What’s the word for the smell of rain? It’s petrichor. For years, scientists referred to this evidence of rain as argillaceous odor because it was particularly noticeable near soil with a lot of whitish clay called argil. Then, in the...
A stereotype is a preconceived notion about a person or group. Originally, though, the word stereotype referred to a printing device used to produce lots of identical copies. • The link between tiny mythical creatures called trolls and modern-day...
odor n.— «Andy Paulios, Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources, and Bill Smith, conservation biologist in the DNR’s Bureau of Endangered Resources, provided basic information on the...
ladybug taint n.— «There’s even a name for it—“ladybug taint.” The smell, which connotes green bell peppers or roasted peanuts, is produced by ladybugs as a defense mechanism. The chemicals they release, in a class of compounds called...
fart in a mitten n.— «Fart in a mitten is defined as an odor that becomes trapped in fabrics, which you just can’t eliminate. We’re guessing the person who made the comment thinks Paris is the odor and the world is the fabric...
catasser n.— «There’s a term for people who involve themselves in virtual worlds at the expense of the real: catasser. It was coined by a fellow who let his cat suffer an unchanged litter box rather than pause his online gaming. His...