Definition: (noun) A varied collection.
Synonyms: assortment, miscellanea, miscellany, mixed bag, mixture, motley, potpourri, salmagundi, variety.
Usage: The conference panel was comprised of a veritable smorgasbord of religious leaders promoting peace, unity, and understanding.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
They called it a wake, but the loved one they had come to mourn wasn’t a person. It was the Cassini spacecraft, the robotic explorer that had spent the last 13 years unlocking the mysteries of Saturn, its rings and its many moons. Soon after Cassini … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The original BBC—the British Broadcasting Company—was founded by radio manufacturers eager to provide programs for the radios they were selling. Just two weeks after listeners began purchasing receiving licenses, Arthur Burrows read the first newscast from Marconi House in London. Two more stations—Birmingham and Manchester—went on the air the next day. Within five years, the company was transformed into the British Broadcasting Corporation. What was reported on the second day of broadcasting? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
A man remarkable for his many talents and inventions, Fulton is popularly considered the inventor of the steamboat. Originally a gunsmith and portraitist, he became fascinated by canal engineering while living in Europe. After sinking one prototype steamboat in the Seine River and failing to secure European support, he returned to his native US. There, he launched the first commercially viable steamboat in the Hudson River in 1807. What invention did Napoleon commission from Fulton? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Also called “habit spasms,” tics are involuntary, compulsive, rapid, repetitive movements like blinking and shoulder shrugging or vocalizations that include grunts, barks, and other utterances. Their expression may be somewhat controlled, but much like an itch that must be scratched, sufferers ultimately feel impelled to go through with them. Stress has been known to exacerbate tics. What symptom of Tourette syndrome, one type of tic disorder, has been highly publicized but is relatively rare? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) The auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience.
Synonyms: noise, racket.
Usage: Maddening church bells of all degrees of dissonance, sharp and flat, cracked and clear, fast and slow, made the brick-and-mortar echoes hideous.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
Six million years ago, a hundred-pound otter was on the prowl somewhere in the swampy wetlands of what’s now southwestern China. Unlike today’s playful sea otters, which use stones to smash open urchins off the Pacific coasts of North America and … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
When ash began to fall on the Colombian town of Armero, local authorities assured residents that it was safe to stay put, despite geologists’ warnings to the contrary. It had been more than 140 years since the last serious eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz, known to residents as “the Sleeping Lion.” That night, a lahar—a massive flow of mud and debris—swept down the side of the erupting volcano, destroying Armero. It was the worst natural disaster in Columbian history. How many people were killed? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Augustine was bishop of Hippo, a Roman city that is now Annaba, Algeria. In his early 30s, he converted to Christianity, gave up his position as professor of rhetoric, became a bishop, and turned his home into a monastery. He served for more than 40 years. While he lay dying, Vandals destroyed his city but spared his library. His writings, which include Confessions and De Civitate Dei, deeply influenced Western Christianity. What now-extinct religion did he originally practice? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Terracotta figurines were a common form of artistic and religious expression in Ancient Greece. Today, they offer invaluable insight into the everyday life of the Ancient Greeks. First used as religious offerings, the figurines could often be purchased at sanctuary entrances and represented important life events, such as giving birth. Only around the 4th century BCE did the statuettes acquire a decorative function, becoming distorted, deformed caricatures known as what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary