Our Brains Demand Certain Word Orders

by Kevin Burton    If you start talking about the fauna and flora of a certain environment, people are going to be weirded out. Why?    Well, we usually say flora and fauna, not the other way around. Is there a good reason for this? Maybe not, but don’t buck the trend, unless weirdness is …

“Zoomies” And Other Peculiar Animal Behavior

by Kevin Burton    As a baseball fanatic growing up I learned that a bunt is a purposely short hit, made to surprise the defense or to move the runners along.     Leave it to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, as it defines the strange things animals sometimes do,  to teach me that “bunt” has another meaning and …

Music May Help You Overcome Car Sickness

by Kevin Burton    In the library, they want it quiet, so no to the music, unless you have headphone    In just about every other setting, music is good for what ails you. It’s on time, all the time!    That’s why I was not surprised to find this report from Good News Network …

These Ten Words Emerged From the Military

by Dictionary Scoop.    Most nations in history have taken great pride in the strength and honor of their military. So it seems logical that something as valuable for any society has a profound and direct impact on the way we communicate with each other. We have selected  a few words we use every day that have military …

Fantasy Despair And The Voice Of Reason

by Kevin Burton    So despondent was I last week, that I jumped off a ledge. How fortunate for me, it was only a virtual ledge.    And to be more specific, it was a fantasy ledge.    I drafted eight fantasy football teams this year -  two more than ever before - and only …

Debunking Twelve Silly Myths About Cats

by Dictionary Scoop    Cats may be mysterious, but let’s not give them credit for magic tricks they don’t actually perform. Over the years, these curious creatures have picked up numerous myths—some harmless, others simply misleading. Today, we’re debunking 12 common cat myths and setting the record straight. 1-Black cats bring bad luck    Poor black cats! …

Another NFL Sunday With Time Ticking Away

by Kevin Burton    Jerry Glanville was coaching the Atlanta Falcons when NFL Films famously caught him on camera criticizing a referee.    “You’re in the N-F-L and that stands for “not for long” when you make calls like that.”    Glanville is one of the most colorful figures in NFL history. You wouldn’t have …

These Eleven Idioms All Make The Grade

by Dictionary Scoop     A lot of slang terms and everyday words have surprisingly rich backstories tied to real historical events and practices. These expressions once described literal experiences before turning into figures of speech. What was their first, literal meaning? 1-Run-of-the-mill    “Run-of-the-mill” these days means something ordinary or unremarkable, like in the sentence: The …

Goalball Gives Blind Players Community

by Todd Strain KNSD TV7 San Diego    If you were looking at the Stagecoach gym floor in Carlsbad during a recent Sunday, you'd see athletic shoes, knee pads, goals and balls — just like your average sporting event. The only difference is no one on the court that day could see.    This was …

Blind Woman To Wed After Triple Transplant

By Ernie Mundell HealthDay News    Stricken with cancer in infancy, Jessica Lopez endured tumor-fighting treatments that saved her young life but also left her with lasting heart damage.    By the time she reached her early 30s, Lopez, who was left blind by her cancer, also found herself in triple-organ failure — her heart, …