After he watched the woman slowly amble towards him, Mike concluded that she was quite indolent—in other words, ...

xenophobia: fear or hatred of what is strange or foreign.

Marshall Brain, the original brain behind HowStuffWorks, discusses the most expensive house, how much water a person uses, the GPS traffic network and how to make your own aerogel.

Caduceus: 1. A rod with two snakes entwined about it topped by a pair of wings.

2. An insignia of a caduceus meant, mistakenly, to symbolize a physician.

The caduceus served as the symbol of Hermes and Mercury, the Greek and Roman messenger gods. The caduceus was the sign of a herald and hence a logical symbol for the messenger. However, because of a misconception, the caduceus became the insignia of the US Army Medical Corps. The Medical Corps should have chosen the symbol of medicine, which is the rod of Aesculapius, which has only one snake and no wings atop it. No wings were necessary since the essence of medicine is not speed. The single serpent that could shed its skin and emerge in full vigor represents the renewal of youth and health -- medicine.

The Latin word "caduceus" came from the Greek "karykeion," from "karyx" or "keryx" meaning "herald."

The caduceus with its pair of snakes coiled about each other bears some resemblance to the structure of DNA, the double helix, which was only discovered in modern times (in 1953, if that is still in "modern times").

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 31, 2008 is:

vivacious • \vuh-VAY-shus\  • adjective
: lively in temper, conduct, or spirit : sprightly

Example sentence:
The hostess was a pretty, vivacious woman with a knack for making people feel comfortable.

Did you know?
It's no surprise that "vivacious" means "full of life," since it can be traced back to the Latin verb "vivere," meaning "to live." The word was created around the mid-17th century using the Latin adjective "vivax," meaning "long-lived, vigorous, high-spirited." Other descendants of "vivere" in English include "survive," "revive," and "victual" -- all of which came to life during the 15th century -- and "vivid" and "convivial," both of which surfaced around the same time as "vivacious." Somewhat surprisingly, the word "live" is not related; it comes to us from the Old English word "libban."