A new book about how animals perceive their environment reveals immense worlds beyond our own. A bee can see ultraviolet light, catfish have taste buds all over their bodies, and manatees use highly sensitive lips to examine nearby objects. Also...
In parts of Appalachia, if you’re buying gingerbread, you may not literally be buying a baked good. In Our Appalachia (Bookshop|Amazon), an oral history of the region, editors Laurel Shackelford and Bill Weinberg describe an old political...
If you’ve accomplished something, go ahead and rest on your laurels. Martha traces this idiom back to Ancient Greece, where victors were crowned with a wreath of bay leaves from the bay laurel tree. In the 16th Century, to retire on...
soaking n.— «While only the historical clubs will play baseball, they will invite children to take part in rounders. “You could throw the ball at people to get them out,” Mr. Fesolowich said, a practice called soaking.» —“Spare...
simul n.— «At each event in her new Summer Chess Lecture/Simul Series there, a grandmaster will give a talk about chess and then take part in what is called a simul: boards will be set up for participants, and the grandmaster (Susan...
greenprint n.— «The Greenprint is a joint effort of the Trust for Public and the Cornwall-based Housatonic Valley Association, which, according to HVA’s Web site “are working together to initiate a community-based mapping...