Ever see a group of animals and wonder what the correct term for the group was?
Wonder no more! (I limited the list to the more obscure names...)
Mammals
albatross...rookery
apes...troop
asses...drove
baboons...flange
badgers...company
bears...sleuth
buffalo...gang
cats...clowder
elk...gang
ferrets...business
fox...leash
giraffes...tower
goats...tribe
hippopotamuses...bloat
kangaroos...troop
leopards...leap
moles...labor
otters...romp
porcupines...prickle
squirrels...scurry
tigers...streak
Birds
buzzards...wake
cranes...sedge
crows...murder
eagles...convocation
flamingos...stand
hawks...cast
jays...party
larks...exaltation
owls...parliament
rooks...building
ravens...unkindness
storks...mustering
turkeys...rafter
Reptiles/Amphibians
crocodiles...bask
frogs...army
toads...knot
turtles...bale
Fish
herring...army
sharks...shiver
trout...hover
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Let's just call it "Lake C"
Lake Chaubunagungamaug, also known as "Webster Lake", is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts, United States. It is located near the Connecticut border and has a surface area of 1,442 acres (5.83 km²).
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, a 45-letter alternative name for this body of water, is often cited as the longest place name in the United States and one of the longest in the world. Today, "Webster Lake" may be the name most used, but some (including many residents of Webster), take pride in reeling off the longer versions.
This lake has several alternative names, but Lake Chaubunagungamaug is the name of the lake as recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Nonetheless, many area residents, as well as the official website of the town of Webster, prefer the longer version.
The name comes from the language of the local Nipmuck people and means something close to "fishing place at the boundary". The lake was an important fishing spot on the borders of several tribal territories and lay at the nexus of many local paths of the Great Trail system. For these reasons the lake was often used as a meeting place.
Algonquian-speaking peoples had several different names for the lake as recorded on old maps and historical records. However, all of these were similar in part and had almost the same translation. Among other early names were "Chabanaguncamogue" and "Chaubanagogum".
A map of 1795, showing the town of Dudley, indicated the name as "Chargoggaggoggmanchoggagogg". A survey of the lake done in 1830 lists the name as Chaubunagungamaugg, the older name. The following year, both Dudley and Oxford, which adjoined the lake, filed maps listing the name as "Chargoggagoggmanchoggagogg".
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, the extra-long version of the name, is the longest place name in the United States and 6th longest in the world. Its 15 uses of "g" are the most instances of any letter in a word. The name also contains 9 instances of the letter "a" (not including the "a" in "lake"), more than any word in the English language.
This longest name means approximately "Englishmen at Manchaug at the fishing place at the boundary" and was applied in the 19th century when White people built factories in the area. "Manchaug" is derived from the "Monuhchogoks", a group of Nipmuck that lived by the lakeshore. Spelling of the long name varies, even on official signs near the lake. Webster schools use this long form of the name in various capacities.
Larry Daly, editor of The Webster Times, wrote a humorous article in the 1920s about the lake and the disputes concerning the meaning of its name. He proposed the tongue-in-cheek translation "You Fish on Your Side, I Fish on My Side, Nobody Fish in the Middle". It has met with so much popular acceptance that relatively little attention has been paid to the actual translation.
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, a 45-letter alternative name for this body of water, is often cited as the longest place name in the United States and one of the longest in the world. Today, "Webster Lake" may be the name most used, but some (including many residents of Webster), take pride in reeling off the longer versions.
This lake has several alternative names, but Lake Chaubunagungamaug is the name of the lake as recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Nonetheless, many area residents, as well as the official website of the town of Webster, prefer the longer version.
The name comes from the language of the local Nipmuck people and means something close to "fishing place at the boundary". The lake was an important fishing spot on the borders of several tribal territories and lay at the nexus of many local paths of the Great Trail system. For these reasons the lake was often used as a meeting place.
Algonquian-speaking peoples had several different names for the lake as recorded on old maps and historical records. However, all of these were similar in part and had almost the same translation. Among other early names were "Chabanaguncamogue" and "Chaubanagogum".
A map of 1795, showing the town of Dudley, indicated the name as "Chargoggaggoggmanchoggagogg". A survey of the lake done in 1830 lists the name as Chaubunagungamaugg, the older name. The following year, both Dudley and Oxford, which adjoined the lake, filed maps listing the name as "Chargoggagoggmanchoggagogg".
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, the extra-long version of the name, is the longest place name in the United States and 6th longest in the world. Its 15 uses of "g" are the most instances of any letter in a word. The name also contains 9 instances of the letter "a" (not including the "a" in "lake"), more than any word in the English language.
This longest name means approximately "Englishmen at Manchaug at the fishing place at the boundary" and was applied in the 19th century when White people built factories in the area. "Manchaug" is derived from the "Monuhchogoks", a group of Nipmuck that lived by the lakeshore. Spelling of the long name varies, even on official signs near the lake. Webster schools use this long form of the name in various capacities.
Larry Daly, editor of The Webster Times, wrote a humorous article in the 1920s about the lake and the disputes concerning the meaning of its name. He proposed the tongue-in-cheek translation "You Fish on Your Side, I Fish on My Side, Nobody Fish in the Middle". It has met with so much popular acceptance that relatively little attention has been paid to the actual translation.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Freedom fries? Not so much...
The “french” in french fries actually describes the way the spuds are sliced, not their country of origin.
Belgians claim that "French" fries are in fact Belgian, but definitive evidence for the origin is difficult to present. Belgian historian Jo Gerard recounts that potatoes were already fried in 1680 in the Spanish Netherlands, in the area of "the Meuse valley between Dinant and Liège, Belgium. The poor inhabitants of this region allegedly had the custom of accompanying their meals with small fried fish, but when the river was frozen and they were unable to fish, they cut potatoes lengthwise and fried them in oil to accompany their meals."
Many Americans attribute the dish to France — although in France they are almost exclusively thought of as Belgian — and offer as evidence a notation by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. "Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches" ("Potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings") in a manuscript in Thomas Jefferson's hand (circa 1801-1809) and the recipe almost certainly comes from his French chef, Honoré Julien.[4] It is worth noting, though, that France had recently annexed what is now Belgium, and would retain control over it until the Congress of Vienna of 1815 brought it under Dutch control.[15] In addition, from 1813[16] on, recipes for what can be described as French fries, occur in popular American cookbooks. By the late 1850s, one of these mentions the term "French fried potatoes".
Some claim that the dish was invented in Spain, the first European country in which the potato appeared via the New World colonies, and assumes the first appearance to have been as an accompaniment to fish dishes in Galicia, from which it spread to the rest of the country and further to the Spanish Netherlands, more than a century before Belgium was created there.
Professor Paul Ilegems, curator of the Friet-museum in Antwerp, Belgium, believes that Saint Teresa of Ávila fried the first chips, referring also to the tradition of frying in Mediterranean cuisine.
Belgians claim that "French" fries are in fact Belgian, but definitive evidence for the origin is difficult to present. Belgian historian Jo Gerard recounts that potatoes were already fried in 1680 in the Spanish Netherlands, in the area of "the Meuse valley between Dinant and Liège, Belgium. The poor inhabitants of this region allegedly had the custom of accompanying their meals with small fried fish, but when the river was frozen and they were unable to fish, they cut potatoes lengthwise and fried them in oil to accompany their meals."
Many Americans attribute the dish to France — although in France they are almost exclusively thought of as Belgian — and offer as evidence a notation by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. "Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches" ("Potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings") in a manuscript in Thomas Jefferson's hand (circa 1801-1809) and the recipe almost certainly comes from his French chef, Honoré Julien.[4] It is worth noting, though, that France had recently annexed what is now Belgium, and would retain control over it until the Congress of Vienna of 1815 brought it under Dutch control.[15] In addition, from 1813[16] on, recipes for what can be described as French fries, occur in popular American cookbooks. By the late 1850s, one of these mentions the term "French fried potatoes".
Some claim that the dish was invented in Spain, the first European country in which the potato appeared via the New World colonies, and assumes the first appearance to have been as an accompaniment to fish dishes in Galicia, from which it spread to the rest of the country and further to the Spanish Netherlands, more than a century before Belgium was created there.
Professor Paul Ilegems, curator of the Friet-museum in Antwerp, Belgium, believes that Saint Teresa of Ávila fried the first chips, referring also to the tradition of frying in Mediterranean cuisine.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
How do moths feel about flames?
They're not attracted to them (or any light for that matter). They are disoriented by them.
Apart from the odd forest fire, artificial light sources have been in existence for an extremely short time in comparison with the age of the relationship between moths and the sun and moon. Many insects use these light sources to navigate by day and night.
Because the moon and sun are a long way away, insects have evolved to expect the light from them to strike their eyes in the same place at different times of day or night, enabling them to calculate how to fly in a straight line.
When people come along with their portable miniature suns and moons and a moth flies by, the light confuses it. It assumes it must somehow be moving in a curved path, because its position in relation to the stationary sun or moon has unexpectedly changed.
The moth then adjusts its course until it sees the light as stationary again. With a light source so close, the only way to do this is to fly around and around it in circles.
Apart from the odd forest fire, artificial light sources have been in existence for an extremely short time in comparison with the age of the relationship between moths and the sun and moon. Many insects use these light sources to navigate by day and night.
Because the moon and sun are a long way away, insects have evolved to expect the light from them to strike their eyes in the same place at different times of day or night, enabling them to calculate how to fly in a straight line.
When people come along with their portable miniature suns and moons and a moth flies by, the light confuses it. It assumes it must somehow be moving in a curved path, because its position in relation to the stationary sun or moon has unexpectedly changed.
The moth then adjusts its course until it sees the light as stationary again. With a light source so close, the only way to do this is to fly around and around it in circles.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Fly like a...New Ford F-150?
The launching mechanism of a carrier ship that helps planes to take off, could throw a pickup truck over a mile.
The primary takeoff assistance comes from the carrier's four catapults, which get the planes up to high speeds in a very short distance. Each catapult consists of two pistons that sit inside two parallel cylinders, each about as long as a football field, positioned under the deck. The pistons each have a metal lug on their tip, which protrudes through a narrow gap along the top of each cylinder. The two lugs extend through rubber flanges, which seal the cylinders, and through a gap in the flight deck, where they attach to a small shuttle.
When the plane is ready to go, the catapult officer opens valves to fill the catapult cylinders with high-pressure steam from the ship's reactors. This steam provides the necessary force to propel the pistons at high speed, slinging the plane forward to generate the necessary lift for takeoff. Initially, the pistons are locked into place, so the cylinders simply build up pressure. The catapult officer carefully monitors the pressure level so it's just right for the particular plane and deck conditions. If the pressure is too low, the plane won't get moving fast enough to take off, and the catapult will throw it into the ocean. If there's too much pressure, the sudden jerk could break the nose gear right off.
When the cylinders are charged to the appropriate pressure level, the pilot blasts the plane's engines. The holdback keeps the plane on the shuttle while the engines generate considerable thrust. The catapult officer releases the pistons, the force causes the holdbacks to release, and the steam pressure slams the shuttle and plane forward. At the end of the catapult, the tow bar pops out of the shuttle, releasing the plane. This totally steam-driven system can rocket a 45,000-pound plane from 0 to 165 miles per hour (a 20,000-kg plane from 0 to 266 kph) in two seconds!
The primary takeoff assistance comes from the carrier's four catapults, which get the planes up to high speeds in a very short distance. Each catapult consists of two pistons that sit inside two parallel cylinders, each about as long as a football field, positioned under the deck. The pistons each have a metal lug on their tip, which protrudes through a narrow gap along the top of each cylinder. The two lugs extend through rubber flanges, which seal the cylinders, and through a gap in the flight deck, where they attach to a small shuttle.
When the plane is ready to go, the catapult officer opens valves to fill the catapult cylinders with high-pressure steam from the ship's reactors. This steam provides the necessary force to propel the pistons at high speed, slinging the plane forward to generate the necessary lift for takeoff. Initially, the pistons are locked into place, so the cylinders simply build up pressure. The catapult officer carefully monitors the pressure level so it's just right for the particular plane and deck conditions. If the pressure is too low, the plane won't get moving fast enough to take off, and the catapult will throw it into the ocean. If there's too much pressure, the sudden jerk could break the nose gear right off.
When the cylinders are charged to the appropriate pressure level, the pilot blasts the plane's engines. The holdback keeps the plane on the shuttle while the engines generate considerable thrust. The catapult officer releases the pistons, the force causes the holdbacks to release, and the steam pressure slams the shuttle and plane forward. At the end of the catapult, the tow bar pops out of the shuttle, releasing the plane. This totally steam-driven system can rocket a 45,000-pound plane from 0 to 165 miles per hour (a 20,000-kg plane from 0 to 266 kph) in two seconds!
Monday, February 2, 2009
No gum allowed!
In 1992 chewing gum was banned from Singapore. Chewing gum was causing serious maintenance problems in all areas of the city-state. After the 1987 launch of the $5 billion mass transit train system, it was reported that vandals had begun sticking chewing gum on the door sensors of the trains, preventing the doors from functioning properly and causing disruption of train services. Surprisingly, after the ban no known black market for chewing gum ever emerged in Singapore, although some citizens did occasionally manage to smuggle some from Malaysia for their own consumption. In 2004 the ban was revised to recognize the proven health benefits of certain gums that contain calcium lactate to strengthen tooth enamel. The sale of this newly categorized medicinal gum was allowed, as long as it was sold by a dentist or pharmacist, who is required to record the name of the purchaser.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Awfully suspicious...
President Lincoln’s oldest son was on the scene of three presidential assassinations. His father in 1865, Garfield in 1881, and McKinley in 1901.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
