Aug 1, 2020

Sealioning

This is a common, subtle harassment which consists of pursuing people with persistent requests for evidence or repeated questions, while feigning ignorance, sincerity, and politeness. It may take the form bad-faith invitations to engage in debate, often trying to incite in order to play victim. It may take the form of "incessant, bad-faith invitations to engage in debate."

The troll feigns ignorance and politeness, so that if the target is provoked into making an angry response, the troll can then act as the aggrieved party.

Happy Friday

"Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." ~Joseph Addison

I always enjoy a threefer, especially on a Happy Friday!

Wordology, Ultracrepidarianism

It is the habit of giving opinions and advice on matters outside of one's knowledge. We all know people who have knowledge in one thing or another and attempt to translate that to things they have little no knowledge about.

The term ultracrepidarian was first publicly recorded in 1819 by the essayist William Hazlitt in an open Letter to William Gifford, the editor of the Quarterly Review, "You have been well called an Ultra-Crepidarian critic."

It may come from a famous Greek artist, to a shoemaker who presumed to criticize his painting. It can be taken to mean that a shoemaker ought not to judge beyond his own soles. Critics should only comment on things they know something about. The saying remains popular in several languages, as in a cobbler should stick to his shoes.

Herbs vs. Spices

Herbs and spices all come from plants, they do not all come from the same parts of plants. Herbs are the leaves of a plant—things like parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and others.

A seasoning harvested from any other part of the plant—including the roots, bark, seeds, rhizomes, bulbs, buds, etc.—is considered a spice. Cinnamon sticks are really bits of bark from trees in the Cinnamomum genus, while cloves are dried flower buds from the clove tree.
Some plants boast an herb and a spice. The leaves of the Coriandrum sativum plant are widely known as cilantro, which is definitely an herb. The seeds usually called coriander, are a spice, but cilantro and coriander are both common names for the whole plant, and cilantro is just the Spanish word for coriander. Dill is another example. Dill weed refers to dill leaves (the herb), while dill seed, which is actually not a seed, but the tiny, brown fruit of the dill plant is a spice.

According to Merriam-Webster, the botanical definition of herb is “a seed-producing annual, biennial, or perennial that does not develop persistent woody tissue, but dies down at the end of the growing season.” Botanically speaking, herbs are whole plants that do not have wooden parts like trees and bushes. The entire cumin plant, for instance, whose seeds are ground into a spice, is technically an herb.

TV Categories

Are you confused about the subtle differences between mystery and drama. The shows presented on TV streaming show much overlap as shows are included in both categories. It means even the producers are not sure of the differences.

“Mystery” refers to an intellectual process where there is a puzzle that needs to be solved. “Suspense” refers to an emotional process where there is an unknown situation, event, or threat that produces anxiety and fear and needs to be resolved.


"Drama" is a composition in verse or prose presenting a story in pantomime or dialogue. It contains conflict of characters, particularly the ones who perform in front of audience on the stage. A drama is a story or situation which usually presents some sort of conflict. An example of drama is a break-up caused by the boyfriend cheating with the girlfriend's best friend.

Wordology, Peladophobia

It is the fear of bald people. It's also the fear of becoming bald, which means it is most frequently suffered by balding people who are turning into the thing they fear the most.

More Statue of Liberty Facts

According to designer Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the sculpture’s true title is “Liberty Enlightening the World.
Bartholdi’s mother, Charlotte, who is rumored to be the model for Liberty’s massive copper visage. (Bartholdi’s wife posed for the arms and torso.)

The island where she stands was called Bedloe’s Island (after an early Dutch settler) until 1956, when it was renamed Liberty Island by an act of Congress. Liberty Island and Ellis Island are two separate islands in the New York Harbor.

Ellis Island became known as the gateway to New York for millions of immigrants, who passed through the inspection station on the island between 1892 and 1954. Ellis Island is now home to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, which also includes the American Family Immigration History Center, also Oyster beds, a smallpox quarantine station, a Scottish Earl’s summer estate, a recruitment center, and now a National Park and museum. 
The Lady stands on a pedestal, and the pedestal stands on a disused granite fort in the shape of an 11-pointed star. Fort Wood, completed in 1811, once held 77 mounted guns and a garrison of 350 U.S. Army troops to protect New York harbor. Today it holds a museum.

Miss America vs. Miss USA

Both Miss America and Miss USA emphasize good looks and figures. Both also promote themselves as a forum for young women to better themselves, earn scholarships, make lasting friendships, become leaders, give back to their communities, and beyond through charitable partnerships. Both pageants now feature contenders from all 50 states plus a representative from the District of Columbia.

Neither is to be confused with Miss World America, Miss U.S. International, or Miss Earth United States.

Both national pageants require entrants to participate and win local and state competitions before they move on to the national stage. For Miss America, the national show is the end of the line and the winner then travels around the country for her “year of service” according to the pageant’s official site. But if you take the top spot at Miss USA, you are sent to represent America at that year’s Miss Universe pageant where you take on the top contenders from around the world.

The older pageant also places more emphasis on tangible skills. The talent portion of a contestant’s performance is crucial when it comes to voting on a victor at Miss America, it makes up 35 percent of their overall score, versus Miss USA, which does not take talent into consideration when crowning their beauty queen.

The winner of the Miss America pageant collects a $50,000 scholarship. The Miss America Organization’s Public Relations Coordinator Chelsea Mineur told Bustle in 2017 that no one goes home empty-handed. Every contestant receives a scholarship, ranging from $3,000 for last place finishers to $25,000 for the first runner-up. Miss America will travel around the country, which is covered by the company, making appearances, doing speaking engagements, performing charity work, and serving as the National Ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network.

The woman who is crowned as Miss USA will instantly move into a luxury apartment in New York City. The winner will live there rent free for her entire reign as Miss USA. In addition to a new living situation, Miss USA 2018 received a year-long salary. All of her living expenses will be covered for her whole reign. She will be making promotional appearances around the country and the internationally, which is both a duty and a perk of the acquiring the title. The winner also gets to be styled by the official Miss Universe Organization fashion stylist. She also gets her annual wardrobe covered. The average salary for miss USA jobs is $63,132.

Aside from everything that comes with being Miss USA, the winner will have an opportunity to move on to the next level of competition: the Miss Universe pageant. If Miss USA ends up winning the Miss Universe title, there will be even more personal perks and opportunities to give back to the community, but on a global scale.

Peninsula vs. Cape

A cape is connected to the mainland by a much larger mass of land than a peninsula. Peninsulas are connected to the mainland by a thin landmass.


An easy way to think about the difference is that a peninsula is almost an island while a cape is not. A cape is also surrounded by water on two sides and a peninsula is surrounded by water on three sides.

Three Interesting Names

Figure showing a 5 in the dice is called a quincunx. It is 4 points forming a rectangle or a square, and an extra point in the middle.
The separation or gap that forms between two front teeth is called a diastema, and it can result from a disproportionate relationship between the size of your teeth and the size of your jaw.

We always called it a “division sign,” but in fact, this symbol is called an obelus.

Laughter

Humans laughed before they spoke. Some scientists believe that laughter was used as a way for humans to relate to one another millions of years before they developed the lung strength for language. The mechanism of laughter is so ingrained in our brains that babies as young as 17 days old have been observed doing it. In fact, children born blind and deaf still have the ability to laugh.


A Scientific Investigation, Robert R. Provine, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, describes an intriguing study about laughter and it did not take place at a comedy club. Provine and some graduate students listened in on normal conversations at local malls. They found that out of 1,200 "laugh episodes," only about 10 percent were generated by a joke. "Laughter really has a bonding function between individuals in a group."

United Nations Languages

Despite having 193 member countries, the United Nations only has six official languages. These are Chinese, Spanish, English, Russian, and French, which also happen to be the languages spoken in the founding members of the organization. The sixth language, Arabic, was added in 1974 by popular demand.

Happy Friday

Nurture your mind with happy thoughts and your soul will be healed.

Happy thoughts are always welcome, especially on a Happy Friday!

National Hot Dog Day, Jul 22

Industry groups, such as National Hot Dog and Sausage Council in the USA, encourage, sponsor, and support the events. The Council designates July as National Hot Dog Month; National Hot Dog Day varies year to year, during 2020 it falls on Wednesday, July 22. It is based on when the North American Meat Institute hosts its annual Hot Dog Lunch on Capitol Hill. (One site lists the day as July 23. Why not extend and enjoy some hot dogs on both days this year).