paddle – An aquatic animal’s flipper can also be called a paddle—as can the foot of a duck or the wing of a penguin. More…
patrol – Comes from a French word meaning “paddle about in the mud.” More…
rudder – First meant “paddle” or “oar.” More…
float – The boards and paddle of a waterwheel or paddlewheel are the floats. More…
The Mobile-Phone Throwing World Championship takes place in August in Savonlinna, Finland. The light-hearted event offers several categories for men, women, and teams: original, which is based on distance; freestyle, based on distance, style, aesthetics, and creativity; and juniors, which is limited to children 12 years old and under. First-place winners get a new mobile phone. Since the inaugural competition in 2000, several European countries—including Norway, Switzerland, and Germany—have introduced their own national championships. Discuss
To deal with, finish, or dispose of someone or something very quickly or handily; (of an object) to consume something quickly. Watch the video
Extremophiles are microorganisms that thrive in environments with extreme conditions, such as high or low temperatures or pH levels, high salt concentration, or high pressure. Found in hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, they produce the vivid colors of some hot springs. Due to extremophiles’ ability to thrive in conditions detrimental to most life on Earth, some scientists theorize that they may reflect what life may be like on other planets. How are extremophiles used industrially? Discuss
vertical tasting – Wine tasting in order of year of vintage. More…
lateral thinking, vertical thinking – Lateral thinking is illogical; vertical thinking is logical. More…
ordinate, abscissa – The ordinate or Y axis is vertical; the abscissa or X axis is horizontal. More…
vertical integration – The merging of companies that are within the chain of companies that handle a single item from raw material production to retail sale. More…
St. Augustine is best known for his spiritual autobiography, the Confessions, which detail the excesses of his youth, his career as a teacher of rhetoric, his years as a believer in Manicheism and Platonism, and his belated conversion to Christianity. It is primarily for his writings that he is known as the patron saint of theologians and scholars, and one of the “Four Latin Fathers” of the Christian Church. When a company of Spanish soldiers landed on the coast of Florida on St. Augustine’s Day in 1565, they named the U.S.’s oldest European community after him. Discuss
To be offensive, immoral, unethical, in poor taste, etc., as might cause or provoke the displeasure or disapproval of Jesus Christ. Watch the video
The sole remnant of France’s once vast territory in North America, St. Pierre and Miquelon is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean south of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. France and Britain fought over control of the islands for centuries, until France finally retook them for good in 1814. The area was a hotbed of alcohol smuggling during the US prohibition era and has the odd distinction being the only place in North America where a guillotine was ever used. What is the “Mouth of Hell”? Discuss