Reptiles vs. Amphibians: it sounds like a monster movie title, but it’s a classic question of animal classification. Although both are cold-blooded vertebrates and the two are often mistaken for each other, there are some key differences. Many people think the difference is whether or not an animal spends some time in water, but it’s more complicated than that. In this article, we’ll explain how …
A new year means new opportunities, adventures, and frontiers on the horizon. Astrological signs are a fun way to make predictions about what the future may hold or, at least, what we might expect! This article draws from three sources—Cafe Astrology, Elle (with predictions made by the AstroTwins), and Hermes Astrology. All predictions should be taken as entertainment. Here are 12 key words, one for …
by Mariel Jungkunz Whatever you know about the Caribbean, there’s one key fact that may surprise you: there are more than 7,000 islands in the region. The region encompasses the entire Caribbean Sea, which is bound to the west by Mexico and Central America, to the north by Cuba, and to the south by South America. But it goes beyond the borders of this sea. …
It’s in human nature to tell stories and in many ways, our stories—our mythologies—work their way into every aspect of our daily lives, from meme culture to the language we speak. You may be familiar with some of the words derived from the names of Greek and Roman gods and characters (herculean, echo, narcissist, to name a few). But some of the words with similar …
You’ve likely heard of them before. Their most distinctive feature is a severe and progressive decline in memory, reasoning, and other primary cognitive abilities. Their diagnoses get easily mistaken for one another, and the two terms are often used interchangeably. Are dementia and Alzheimer’s the same thing? The short answer is no, they are not. Although tightly intertwined, they are remarkably different. How so? Well, this may come as …
You probably know that octopuses and squids are different animals, but if one latched onto you and refused to let go until you were able to list all the differences, how much would you really be able to say? (Scary hypothetical, we know.) After all, they’re both boneless sea creatures with lots of arms, right? Well, sort of. There are several major differences, not to …
When two words have the same meaning, we call them synonyms. When two words have different meanings but people use them interchangeably, we write articles about what those words actually mean. Take gender and sex. While people substitute one for the other on the regular, their meaning and usage are significantly—and consequentially—different. Because we’re most often talking about human beings when we use these terms, …
Every fall, cities and towns throughout India are illuminated with string lights and oil lamps as people give gifts and share sweets. This is Diwali, or as it’s also commonly known, the Festival of Lights. Diwali, pronounced either [ dih-wah-lee ] or [ dih-vah-lee] has a few variant spellings. There’s Divali and Dewali, as well as Deepavali and Deepawali. At its core, the name Diwali …
Spanish is the second-most spoken language in the United States, after English. With so many Spanish-speakers, it is no surprise that there is a lot of crossover between the two. There are Spanish words adopted into English and English words that have been adapted into Spanish, and often people will use these two languages in combination or interchangeably (sometimes this is known as Spanglish). Let’s …
