Bæddel andbædling areOld English terms referring to non-normative sexual or gender categories. Occurring in a small number of medievalglossaries andpenitentials (guides for religiouspenance), the exact meaning of the terms (and their distinction, if any) are debated by scholars. Both terms are often connected toeffeminacy andadultery.Bæddel is glossed as 'hermaphrodite' and a 'man of both sexes' in its two extant glosses, whilebædling is often glossed with terms associated with effeminacy and softness. TheOxford English Dictionary supportsbæddel as the etymological root of the English adjectivebad, although scholars propose alternative origins, including a shared root with bothbæddel andbædling. The termbædlings may have included peopleassigned female at birth who took on masculine social roles or referred tointersex people. Scholars suggest thatbædlings could represent athird gender outside thegender binary or a form ofgender nonconformity inAnglo-Saxon society. (Full article...)
April 17:Evacuation Day in Syria (1946)
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Therambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the familySapindaceae, native toSoutheast Asia. The fruit is a round to oval single-seededdrupe, 3 to 6 centimetres (1+1⁄4 to2+1⁄4 inches) long and 3 to 4 centimetres (1+1⁄4 to1+1⁄2 inches) wide. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow) and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the namerambutan, which is derived from a Malay word meaning 'hair'. The spines (also known as "spinterns") contribute to thetranspiration of the fruit, which can affect the fruit's quality. The flesh, known as thearil, is translucent, whitish, or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor reminiscent of grapes. The single seed is glossy brown, about 1.0 to 1.3 centimetres (3⁄8 to1⁄2 inch) long, with a white basal scar. This photograph shows two rambutans, one whole and one half-peeled to expose the aril, as well as a rambutan seed. The photograph wasfocus-stacked from 31 separate images. Photograph credit:Ivar Leidus Recently featured: |
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