odometer, bematist, philtrum, menagerie

A High-Tech Menagerie

By KATHERINE BOUTON

Even before cloning and genetic tinkering, scientists have long meddled with animals, and it appears the benefits may outweigh the ethical quandaries.

 

 

 

How did they measure distance traveled before the days of the odometer? Records from the 4th century BCE tell of the work of bematists, who measured distance by counting their steps. In the first century BCE, the Roman engineer Vitruvius described the first mechanical instrument to measure distance. A pebble was dropped into a box at the completion of each revolution of a chariot wheel; later, the pebbles were counted. By measuring the circumference of the wheel and understanding how many revolutions would make up a mile, it was easy to extrapolate how many miles had been traveled. As Postmaster General, one of Benjamin Franklin's many inventions was an odometer which, attached to a carriage, would measure the distance of postal routes. On May 12, 1847, William Clayton put his "roadometer" into use, calculating the revolutions of a wagon wheel.
Quote:

"For time is the longest distance between two places." — Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie

Bematists (Ancient Greek: Βηματισταί; modern Greek: Βηματιστές, from the word Bema (single pace)), were specialists in ancient Greece who were trained to measure distances by counting their steps.




philtrum (FIL-truhm)

noun: The vertical groove below the nose and above the upper lip.

Etymology
From Latin philtrum (love potion, groove under the nose), from Greek philtron (love potion, groove under the nose). Earliest documented use: 1609.

Notes
The line of the upper lip is known as Cupid's bow for its resemblance to the shape of a bow. While the ancients thought the groove above the upper lip had something to do with love, modern doctors have found that a smooth philtrum is one of the symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome.

Usage
"John Ryan Fitzpatrick flexed his index finger under his nose and across his philtrum." — Jeff Hicks; Troubles at The Glen; Waterloo Region Record (Canada); Aug 7, 2010.

menagerie

Syllabification: (me·nag·er·ie)

Pronunciation: /məˈnajərē, -ˈnaZH-/

noun

• a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition.
• a strange or diverse collection of people or things:some other specimen in the television menagerie

Origin:

late 17th century: from French ménagerie, from ménage (see ménage)