A paternoster is a passenger elevator that consists of a series of doorless compartments suspended on loop of slow-moving chain that continuously advances. Passengers must step on and off the elevator while it is in motion. Introduced in 1884 as the “Cyclic Elevator,” it became popular in Europe but eventually fell out of favor due to serious safety concerns. Paternoster is Latin for “our father,” another name for the Lord’s Prayer. Why are paternosters named after a Christian prayer? Discuss
Month: August 2021
clairvoyance
Definition: (noun) Apparent power to perceive things that are not present to the senses.
Synonyms: ESP, extrasensory perception, second sight.
Usage: The police officer doubted my clairvoyance until I was able to lead him to the missing woman’s remains.
Discuss
listen
ear to the ground – It was early Native Americans who taught us to, literally, keep an ear to the ground to listen for horses’ hooves as riders approached. More…
scout – From the Latin ausculture, “to listen,” it became Old French escoute, “a spy.” More…
hearken – To pay attention or listen; it can also mean “to return to a previous topic.” More…
listen, hear – To listen is to try to hear; to hear is simply to perceive with the ear. More…
(as) mad as hops
Enraged; extremely or inconsolably angry. Watch the video
Harriet Tubman
Born Araminta Ross, Tubman escaped slavery in 1849 by the Underground Railroad and almost immediately returned to the South to help others do the same. Hailed as “the Moses of her people,” she is believed to have led more than 300 slaves, including her parents and brother, to freedom. During the Civil War, she served the Union in various capacities, including as a nurse and spy. She managed all this despite suffering from debilitating headaches and seizures as a result of what childhood trauma? Discuss
ebullient
Definition: (adjective) Zestfully enthusiastic.
Synonyms: exuberant, high-spirited.
Usage: His ebullient spirits were always on tap on the slightest provocation, and, as he was afterwards to demonstrate, he could weary a puppy with play.
Discuss
narrative
narratage – The technique of having one character in the role of storyteller or the act of inserting bits of explanation into a narrative. More…
narrative – First an adjective meaning “telling the facts of a story,” from Latin narrare, which is also the base of narrate. More…
Gabon Independence Day
Gabon gained official independence from France on August 17, 1960, after more than a century of domination. August 17 is a public holiday, but celebrations often extend to the days before and after Independence Day, with parades and dancing. Discuss
(as) mad as a wet hen
Enraged; extremely or inconsolably angry. Watch the video
The Cheerio Effect
Have you ever wondered why bits of cereal floating in milk tend to clump together or cling to the sides of a bowl? In fluid mechanics, this phenomenon is humorously called the “Cheerio effect,” though it applies to any small, wettable object that floats, not just breakfast cereal. It is caused by a combination of buoyancy—the upward force a fluid exerts on an object of lower density—and surface tension—the elastic-like property of a liquid’s surface. Where else might one observe this effect? Discuss