat, a hooded hip-length casual jacket inspired by the parka, popular in the 1960s.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pea coat
A pea coat (or pea jacket, pilot jacket) is an outer coat, generally of a navy-colored heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of European navies. Pea coats are characterized by broad lapels, double-breasted fronts, often large wooden buttons, and vertical or slash pockets. Although it first appeared in the early 18th century, modern renditions still maintain the original design and composition.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cigar store indian
The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an old advertisement figure made to represent cigar shops. The figures were often three-dimensional wooden sculptures several feet tall - up to life-sized. They are still occasionally used for their original advertising purpose but are more often seen in decorative uses, or, for older ones, as advertising collectibles.
Because of the general illiteracy of the populace, early store owners used descriptive emblems or figures to advertise their shops' wares. Indians and tobacco had always been associated because Indians introduced tobacco to Europeans, and the depiction of native people on smoke-shop signs was inevitable. As early as the seventeenth century, European tobacconists used figures of Indians to advertise their shops.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word knuckle sandwich
slang term for a punch in the mouth
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word diorama
The current, popular understanding of the term “Diorama�? denotes a partially three-dimensional, full-size replica or scale model of a landscape typically showing historical events, nature scenes or cityscapes, for purposes of education or entertainment.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word haunted house
A haunted house could be any house that is inhabited by ghosts or disembodied spectres or other supernatural beings or energies.
A haunted house is also a type of funhouse seen around Halloween in the United States. Usually for profit and often for charitable causes, scary, spooky and/or grisly decorations are used in a mazelike series of rooms or settings in a large building such as a warehouse or old school or some similar empty building to create an interactive fun environment for people to pretend and have some chills and thrills and laughs. Live actors dressed as skeletons, monsters, ghosts, murderers and other ghouls animate dioramas. Spooky props such as smoke machines, fake blood and make-up are also used to create the atmosphere.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chenille
I love chenille bedspreads and they symbolize homey, country grandma style to me.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sock monkey
A sock monkey is a stuffed toy made from socks and fashioned in the likeness of a monkey. Sock monkeys hold an important place in the culture of North America as a symbol of ingenuity.
The iconic sock monkeys made from Red-Heel socks emerged at the earliest in 1932, the year the Nelson Knitting Company of Rockford, Illinois added the trademarked red heel to its product. Nelson Knitting added the red heel "de-tec-tip" to assure its customers they were buying "original Rockfords". This red heel gave the monkeys their distinctive mouth. The original brown heather color of the rest of the sock makes the monkey's coat.
Around 1951 the knitting company discovered their socks were being used to make monkey dolls. In 1953, Nelson Knitting became involved in a dispute over the design patent on the sock monkey pattern. They were awarded the patent in 1955, and began including the pattern with every pair of socks.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fisheye lens
In photography, a fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in an extremely wide, hemispherical image. Originally developed for use in meteorology and astronomy and called "whole-sky lenses", fisheye lenses quickly became popular in general photography for their unique, distorted appearance. They are often used by photographers shooting broad landscapes to suggest the curve of the Earth.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word quincunx
In Astrology, Quincunx:
One of several possible aspects or relationships between planets in a horoscope.
An arc of 150 degrees. Also known as the inconjunct; this aspect creates a certain uneasiness and a feeling of discomfort and has karmic lessons to teach us. It is a minor aspect.
Otherwise known as Inconjunct.
This aspect is the only one not measured by celestial longitude. It is of two or more planets having the same distance in declination in degrees, north or south of the celestial equator.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word starlight mint
A disk shaped hard candy, usually peppermint or spearmint flavored but also available in several fruit flavors. It has a characteristic striped pattern that looks like a starburst. Some starlight mints have a white disk on the flat face of the mint and stripes on the sides. The peppermint ones are red and white and look like cousins to candy canes. They are usually individually wrapped in cellophane. Many restaurants in the U.S. make them available free of charge to their customers as an after-dinner mint or a breath mint.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word root beer barrel
Hard candy, usually individually wrapped in cellophane, root beer flavored, shaped like a miniature barrel
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lemon drop
A lemon drop is a sugary, lemon-flavored hard candy that is typically colored yellow and often shaped like a miniature lemon. They can be sweet or have a more sour flavor.
The term "lemon drop" is also occasionally applied to lemon-flavored throat lozenges.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word white elephant sale
A White Elephant Sale is a collection of used items being sold by a non-professional group of individuals second hand, much akin to a yard sale or garage sale, usually as a fund-raiser.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word garage sale
A garage sale, also called a "yard sale", "tag sale", "attic sale", "moving sale", or "junk sale", is an informal, irregularly scheduled event for the sale of used goods by private individuals.
_Wikipedia
See also rummage sale
White elephant sale
In Wales I have heard these sales called boot sales and jumble sales
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bundt cake
A Bundt cake is the name used for a dessert cake cooked in a Bundt pan, whose essential attribute is its ringed shape. The Bundt pan (a registered trademark) was created in 1950 by H. David Dalquist, founder of Nordic Ware, at the request of members of the Hadassah Society's chapter in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They were interested in a pan that could be used to make bundkuchen (sometimes called kugelhopf or Gugelhupf), a popular German and Austrian coffee cake. The old-world pans, made of delicate ceramic or heavy cast iron, were difficult to use. He modified some existing Scandinavian pan designs by introducing folds in the outer edge, and fashioned the pan out of aluminum.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word knife pleat
Knife pleats are used for basic gathering purposes, and form a smooth line rather than springing away from the seam they have been gathered to. The pleats have a 3:1 ratio–three inches of fabric will create one inch of finished pleat. Knife pleats can be recognized by the way that they overlap in the seam.
_Wikipedia
See also box pleat
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word box pleat
Box pleats are knife pleats back-to-back, and have a tendency to spring out from the waistline. They have the same 3:1 ratio as knife pleats, and may also be stacked to form stacked box pleats. These stacked box pleats create more fullness and have a 5:1 ratio. They also create a bulkier seam. Inverted box pleats have the "box" on the inside rather than the outside.
_Wikipedia
See also knife pleat
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word little black dress
A little black dress is an evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often with a short skirt, originally made popular in the 1920s by the fashion designer Coco Chanel. Intended by Chanel to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral color, its continued ubiquity is such that many refer to it by its abbreviation, LBD.
The "little black dress" is considered essential to a complete wardrobe by many women and fashion observers.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pleiadians
Pleiadeans (also spelled Pleiadian or Plejaran) is the name given to what are said to be a group of Nordic alien extraterrestrials and "multidimensional spirit beings" from the Pleiades star cluster in the constellation of Taurus), approximately 400 light years from planet Earth. Their home planet is said to be called Erra, and various descriptions of their appearance have been given by those whom claim have been in contact with them.
Contactees who claim to have been in contact with the Pleiadeans include Billy Meier and James Gilliland.
_Wikipedia
I think Shirley MacLaine mentions them in Out On a Limb.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word mothman
Mothman is the name given to a being or creature reported in the Charleston and Point Pleasant areas of West Virginia between November 12, 1966, near Clendenin, and December 1967. Most observers describe the Mothman as a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large moth-like wings. The creature often appeared to have no head, with its eyes set into its chest. A number of hypotheses have been presented to explain eyewitness accounts, ranging from misidentification and coincidence, to paranormal phenomena and conspiracy theories.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beatle suit
In the early Beatle-mania years, the Beatles would occasionally wear black, and then later grey, Edwardian collarless suits. This style of suit was adopted from the Mod youth cult, then at its peak in the UK. These suits became extremely common for new bands to wear after 1964.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beatle jacket
See also beatle suit
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cuban heels
n.
A broad heel of moderate height with a slightly tapered back and straight front, used in shoes and some boots.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beatle boots
Beatle boots are tight-fitting, cuban-heeled, ankle-length boots with a pointed toe which originated in 1963 when Brian Epstein (then manager of the Beatles) discovered Chelsea boots while browsing in the London footwear company Anello & Davide, and consequently commissioned four pairs (with the addition of Cuban heels) for The Beatles to complement their new suit image upon their return from Hamburg, who wore them under drainpipe trousers.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beatle haircut
The Beatle haircut, also known as the mop-top (or moptop) is a mid-length hairstyle named after and popularised by the Beatles. It is a straight cut - collar-length at the back and over the ears at the sides, with straight bangs.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beatle jacket
See also Nehru jacket
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word nehru jacket
The Nehru jacket is a hip-length tailored coat for men or women, with a stand-up or "mandarin" collar, and modeled on the South Asian achkan or sherwani, an apparel worn by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1964. However, unlike the achkan, which falls somewhere below the knees of the wearer, the Nehru jacket is not only shorter, but also, in all respects other than the collar, resembles the suit jacket.
The apparel was created in India in the 1940s as Band Gale Ka Coat (Hindi/Urdu: "Closed Neck Coat") and has been popular on the subcontinent since, especially as the top half of a suit worn on formal occasions. It began to be marketed as the Nehru jacket in the West in the mid-1960s; it was briefly popular there in the late 1960s and early 1970s, its popularity spurred by growing awareness of foreign cultures, by the minimalism of the Mod lifestyle, and, in particular, by the Beatles, who popularized the garment.
_Wikipedia
Sometimes referred to as a Beatle jacket
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pop-tart
A Pop-Tart is a flat rectangular toaster pastry approximately 3 in (75 mm) by 5.5 in (115 mm), made by the Kellogg Company. Pop-Tarts have a sugary filling sealed inside two layers of rectangular, thin pastry crust; each layer of this crust is about 0.1 in (2 mm) thick. Most varieties have frosting, but some do not. They can be eaten without being warmed, but are often warmed inside a toaster. They are usually sold in pairs inside foil packages, and do not require refrigeration.
_Wikipedia
Has become a generic term for any toaster pastries.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the list the-truth-is-in-here
Don't forget Rosicrucians.
The Golden Dawn
Scottish Rite
Nice work...hope you don't disappear.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word owie
A word commonly used by small children or infants to describe a wound. (Common in the mid-western United States)
See also boo boo
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word boo boo
a slang term usually used by children or with children meaning a small injury or sore, abrasion, cut
See also owie
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word oi!
Oi! is a working class street-level subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s
See also oi
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word oi
Oi, pronounced /ˈɔɪ/, is a British / Welsh, Irish, Australian slang interjection used to get someone's attention, or to express surprise or disapproval. The American English equivalent is the interjection "hey".
_Wikipedia
See Also Oi! is a working class street-level subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word yippie
The Youth International Party (whose adherents were known as Yippies, a variant on "Hippies") was a highly theatrical and anti-authoritarian political party established in the United States in 1967. An offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movements of the 1960s, the Yippies presented a more radically youth-oriented and countercultural alternative to those movements. They employed theatrical gestures—such as advancing a pig ("Pigasus the Immortal") as a candidate for President in 1968—to mock the social status quo. The Yippies had no formal membership or hierarchy: Abbie Hoffman, Anita Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Nancy Kurshan, and Paul Krassner were among the founders of the Yippies (according to his own account, Krassner coined the name).
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word big hair
Big hair is a term that can refer to hairstyles that emphasize large volume or largely styled hair. Big hair was popular in the late 1970s, as popularized by Dolly Parton and Farrah Fawcett, a development from earlier bouffant styles. The term is also used in the punk, goth and alternative cultures and is particularly associated with alternative fashion of the 1980s, or inspired by the period. In either usage, big hair in modern times generally suggests an eye-catching, untidy, tangled, voluminous hairstyle, worn by conformist women in the 1970s, non-conformist of all sexes in the 1980s.
_Wikipedia
Often achieved through teasing, backcombing or ratting the hair.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word backcombing
Backcombing is a way of combing hair which is used to create volume as well as to create certain hairstyles. Backcombing, also known as "teasing", means repeatedly combing the hair towards the scalp, causing the hair to tangle and knot up. This method is often used in creating various big hair styles such as beehives and dreadlocks.
_Wikipedia
Also known as ratting.
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rat
(v) give hair the appearance of being fuller by teasing or backcombing the hair
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word a go-go
The French term à gogo, often anglicized as A Go-Go, meaning "in abundance, galore". Alternate spellings vary widely, particularly concerning the placement and number of dashes as well as the use of the "a". The term is often used in popular culture, especially in the field of music and dancing. Though earlier uses of the phrase were meant to lend a cosmopolitan feel to subjects, modern usage tends more toward an ironic, campy appeal.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word carnaby street
Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in London, United Kindgom, located in the area of 'Carnaby' in the district of Soho, near Oxford Street, and just to the east of Regent Street. The area around Carnaby Street is known simply as 'Carnaby'. It consists of twelve pedestrianised streets with 168 fashion and lifesyle retailers, including a large number of independent fashion boutiques.
In the 1960s, Carnaby Street was made popular by followers of the Mod style. Many independent fashion boutiques, and designers such as Mary Quant and 'Lord John' were located in and around Carnaby Street as well as various underground music bars such as the 'Roaring Twenties'. With bands such as The Beatles, Small Faces, and Rolling Stones appearing in the area to work, shop, and socialize, it became one of London's coolest destination associated with the Swinging Sixties.
_Wikipedia
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word go-go boots
Go-Go boots are a low-heeled style of women’s fashion boot worn since the mid-sixties when fashion silhouettes focused on accentuating the leg. The term “go-go�? refers to the fact that they were often seen on and associated with dancers at discotheques such as Whisky a Go Go.
Go-go boots are either calf-, knee- or above knee-high boots with a low or flat heel. The style is a very simple shape with a chiseled, rounded or pointed toe. The boot was usually fastened onto the foot by a side or back zipper, although by the Seventies it was not uncommon to find lace-up versions which accommodated a wider variety of calf sizes. Heel height ranges from flat to low 1�? shaped, with the occasional 2�? Cuban heel.
Materials were either synthetic or natural, with the oldest designs being made from plastic or vinyl of various colors, the most popular being white. Women’s styles tended to be taller, tighter and with a slightly higher heel than girl’s styles.
_Wikipedia
See also Courrege boots
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word courrege boots
André Courrèges is often cited as the originator of the fashion go-go boots. In the 1960s Courrege boots became a generic term used to describe a white leather or plastic calf-length boot with a wide top, worn by women, typically with a knee-length or mini skirt or dress. André Courrèges (born 1923) is a French fashion designer, known for his ultra-modern designs.
_Wikipedia
See also go-go boots
February 3, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rice krispie treat
A Rice Krispie treat is a sweet dessert or snack made from Rice Krispies, melted margarine or butter and melted marshmallows. Sometimes marshmallows and/or cereal that is seasonal is used to make these treats holiday specific. They are often homemade, but one can find them in many stores usually packaged under the Rice Krispies brand.
One variation is to use chocolate instead of marshmallows which is known as "Chocolate Crackles". Kellogg's has now produced commercial varieties of both the marshmallow and chocolate-based treats under the name of "Rice Krispies Squares".
Rice Krispie treats were invented in 1928 by Mildred Day, who was at the time working for the Kellogg Company, the maker of Rice Krispies. She used the cereal to develop the snack as a fundraiser for a Camp Fire Girls group.
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word long john
Commonly in the U.S. a doughnut in the shape of a bar, with or without a filling. In Wisconsin in the United States a long john, by definition, is unfilled and frosted. It and can be found plain frosted or frosted with nuts or sprinkles or jimmies.
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bear claw
A bear claw is a sweet breakfast food, popular in the United States. It is an almond-flavored, yeast-raised pastry shaped in a large, irregular semicircle with slices around the outside, evoking the shape of a bear's claw. Bear claws often contain almond paste or raisins.
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word persian
A Persian is an oval-shaped, cinnamon-bun-like pastry with a sweet, pink icing made of either raspberries or strawberries. It originated in and remains particular to the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
The Persian is a variation of the Pershing, a doughnut made from a yeast dough that is coiled with cinnamon and usually finished with a plain sugar glaze rather than pink icing. Pershings are widely available at doughnut shops elsewhere in North America.
_Wikipedia
See also pershing
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pershing
The Pershing is a doughnut made from a yeast dough that is coiled with cinnamon and usually finished with a plain sugar glaze rather than pink icing of a Persian. Pershings are widely available at doughnut shops in North America.
_Wikipedia
See also Persian
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word la leche league
La Leche League International (LLLI) is an international, nonprofit, nonpolitical, and nonsectarian organization, recognized as an authority on breastfeeding around the world. It was founded in 1956 in Franklin Park, Illinois, to give support and information to women who choose to breastfeed their babies. It currently has a presence in sixty-five countries.
_Wikipedia
Usually known simply as La Leche League or just as "League."
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word blessed be
"Blessed be" is probably the best-known Pagan expression. It is used as both a greeting and a farewell, and as a general expression of blessing or affirmation during ritual, similar to "amen".
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word amen
See also so mote it be
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word so mote it be
In Neo-Paganism and Wicca, the phrase Amen is not normally used, being seen as Christian in origin. However, the rather archaic phrase So mote it be is often used instead, with basically the same meaning (mote is an archaic form of may). This possibly derives from Freemasonry, where in certain rituals the phrase "Amen, so mote it be" is used.
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tax return
"Tax return" refers to a document which can be filed with a government body declaring liability for taxation.
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word codependence
Codependence (or codependency) is a popular psychology concept popularized by Twelve-Step program advocates. A "codependent" is loosely defined as someone who exhibits too much, and often inappropriate, caring for persons who depend on him or her. A "codependent" is one side of a relationship between mutually needy people. The dependent, or obviously needy party(s) may have emotional, physical, financial difficulties, or addictions they seemingly are unable to surmount. The "codependent" party exhibits behaviour which controls, makes excuses for, pities, and takes other actions to perpetuate the obviously needy party's condition, because of their desire to be needed and fear of doing anything that would change the relationship.
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word twelve-step program
A twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or other behavioral problems, originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) for recovery from alcoholism. The Twelve Steps were initially published in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous ("The Big Book") in 1939; since then more than 25 million copies have been printed in many languages. This method has been adapted as the foundation of other twelve-step programs such as Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous and Emotions Anonymous. As summarized by the American Psychological Association, working the Twelve Steps involves the following.
admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion;
recognizing a greater power that can give strength;
examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member);
making amends for these errors;
learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior;
helping others that suffer from the same addictions or compulsions.
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hatchet job
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.
NOUN: Slang A crude or ruthless effort usually ending in destruction: did a hatchet job on the mayor's reputation.
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kitten-caboodle
Love this word...always makes me smile and I have heard people use this hatchet job many times.
See whole kit and caboodle
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word whole kit and caboodle
A kit - is set of objects, as in a toolkit, or what a soldier would put in his kit-bag.
A caboodle (or boodle) - is an archaic term meaning group or collection, usually of people.
There are several phrases similar to the whole kit and caboodle, which is first recorded in that form in 1884. Most of them are of US origin and all the early citations are American. Caboodle was never in common use outside the USA and now has died out everywhere, apart from its use in this phrase.
_Phrases.org.uk
See lengthy explanation of this term:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/kit-and-caboodle.html
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word black ice
Black ice, also known as "glare ice" or "clear ice," typically refers to a thin coating of glazed ice on a surface, often a roadway. Black ice is ice frozen without many air bubbles trapped inside, making it transparent. Black ice takes the color of the material it lies on top of, often wet asphalt or a darkened pond. Its difficult-to-detect nature makes it a significant hazard to drivers, pedestrians, and sailors.
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word petal pushers
Calf-length slacks for women, popular in the 1960s
Also called capris, clamdiggers
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word capris
Calf-length slacks for women, popular in the 1960s
Also called clamdiggers, petal pushers
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word clamdiggers
Calf-length slacks for women, popular in the 1960s
Also called capris, petal pushers
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hip huggers
low cut slacks or skirts worn with a wide leather belt in the 1960s
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word poor boy
In the 1960s a poor boy was a popular kind of shirt for females. They were figure hugging rib-knit t-shirts that came in a wide range of solid colors. They were often worn tucked into hip huggers, either skirts or slacks which were worn with a wide leather belt.
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the list public-list-a-horse-is-a-horse
Mollusque...that would be cool. The correlated words, I mean.
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the list public-list-a-horse-is-a-horse
My real first name is Terrie. My last name before I divorced the carbuncle was Reese. Hence t + reese +ed for good measure = treeseed. I am not reesetee. Really.
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lamb chop
The term lamb is a name for the animal or meat of a domestic sheep. The meat of a sheep a year old or younger is generally known as lamb.
Lamb chops are cut from the rib, loin, and shoulder areas. The rib chops include a rib bone; the loin chops include only a chine bone. Shoulder chops are usually considered inferior to loin chops.
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word lamb chop
Lamb Chop is a fictional character, more precisely a fictional sheep, who is a sock puppet created by comedian and ventriloquist Shari Lewis. In 1957, Lamb Chop, a ewe, first appeared with Lewis on Hi Mom, a local morning show that aired on WNBC in New York.
Lamb Chop has been described as a "6-year-old girl, very intuitive and very feisty, a combination of obstinacy and vulnerability...you know how they say fools rush in where wise men fear to go? Well, Lamb Chop would rush in, then scream for help."
_Wikipedia
A friend of Charlie Horse. (See Charley Horse)
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word charley horse
Charlie Horse was a charming hand puppet used by puppeteer Shari Lewis. A friend of Lamb Chop.
Shari Lewis (January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s.
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word charley horse
Merriam-Webster Dictonary
noun
Etymology: from Charley, nickname for Charles
Date: 1888
: a muscular pain, cramping, or stiffness especially of the quadriceps that results from a strain or bruise
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word swan song
The phrase "Swan song" is a reference to an ancient belief that the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is completely mute during its lifetime, except for singing a single, heartbreakingly beautiful song just before it dies.
It has been known since antiquity that this belief is false. In A.D. 77. Pliny the Elder refuted it in Natural History (book 10, chapter xxxii: olorum morte narratur flebilis cantus, falso, ut arbitror, aliquot experimentis, "observation shows that the story that the dying swan sings is false").
By extension, swan song has become an idiom referring to a final theatrical or dramatic appearance, or any final work or accomplishment.
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word swan dive
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1898
: a front dive executed with the head back, back arched, and arms spread sideways and then brought together above the head to form a straight line with the body as the diver enters the water
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word high dive
A name for the higher platform diving board as opposed to the lower springboards found at public swimming pools.
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word paddle ball
Paddle ball is a one-person game played with an attached ball and paddle. Using a flat paddle with a small rubber ball attached at the center via an elastic string, the player tries to hit the ball with the paddle in succession as many times as possible. The paddle is usually made from either wood or plastic.
_Wikipedia
February 2, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beach ball
A beach ball (also beachball) is a large inflatable ball used in various games and other recreational activities traditionally conducted on the beach. Their large size and light weight means it takes little effort to propel one, and they travel slowly to their target, making them ideal for lazy games on hot days, though their lightness makes it difficult to play with them in strong wind.
The beach ball was invented by Jonathon DeLonge in 1938 in California. Beach balls are manufactured in a wide variety of sizes, with diameters ranging from a few inches to four feet. They generally consist of a set of soft plastic panels—two circular panels, one of which contains a valve for inflation, connected by a series of bulged-rectangle-shaped pieces, which are joined side-by-side and form most of the surface area of the ball.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word melamine
Melamine resin dinnerware (plates, saucers, cups, bowls) was quite popular in the 1960s...the oxymoron "pretty ugly" describes the dinnerware well.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word instamatic
What a wonderful photo, S of G! My first camera was a Brownie Starmite.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word empire
An Empire silhouette is created by wearing a high-waisted dress, gathered near or just under the bust with a long, loose skirt, which skims the body. The outline is especially flattering to pear shapes wishing to disguise the stomach area or emphasise the bust. The shape of the dress helps to lengthen the body. The word "Empire" here refers to the period of the First French Empire.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word babydoll
A short, empire waisted form of lingerie or sleep attire
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word light as a feather, stiff as a board
Light as a feather, stiff as a board, sometimes known as lovely ness, is a game often played by children at slumber parties. One participant lies flat on the floor, and then the others space themselves around him/her, each placing a few fingers underneath his/her body. They then start chanting "light as a feather, stiff as a board" and eventually lift their friend, using what feels like surprisingly little effort.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word chinese fire drill
A Chinese fire drill is a prank, or perhaps an expression of high spirits, that was popular in the United States during the 1960s. It is performed when a car is stopped at a red traffic light, at which point all of the car's occupants get out, run around the car, and return to their own (or go to other) seats. Chinese fire drills are sometimes executed when one needs to get something from the trunk of a car. Occasionally, if one of the participants is late to get inside the car, the others might drive off without him/her. People have reported this phenomenon as early as the 1940s, so it is possible that the phrase was current at the time, but simply was not recorded.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kidnap breakfast
A kidnap breakfast is a fun activity usually carried out by a youth group in which individuals are unsuspectingly woken up from a sound sleep by their friends in the group and are compelled (in a friendly way) to come exactly as they are to a group breakfast gathering at another location.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word slumber party
A sleep-over party for children and teens. Also called a pajama party or a PJ party.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pajama party
Sleep-over party for children or teens. Also called a slumber party or a PJ party.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word autograph hound
A person who collects autographs, typically one who approaches, follows or imposes on celebrities for their signatures.
In the early 1960s a popular toy for teen girls was a stuffed animal looking much like a dachshund that had a smooth fabric which could be autographed by one's friends. This was also known as an autograph hound.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word instamatic
Instamatic was the name of a long-running series of inexpensive, easy-to-load 126 and 110 cameras made by Kodak beginning in 1963. The Instamatic was immensely successful, introducing a generation to low-cost photography and spawning numerous imitators.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word brownie starmite
Small inexpensive Kodak camera
Type: Solid body eyelevel rollfilm
Introduced: April 1960
Discontinued: June 1963
Film size: 127
Picture size: 1 5/8 X 1 5/8"
Manufactured: US and assembled in the UK May 1961-65
Lens: Fixed-focus f/11
Shutter: Rotary
Numbers made: ?
Original price: $10.50
Description:
Moulded plastic body; optical direct vision finder;
built-in flash gun for capless bulbs
_Brownie-camera.com
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word need your head read
A Welsh and Australian slang phrase (that I know of, perhaps others use it) meaning "you are crazy" or "you need psychiatric help."
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word head case
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1974
: nut (6a) 6 a: a foolish, eccentric, or crazy person
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word stardust
Bat Masterson was a Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry. His horse was Stardust.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word sophie
Colonel Sherman T. Potter's horse on MASH.
Radar found a wounded stray horse (later named Sophie), he gave her to Potter, so he could care for her. Potter was delighted to have a horse again, and rode her regularly. Potter was played by Harry Morgan.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word penny
On the TV series Sugarfoot, Penny was the horse of fledgling frontier lawyer Tom Brewster (Will Hutchins.)
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word el loaner
Bret Maverick's (James Garner) horse on the TV series Maverick was El Loaner.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word blueboy
Mark McKane's (Johnny Crawford) horse on the TV series The Rifleman is named Blueboy.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word blaze king
On the TV series National Velvet, Velvet Brown's horse is named Blaze King, called King for short. Velvet was played by Lori Martin.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word joe
An appaloosa horse named Joe was the mount of The Virginian played by James Drury on the TV series The Virginian. Some people have heard this as "Jody" but Drury is on record as saying the horse was named Joe. More than one appaloosa horse played this part.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word little buck
Little Buck was the horse of Trampas (Doug McClure) on the TV series "The Virginian"
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word topper
Topper was a white horse with silver points and a Tennessee Walking Horse.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word flicka
Flicka and her rider Ken McLaughlin
My Friend Flicka is a 1941 novel by Mary O'Hara, about Ken McLaughlin, the son of a Wyoming rancher, and his horse Flicka. It was the first in a trilogy, followed by Thunderhead, Son of Flicka (1943) and Green Grass of Wyoming (1946). The popular 1943 film version featured a young Roddy McDowall. It was followed by film adaptations of the other two novels, in 1945 and 1948, and by a television series (1956-1958) that first aired on CBS, then on NBC, followed by reruns on ABC and on CBS between 1959 and 1966.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word traveller
Traveller was used by General Robert E. Lee thoughout most of the Civil War.
Traveller (birth name "Jeff Davis") was born near the Blue Sulphur Springs, in Greenbrier County, Virginia (now West Virginia), raised by Andrew Johnston. An American Saddlebred, he was of the Gray Eagle stock, and, as a colt, took the first prize at the Lewisburg, Virginia, fairs in 1859 and 1860. As an adult gelding, he was a sturdy horse, 16 hands high and 1,100 pounds (500 kg), iron gray in color with black points, a long mane and flowing tail.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word flip
A 1960s female hairstyle that featured shoulder length, essentially straight, blunt cut hair that turned up dramatically and uniformly on the ends. Sometimes worn with a middle or side part and at other times combed back and held off the forehead with a hair band.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word flattop
See Balboa notes
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word crew cut
A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the hair is cut fairly short. The term was most likely coined to describe the haircut worn by members of the Yale rowing crew. The name drew a contrast with football players of the time, who wore long hair to compensate for flimsy leather helmets.
The crew cut was adopted by the United States armed forces during World War II, and became a civilian fashion for men throughout the 1950s.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word balboa
Balboa haircut, crew cut or flattop on top with long sides combed/greased back into a ducktail in the back. Seen in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word comet
Comet is a powdered cleaning product sold in North America and distributed in the USA by Prestige Brands. Scratch Free Comet with Bleach Disinfectant Cleanser contains 1.2% sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione dihydrate and 98.8% "other" ingredients. The only clues about the other ingredients in the product are disclaimers on the label that mention that the surfactants in the product are biodegradable and that it contains no phosphate. Despite being labeled as scratch free, its label instructs to use plenty of water on delicate surfaces. Comet is not recommended for use on silver, painted surfaces, walls, soft plastic, aluminum, or rubber, except for tires. Mixing Comet with other cleaners, specifically toilet bowl cleaners and products that contain ammonia, is dangerous.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word fibula
See also safety pin
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Inflected Form(s): plural fib·u·lae \-lē, -lī\ or fib·u·las
Etymology: Latin, pin, clasp; akin to Latin figere to fasten
Date: 1578
1 : the outer and usually smaller of the two bones between the knee and ankle in the hind or lower limbs of vertebrates
2 : a clasp resembling a safety pin used especially by the ancient Greeks and Romans
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word safety pin
The origin of the safety pin dates back to the Mycenaeans during the 14th century BC (Late Mycenaean III era). They are known as fibulae (singular fibula) and were used in the same manner as modern day safety pins. In fact, the very first fibulae of the 14th and 13th centuries B.C. looked remarkably like the safety pin. The origin of the fibulae is detailed in Chr. Blinkenberg's 1926 book Fibules grecques et orientales.
The safety pin was reinvented in July 1849 by American inventor Walter Hunt. The rights to the invention were sold for $400.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word scotch tape
The precursor to the current 3-M tapes was developed in the 1930s by Richard Drew to seal a then-new transparent material known as cellophane. Although it is a trademarked brand name, it is sometimes used in the US and elsewhere as a generic term for transparent adhesive tape. The Scotch brand includes many different constructions of tape.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word five and dime
See also dimestore
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word dimestore
The concept of the variety store originated with the five and ten, or nickel and dime, or five and dime, or dimestore, a store where everything cost either five cents (a nickel) or ten cents (a dime). The originator of the concept may be Woolworths, which began in 1878 in Watertown, New York. Other five and tens that existed in the USA included W.T. Grant, J.J. Newberry's, McCrory's, Kresge, McClellan's, and Ben Franklin Stores.,/i>
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word penny loafer
A low flat "loafer" style shoe with a decorative stylized fold or slot on the front top. A 1950s fad involved the wearing of a shiny new penny in this fold...hence the name.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word saddle shoes
Saddle shoes are two-toned leather footwear, the normal coloration is white and black, although other colorations are frequently sold. The toe and back of the shoe are white and the name comes from the saddle of black leather on the middle part which has the eyelets. Saddle shoes are worn by both men and women. They were hugely popular in the 1950s.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word poodle skirt
Postwar American style:
A wide swing felt skirt of a solid color displayed a design appliquéd or transferred to the fabric. The design was of course a coiffed French poodle.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word beauty mark
A beauty mark or beauty spot is a dark facial mole that some people consider attractive, usually when it is within about an inch of the upper lip or around the eyes, and does not protrude from the skin (not polypoid). Doctors call them melanocytic nevus, more specifically the compound variant. Moles may also be located elsewhere on the body, but are not generally considered beauty spots.
False beauty spots can be applied to the face as a form of make-up. Beauty marks were particularly highly regarded during the 18th century and creating false ones became common, often in fanciful shapes such as hearts. Marilyn Monroe's beauty mark generated a new vogue for them during the twentieth century.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word spit curl
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
noun
Etymology: probably from its being sometimes plastered down with saliva
Date: 1831
: a spiral curl that is usually plastered on the forehead, temple, or cheek
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bobby pin
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: perhaps from 4bob
Date: 1926
: a flat wire hairpin with prongs that press close together
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word pin curl
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Date: 1896
: a curl made usually by dampening a strand of hair with water or lotion, coiling it, and securing it by a hairpin or clip
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word binky
Another name for a baby's pacifier
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word high chair
Meriam-Webster Dictionary
noun
Date: 1848
: a child's chair with long legs, a footrest, and usually a feeding tray
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word babee tenda
Babee Tenda is a children's furniture company to this day but in the 1950s they manufactured a unigue baby feeding table that was known by the same name as the company. A babee tenda was a square table with a hole cut in the middle of it that had a baby seat attached. It was on four legs with casters and doubled as an activity table. It was very popular and used in place of a high chair. They folded up and stored easily.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word umbrella stroller
In 1965, Owen Maclaren, an aeronautical engineer, listened to his daughter complain about traveling from England to America with her heavy pram. Maclaren knew that she needed something with a light frame that could fold up compactly. Using his knowledge of aeroplanes, Maclaren designed a stroller with an aluminum frame and created the first true umbrella stroller. He then went on to found Maclaren which manufactured and sold his new design.
_Wikipedia
These lightweight strollers that folded up so like an umbrella does, were nicknamed umbrella strollers.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word city chicken
City chicken is a food entrée comprised of cubes of meat that are placed on a wooden skewer (approximately 4-5 inches long), breaded, then fried and/or baked. The origins of the entrée and its name are not entirely known, however it is rumored to have begun during the Depression Era, when people took meat scraps and fashioned a make-shift drumstick out of them. Sometimes the meat was ground, and a drumstick-shaped mold was used to form the ground meat around a skewer. Today, better cuts of meat (usually pork loin, beef, and/or veal) are used. In spite of the name, the dish usually contains no chicken.
The dish (and hence the term) seem to be regionalized to the areas surrounding Pittsburgh, PA, ranging from Central Pennsylvania, Northern West Virginia, to as far west as the western suburbs of Cleveland, OH and Hamtramck, MI. It is also known as mock chicken.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word winnebago
Lake Winnebago is a large freshwater lake in eastern Wisconsin. It is the third largest natural freshwater lake completely within a U.S. state (behind Lake Okeechobee (Florida) and Red Lake (Minnesota)) respectively.
_Wikipedia
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word oneida
(Onyota'a:ka or Onayotekaono, meaning the People of the Upright Stone, or standing stone, Thwahrù•nęˀ in Tuscarora)
The Weirdnet usage of "warlike" is racist. Also they still live in New York, not just "formerly".
There is also a separate but related sovereign nation of Oneida in Wisconsin.
February 1, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ibizan hound
The Ibizan Hound, pronounced "I-bee-than" or "I-beez-an", also called Podenco Ibicenco in Spanish or Ca Eivissenc in Catalan, is an agile, deer-like dog of the hound family. There are two hair types of the breed: smooth and wire. The more commonly seen type is the smooth. Some consider there to be a third type, long, but most consider the longhair to be a variation of the wire.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word girl scout cookie
Thin Mints and Savannahs RULE!
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word girl scout cookie
A Girl Scout cookie is one of several varieties of cookie sold on neighborhood tours by Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) as a fundraiser for their organization. Members of the GSUSA have been selling cookies since 1917 to raise funds for their units. Top-selling girls can earn prizes for their efforts.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word webelo
One of the ranks in the Cub Scouts (Boy Scouts of America)
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word cub scout
A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged 8–10. Originally, like the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouting was for boys only; girls were expected to join the Brownies and then the Girl Guides or Girl Scouts. Since about 1990 the Cubs has been open to both girls and boys in several countries. In the USA, it is exclusively open for boys to join.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word camp fire girl
Camp Fire USA is a nationwide youth organization that began on March 17, 1910 as Camp Fire Girls. The organization has been co-ed since 1975 and has youth from pre-kindergarten through age 21. For a time it was known as just Camp Fire and then as Camp Fire Boys and Girls as more boys joined the organization.
The organizational history and the story of the origins of Camp Fire are complex, but the short version would be that Camp Fire Girls was founded in 1910 by some of the same people who founded Boy Scouts of America. Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte Vetter Gulick are credited as "official founders" of Camp Fire Girls.
In 1913, the "Blue Bird" program was introduced for younger girls and offered exploration of ideas and creative play built around family and community life. In 1989 the "Blue Bird" level became the "Starflight" level.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word 4-h
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the Cooperative Extension System of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development."1 The four "H"'s stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word kewpie doll
Kewpie dolls and figurines are based on illustrations by Rose O'Neill that appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in 1909. These illustrations, which incorporated words and pictures with the recurring Kewpie characters, are considered to be early versions of the comic strip medium. The small dolls were extremely popular in the early 1900s. They were first made out of bisque and then celluloid. In 1949, Effanbee created the first hard plastic versions.
Their name, often shortened to "Kewpies", in fact is derived from "Cupid.". The early dolls, especially signed or bisque, are highly collectible and worth thousands of dollars. The time capsule at the 1939 New York World's Fair contained a Kewpie doll.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word round up
Round Up is an amusement ride consisting of circular horizontal platform with vertical cage like wall around the edge. The platform is attached to a motor on a hydraulic arm. The ride starts out by spinning until the centripetal force is enough to push riders against the wall. Then, the arm raises the horizontal platform to a vertical position in which riders, instead of spinning horizontally, are now spinning vertically.
The ride spins for a predetermined cycle until an automatic timer releases the hydraulic fluid from the arm causing the platform to return to its horizontal position.
In the UK this ride is commonly known as the 'Meteorite' or 'Meteor'.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word bumper car
Bumper car is the generic name for a type of flat ride consisting of several small electric cars that draw their power from an overhead grid, which is turned off by the operator at the end of a session. They are also known as dodgem cars, or simply dodgems, the last name being the usual term in British English.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word zipper
The Zipper is a carnival ride designed in 1968 by Chance Rides Manufacturing, Inc., an American manufacturer of amusement rides based in Wichita, Kansas. This ride is noted for the extreme g-forces felt by its riders. The Zipper is still a very popular attraction at many fairs and carnivals.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rock-o-plane
The Rock-O-Plane is an amusement park ride. Its shape is similar to that of a Ferris wheel, but with seats that are enclosed and rock and roll as the ride turns. If the rocking builds sufficient momentum the seats will flip upside-down and end-over-end.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word tilt-a-whirl
The Tilt-A-Whirl is a platform-type ride, consisting of seven freely-spinning cars that hold four riders each, which are attached at fixed pivot points on a rotating platform. As the platform revolves, parts of the platform are raised and lowered, and the resulting centrifugal and gravitational forces on the cars cause them to randomly spin in different directions and at variable speeds. The weight of passengers in these cars may intensify or dampen the spinning motion of the cars, adding to the random nature of the motion.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word funhouse
Most common funhoue devices:
A slide, usually much taller and steeper than you would find on a playground. Some were as much as two stories high. Slides of comparable size can be seen today on carnival midways as separate attractions. Most were made of polished hardwood, and riders would sit on burlap mats to protect themselves from friction burns and to ensure that rubber-soled shoes didn't slow the slider down.
A large spinning disk. While the disk was stationary patrons would get on and sit in the center, then the opeator would start the disk spinning, and people would be thrown off by centripetal force, ending up against a padded wall. A variation was a disk with a raised center, shaped much like a Bundt cake mold; as the device speeded up people would slide downhilll as well as outward.
A horizontal revolving cylinder or "barrel" to try to walk through without falling down.
Sections of floor that undulated up and down, tipped from side to side or moved forward and back, either motorized ore activated by the person's weight. Stairs that moved up and down or tipped from side to side. The industry refers to these and similar devices as “floor tricks.�?
Compressed air jets shooting up from the floor, originally designed to blow up women's skirts, but effective at startling almost anyone and making them jump and scream.
An array of distorting mirrors.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word shooting gallery
A game at traveling carnivals, county/state fair midways, funfairs, entertainment boardwalks and amusement parks, featuring a pellet gun and typically either numerous moving mechanical tracks with small targets worth various minor prizes or points towards a major prize, or a paper target with a star on it which must be completely shot away to win a prize.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word snow cone
A snow cone (or sno cone) is a dessert item usually made of crushed or shaved ice flavored with brightly colored sugary syrup, usually fruit-flavored. Some are served with a spoon, and some are eaten with the hands like an ice cream cone.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word ferris wheel
Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas suspended from the rim.
Ferris wheels are a common type of amusement park ride and may also be found at urban parks and public places. Ferris wheels usually hold about 50-100 people.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hot cross bun
Hot cross buns,
Hot cross buns,
one ha' penny,
two ha' penny,
hot cross buns.
If you have no daughters,
give them to your sons,
one ha' penny,
two ha' penny,
Hot Cross Buns
A hot cross bun is a type of sweet spiced bun made with currants and leavened with yeast. It has a cross on the top which might be made in a variety of ways: it could be pastry, made from a simple flour and water mixture, cut from rice paper and glazed onto the bun, iced, or simply cut into the bun itself.
In many historically Christian countries, the buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, with the cross standing as a symbol of the crucifixion. They are believed by some to pre-date Christianity, although the first recorded use of the term "hot cross bun" is not until 1733.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word hershey's kiss
Hershey's Kisses are a type of chocolate manufactured by The Hershey Company. The bite-sized pieces of chocolate have a distinctive shape, commonly described as flat-bottomed teardrops. Hershey's Kisses are wrapped in squares of lightweight aluminum foil with a narrow strip of paper protruding from the top.
The Kisses are one of the most popular candies in the world.
_Wikipedia
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word rock hound
Rockhounding is the recreational collecting of rocks and/or mineral specimens from their natural environment. Rock hound, one such collector.
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word punk rock hound
A punk rock hound is a musician who is morally reprehensible or one who has large drooping ears.
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word the joy of looking
A book for people who can't get anything cooking.
January 31, 2008
treeseed commented on the word carnauba wax
Carnauba is a wax derived from the leaves of a plant native to northeastern Brazil, the carnauba palm (Copernicia prunifera). It is obtained from the leaves of the carnauba palm by collecting them, beating them to loosen the wax, then refining and bleaching the wax.
Carnauba wax can produce a glossy finish and as such is used in automobile waxes, shoe polishes, food products such as candy corn, guitar polishes, and floor and furniture polishes, especially when mixed with beeswax. It is used as a coating on dental floss. Use for paper coatings is the most common application in the United States. It is the main ingredient in surfboard wax, combined with coconut oil.
In foods, it is used as a formulation aid, lubricant, release agent, anticaking agent, and surface finishing agent in baked foods and mixes, chewing gum, confections, frostings, fresh fruits and juices, gravies, sauces, processed fruits and juices, soft candy, tic tacs and Altoids.
_Wikipedia
YUM!
January 31, 2008
Show 200 more comments...