Fleur-de-lis (or fleur-de-lys) is a stylized lily (in French, fleur means flower, and lis means lily) or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be “political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic”, especially in heraldry. While the fleur-de-lis has appeared on countless European coats of arms and flags over the centuries, it is particularly associated with …

It’s that happy, eager feeling of looking forward to something that’s about to happen. You can feel excited because something you like is going to happen, or because something new is going happen and you don’t know what to expect.

ESP means Extra Sensory Perception. Regular sensory perception is the way we see the world through our five senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. But “extra” goes beyond into the realm of seeing the unseen. That could looking through walls, hearing the voices of dead people, or getting a strong feeling about something that is going to happen …

Natural forces are constantly changing our world. Some rocks are dissolved by rainwater and others are split by frost or rapid temperature changes. Worn rock is then carried away by running water, glaciers and, in dry regions, by the wind. Weathering, running water, glaciers and winds are all forces of erosion. Natural erosion is slow. For example, it takes 30,000 …

The term enneagram is derived from two Greek words, ennea (nine) and grammos (something written or drawn). The Enneagram is a ninepointed figure inscribed in a circle. The meaning of the symbol itself, together with the personality types organized around the nine points, convey a system of knowledge about nine distinct but interrelated personality types, or nine ways of seeing …

Emissions trading (also known as cap and trade) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. A central authority (usually a governmental body) sets a limit or cap on the amount of a pollutant that can be emitted. Companies or other groups are issued emission permits and are …

Electrospinning is a technique to stretch a liquid into the form of a yarn and is being looked upon as a surgeon’s new tool for sutures without scars. In this technique, an electrically charged polymer solution is fed through a small opening or needle and, because of its charge, the solution is sucked towards a grounded collecting plate. As the …

The rule of 72 is a rule of thumb (credited to Albert Einstein) that investors use to approximate the time it takes for money to double at a given rate of return. It states that if you divide the number 72 by any given rate of return, the answer you get is the time it takes for money to double …

Eco-bling refers to attempts to green an old building, by retrofitting it with solar panels and insulation to keep up with today’s zero-carbon standards. But most times these extra fittings fail to serve their purpose as the building is basically not eco-friendly. Effective green elements usually need to be introduced at the planning stage. In an eco-bling scenario, green efforts …

The most common sort of dust is the sort you wipe off tables and shelves, but this isn’t the only sort by any means. Dust is tiny particles of solid matter, which are so light that they can be blown about by air currents. Almost everything produces dust, even the sea. This sea dust takes the form of salt dust, …