Month: August 2021

sick

anointing of the sick – The Catholic sacrament in which a priest anoints a dying person with oil and prays for salvation. More…

decumbiture – The act of going to bed when sick. More…

ill – Originally meant not “sick” but “bad,” and was borrowed from Old Norse illr; the sense of “sick” arrived in the 15th century. More…

nauseous, nauseated – Nauseous (“sickening”) is an adjective describing something that causes nausea; the adjective for the feeling (“made sick”) is nauseated. More…

Indonesia Independence Day

Indonesia had been a Dutch colony for 300 years when a group of revolutionaries declared independence on August 17, 1945. Indonesians endured four more years of struggle before their independence was formally granted by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. This national holiday is celebrated throughout Indonesia with parades, athletic events, and a multitude of cultural and performing arts festivals. Discuss

Twin Studies

Identical twins share virtually all of their genes, and fraternal twins share about 50%. This makes twins ideal subjects for behavioral geneticists, since they can compare how each individual in a pair is influenced by genes, shared family environment, and individual experience. One of the pioneers of twin studies was 19th-century scientist Sir Francis Galton, who was influenced by the work of his cousin, Charles Darwin. What fundamental misconception colored the research of early twin scholars? Discuss

torch

funeral – Once was a torchlight procession, from Latin funis, “torch”—because funerals of the Romans took place at night by torchlight. More…

kindle – The verb is related to Old Norse kyndill, “candle, torch.” More…

Drummond light – A torch that burns calcium oxide (lime) and gives off intense white light, it was named for Scottish engineer Capt. Thomas Drummond, R.E. (1797-1840), who invented it around 1825. More…

torch – From Latin torquere, it first referred to tarred twists of frayed rope. More…

St. Roch's Day

Also known as Roque or Rock, St. Roch (c. 1295-c. 1327) was a Frenchman who went on a pilgrimage to Rome. The plague struck while he was there, and, legend has it, he spent his time healing the afflicted by miraculous means. Known as the patron saint of the sick and the plague-stricken, St. Roch is honored annually throughout Italy. In Florence, there is a flower festival that includes a 14th-century historical costume parade, races, and competitions. In Realmonte, Sicily, the saint’s poverty is recalled with a procession of people dressed in rags who carry a shabby picture of the saint. Discuss

Dead Man's Switch

A dead man’s switch is an emergency brake that automatically activates to stop a vehicle or machine in the event that the operator becomes incapacitated. This sort of safety measure became necessary with the advent of electric trains, since they cut the number of required operators down to one, and has become standard in numerous devices, including snowblowers, lawn mowers, and saws. Though developed as a fail-safe, a dead man’s switch can sometimes be a “fail-deadly,” as when built into what? Discuss