Ve*lel"la, n. Etym: [NL., dim. from L. velum a veil, a sail.] (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any species of oceanic Siphonophora belonging to the genus Velella.
Note: These creatures are brilliantly colored and float at the surface of the sea. They have an oblong, disklike body, supported by a thin chitinous plate, from which rises a thin diagonal crest which acts as a sail. The feeding and reproductive zooids hang down from the under side of the disk.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
7 June 2025
(noun) a unit of astronomical length based on the distance from Earth at which stellar parallax is 1 second of arc; equivalent to 3.262 light years
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.
