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Continue reading →: myrmecophobia (mərmə̇kō fōbia)Let’s explore another phobia this week! My friend Caroline commented that she is afraid of ants. The fear of ants is called myrmecophobia. Myrmecophobia comes from the Greek root myrmeco– meaning ant and the suffix –phobia meaning abnormal fear of. It literally means “abnormal fear of ants.” Do you have…
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Continue reading →: acrophobia (a-krə-ˈfō-bē-ə)To continue our Halloween theme, let’s explore another phobia this week. I have an extreme fear of heights, also known as acrophobia. I feel dizzy and sick when I am in a tall building looking out the window, or when I am in a car driving on a bridge. Acrophobia…
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Continue reading →: triskaidekaphobia (tri skī dekəˈfōbēə)Happy October! Since Halloween is coming up at the end of the month, I thought it would be interesting to explore different phobias, or fears people may have. Have you ever noticed that some buildings don’t have a thirteenth floor? That’s because many people consider the number thirteen unlucky. The…
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Continue reading →: pachyderm (pakə̇ˌdərm)
When I visited India last year, I was lucky enough to watch a religious procession led by two majestic elephants go past my house*. Elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses are often described as pachyderms, referring to their thick skin. Pachyderm contains the Greek roots pachy– meaning thick and –derm meaning skin.…
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Continue reading →: Tentacles at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
If you enjoyed my post on cephalopods, you might be interested in exploring the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website. http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-and-experiences/exhibits/tentacles
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Continue reading →: cephalopod (se-fə-lə-päd)
When we were in California, we visited the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. Their special exhibit was Tentacles: The Astounding World of Octopuses, Squids and Cuttlefishes. The exhibit was all about cephalopods. You may ask yourself, what are cephalopods? Cephalopods are a group of marine molluscs that are related to snails…
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Continue reading →: cetacea (si-ˈtā-shə)
During a recent trip to Monterey, California, I went on a whale watching excursion with my family. Before the boat even started moving, we saw seals sunning themselves nearby and cute sea otters swimming in the water. The Monterey Bay is a great place for whale watching because whales and…
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Continue reading →: My California Adventure!
I just got back from an exciting, week-long adventure in northern California with my family. We spent three days in Monterey and went whale watching, visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and hunted eagerly for sea glass on the beach. During the last part of our trip, we drove to San…
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Continue reading →: ornithology (ornəˈthäləjē)Ever since my dad placed a bird feeder outside of our dining room window, we have seen many different songbirds. Every evening during dinner, we are entertained by cardinals, Carolina chickadees, titmouses, house finches, bluejays, and several kinds of sparrows. My favorite birds to watch are cardinals because they are…
Hello,
I’m Tara!
My name is Tara and I am a recent graduate of Duke University, with dual degrees in cultural anthropology and political science, and a minor in linguistics. Twelve years ago, I started this blog to share my love of words with others and teach people about the intricacies of etymology and words across our beloved English language!
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