Word of the Week - 9-22-2008

Word of the Week
SINECURE
Pronunciation: \ˈseye-nih-ˌkyuhr\
Function: noun
Etymology: Medieval Latin sine cura without cure (of souls)
Date: 1662
1archaic : an ecclesiastical benefice without cure of souls
2: an office or position that requires little or no work and that usually provides an income


Interesting Fact
The Monarch butterfly is known by scientists as Danaus plexippus, which in Greek literally means "sleepy transformation." The name, which evokes the species' ability to hibernate and metamorphize, is actually inspired by the Greek myth of Danaus, in which the daughters of Danaus, king of Libya, flee Libya for Greece in order to avoid marrying their cousins. The long, migratory journey of the Monarch butterflies is reminiscent of the daughters' flight.
Each adult butterfly lives only about four to five weeks. But one of the many wonders of the Monarchs is the annual creation of a unique "Methuselah generation." As autumn approaches in their sites of migratory origin, a very special generation of butterflies is born. Unlike their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents -- all of whom had ephemeral lives measured only in weeks -- these migratory butterflies survive seven or eight months. In human terms, given our average life span of 75 years, this would be like having children who lived to be 525 years old! This generation performs the incredible feat of flying from Canada and the United States to the center of Mexico -- after which they begin the northward journey again. Once they reach the United States, a kind of relay race begins: their short-lived offspring, with only four or five weeks to live, continue making the trek northward over several generations.

Of all migrations by small creatures, few are as astonishing as the one performed by the Monarch butterfly. These insects travel between 1,200 and 2,800 miles or more between their starting and ending points. What is even more remarkable is that the ones that return to the places where Monarchs hibernate have never been there before. These are the great-great-great-grandchildren of those that performed the journey from southeast Canada and the United States to central Mexico.

The migration moves at a pace of about almost 50 miles a day, though there are some butterflies that have flown up to 80 miles in a day. At the end of October and the beginning of November, after traveling two months, the butterflies settle into hibernation colonies in the mountains of central Mexico, where the States of Mexico and Michoacan meet. There they will spend the winter hibernating. From mid-November until mid-February, the Monarchs' hibernation colonies remain relatively stable. During the second half of February, when temperatures rise and humidity decreases in the forests, the butterflies come down from the slopes to mate. And the butterflies that survive the hibernation in Mexico return in the spring to the southern United States.


Trivial Pursuit
Here are this week’s questions:
Global View (Geography):
What animal is central to diet and culture for the Gwich’in, the northernmost Native Americans in the U.S.?

Entertainment:
What Rick Moranis movie came within a hair of being titled Teeny Weenies?

News:
What religious group spent five million hours digitizing data on immigrants who passed through New York City from 1892 to 1924?

Written Word:
What Mad magazine cartoonist “vroomed” around with a license plate reading, “Shtoink”?

Life and Science:
Where did a Swedish study indicate one should insert acupuncture needles to prevent morning sickness – the earlobe, forearm or lower back?

Games and Sports:
What NBA team stumbled to a 15-67 record in 1999 – 2000, the same season the Lakers went 67-15?


Here are last week’s answers:
Global View (Geography):
What U.S. candy is popular in Australia, despite being sold in flavors called “Musk” and “Thirst”? Life Savers

Entertainment:
What TV clown slipped off his size 83-AAA shoes for the last time, in 2001? Bozo

News:
What former JFK aide found himself back in the news when he unwittingly passed off an Internet hoax as the real thing, in 1996? Pierre Salinger

Written Word:
What name did DC Comics’ Prince Uxas adopt when he killed his brother to rule Apokalips? Darkseid

Life and Science:
What concept did novelist William Gibson seek to clarify by noting: “It’s not really a place, it’s not really space. It’s notional space”? cyberspace

Games and Sports:
Who gave Byron Russell a little shove to free himself for the last shot of 1998’s NBA Finals? Michael Jordan