Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
PTARMIGAN
ptarmigan
(noun) large Arctic and subarctic grouse with feathered feet and usually white winter plumage
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
ptarmigan (plural ptarmigan or ptarmigans)
Any of three species of small grouse in the genus Lagopus found in subarctic tundra areas of North America and Eurasia.
Synonyms
• (species of small grouse): lagopus (obsolete)
Source: Wiktionary
Ptar"mi*gan, n. Etym: [Gael. tarmachan; cf. Ir. tarmochan, tarmonach.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any grouse of the genus Lagopus, of which numerous species are known. The feet are completely feathered. Most of the species are brown in summer, but turn white, or nearly white, in winter.
Note: They chiefly inhabit the northern countries and high mountains of Europe, Asia, and America. The common European species is Lagopus mutus. The Scotch grouse, red grouse, or moor fowl (L. Scoticus), is reddish brown, and does not turn white in winter. The white, or willow, ptarmigan (L. albus) is found in both Europe and America.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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