InTamil, the phrase “ThaiPirandhalVazhiPirakkum” meaning “the birth ofThaiheralds new prospects” is an oft-quoted popular saying among theTamils. The four days of Pongal areBhogi Pandigai,Thai Pongal, Maattu Pongal, and Kaanum Pongal. Of the four-daysHarvest festival, the seconddayis th...
Together with Willoughby D. Miller, Jenkins developed the first toothpaste containing disinfectants. He named it Kolynos – a combination of two Greek words,Kolyo nosos(κωλύω νόσος), meaning “disease prevention”. Numerous attempts to produce the toothpaste by pharmacists in Europ...
A Tamil goldsmith will assure his client, “இம்மி அளவேனும் குறையாது (immi alavaenum kurayathu) meaning “not a fraction less”. Here, the word இம்மி (immi) is the Tamil word for the fraction 1/2150400 ≈ 4.6502976190...
In the first century BC, Hillel (later known asHillel the Elder) migrated to the Land of Israel from his birthplace Babylonia, to study Torah. He worked as a woodcutter and eventually became the most influential force in Jewish life. Hillel is said to have lived in great poverty. He was...
On January 20, 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing. He adopted the name “Hongwu” meaning “vastly martial” as his era. He pledged that his dynasty would drive away the Mongols and restore the Han Chinese rule in China. ...
Post 1996 Power Politics in Sri Lankan cricket Coming back to our cricket, the World Cup also brought less welcome changes with the start of detrimental cricket board politics and the transformation of our cricket administration from a volunteer-led organisation run by well-meaning men of integrity...
In South India and Sri Lanka, measles, chickenpox and the dreaded smallpox, are collectively known as “ammai” meaning “mother”. Smallpox is known as “peria ammai” (“bigammai“) and chickenpox is called “chinna ammai” (“smallammai“). Smallpox is more virulent than chicken pox...
Though the name Atlas moths derived from either the Titan of Greek mythology for their gigantic size or their map-like wing patterns seems appropriate, the Chinese name 蛇頭蛾 (shétóu é) meaning “snakeheads moth” is more pertinent in referring to the outer tips of the spread wings that...
When she came to know that she scored199 in biology, 198 in chemistry, 197 in maths, 192 in physics, 179 in Tamil and 164 in Englishshe hardly had time to celebrate as her father asked her to discontinue her studies as it would not be possible for him to support her higher education...
The Python reticulatus also known as the (Asiatic) reticulated python, is a species found in Southeast Asia. The specific name, reticulatus, is Latin meaning “net-like”, or reticulated, and is a reference to the complex color pattern. They are the world’s longest snakes and longest reptil...