by Dean Burnett BBC We all know someone like it. You probably work with or are even related to one. At office parties and family gatherings, you’re likely to have to interact with one and rediscover just how annoying they are. We’re talking about the ‘know-it-all.’ Individuals who will enthusiastically lecture you about …
Category Archives: Europe
How Greek Mythology Slips Into Everyday Life
by Dictionary Scoop Have you ever noticed how many everyday words go back to Greek mythology? Sure, we have the more obvious ones—like “narcissist” or “nemesis”—but you might find in this list terms that you didn’t know were so old. 1-Tantalizing Remember the story of Tantalus? He was a king who tried to fool the gods and …
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Foreign Words With No English Equivalent
by Interesting Facts With the right combination of words and expressions, we can communicate anything our hearts desire. That’s the power of language. But what about those times when you’re looking for a single word rather than an entire sentence to sum up a thought or feeling? For that, we can look to …
“Life Changing” Gene Therapy Restores Vision
by Kevin Burton Been reading with joy, a small flood of stories about people having sight restored through gene therapy. Voretigene neparvovec, sold under the brand name Luxturna, is a gene therapy medication for the treatment of Leber congenital amaurosis, according to Wikipedia. The US Food and Drug Administration approved Luxturna, in December of …
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Long-Lasting Innovations From Ancient Rome
by Kevin Burton The Wednesday before Valentine’s Day I posted a story about a cruel and unusual dating ritual that came from ancient Rome. The cruel part was men beating women with animal skins as part of a Valentine’s Day tradition. The unusual part was the women were eager for this! It was …
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Of Sir Elton John And Seeing Things Clearly
by Kevin Burton What would you say to Sir Elton John if you could have a moment’s conversation with him today? Now that question may be absurd, or at least rhetorical. If you’re like me and grew up with Elton John in his prime all over the radio, as part of the fabric …
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Braille Gives Literacy, Independence, Access
by Megan Dausch Helen Keller Services The Louis Braille Museum in Coupvray, France, smelled like history—aged wood, old paper, and the faint mustiness of time. It was a small house, but it held the weight of a remarkable legacy. I remember running my fingers over the dominoes Louis Braille played with as a …
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Web MD: Slow Down, You Eat Too Fast
by Kevin Burton Our cat Ronnie is “food-motivated.” The manager of Save The Kitties in Derby said so and she wasn’t lying. Ronnie was obviously supplied with people food in large quantity by her previous owners because she clung to our feet when we opened the refrigerator. She knew exactly what the apparatus …
The Blind At Work: Two Stories, Two Traumas
by Kevin Burton Just a sampling today, as you carry on with life, of what blind people face every day when they dare go into the workforce. Our first look is in New Jersey, the second, across the Atlantic in Wales. I could string all the news like this into a blog …
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When In Denmark, Speak As The Danish Speak
by Dictionary Scoop Coming from the Indo-European language family, Danish has some funny idiomatic expressions. Some will leave you scratching your head. For example, “reading a horse.” What’s that all about? Continue reading to learn nine Danish expressions and their meaning translated. 1-Mind the cows When life gets a bit hard, we all need …
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