The fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-lys (plural: fleurs-de-lis) is a stylized lily (in French, fleur means flower, and lis means lily) or iris that is used as a decorative design or symbol. It may be "at one and the same time, religious, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic", especially in French heraldry. It is represented in Unicode at U+269C (⚜) in the Miscellaneous Symbols block. Usages While the fleur-de-lis has appeared on countless European coats of arms and flags over the centuries, it is particularly associated with the French monarchy in a historical context, an...

A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds). It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America. They typically have a thick, orange or yellow shell, creased from the stem to the bottom, containing the seeds and pulp. Pumpkins are widely grown for commercial use, and are used both in food and recreation. Pumpkin pie, for instance, is a traditional part of Thanksgiving meals in the United States, and pumpki...

Carambola, also known as starfruit, is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The fruit is popular throughout Southeast Asia, the South Pacific and parts of East Asia. The tree is also cultivated throughout non-indigenous tropical areas, such as in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the southern United States. The fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides (usually five, but can sometimes vary); in cross-section, it resembles a star, hence its name. The entire fruit is edible and is usu...

De carambola (Averrhoa carambola) of stervrucht is een plant uit de klaverzuringfamilie (Oxalidaceae). Het is een verwant van de kleinere blimbing (Averrhoa bilimbi). Het is een tot 12 m hoge boom met korte stam en uitgespreide takken, die in droge tijden zijn blad kan verliezen. De tot 20 cm lange bladeren zijn afwisselend geplaatst en oneven geveerd. De zeven tot elf, tot 8 x 3,7 cm grote deelblaadjes zijn gaafrandig, ovaal, glanzend en glad aan de bovenzijde en aan de onderzijde dof. De rode tot violette bloemen staan in vertakte trossen met rode takken in de bladoksels. De vruchten z...

Carom billiards, sometimes called carambole billiards or simply carambole (and in some cases used as a synonym for the game of straight rail from which many carom games derive), is the overarching title of a family of billiards games generally played on cloth-covered, 5 by 10 feet (approximately 1.5 × 3 m) pocketless tables, which often feature heated slate beds. In its simplest form, the object of the game is to score or "counts" by ' one's own off both the opponent's cue ball and the on a single shot. The invention as well as the exact date of origin of carom billiards is s...

Bolas (from Spanish bola, "ball", also known as boleadoras, or Inca ayllo) are a throwing weapon superficially similar to the surujin, made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs. They are most famously used by the South American gauchos, but have been found in excavations of Pre-Columbian settlements, especially in Patagonia, where indigenous peoples used them to catch 200 pound guanaco (llama-like mammals) and ñandú (birds). They have also been found, as a Stone Age lithic tool, in North America at the Calico Early Man Sit...

A bolo tie (sometimes bola tie or shoestring necktie) is a type of necktie consisting of a piece of cord or braided leather with decorative metal tips – aglets (aiguillettes) – secured with an ornamental clasp or slide. Bolos are easy to make, using attractive flat objects such as lady's pins, coins, plastic netsuke reproductions, polished stones, Christmas tree ornaments, refrigerator magnets, etc. Cords of leather and cordage stock, clips and tips, called "findings" are widely available from jewelry supply firms. Popularity In the United States, bolo ties are widely associa...

Bolae or Bola was an ancient city of Latium that was repeatedly mentioned in the early history of Rome. Foundation Its foundation is expressly ascribed by Virgil to the kings of Alba Longa, and its name is found also in the list given by Diodorus Siculus of the colonies of that city. Hence, there is no doubt that it was properly a Latin city, though its name does not appear among the list of those that composed the Latin League. But it fell at an early period into the hands of the Aequians. Dionysius of Halicarnassus describes it as one of the towns taken by Coriolanus, together with T...

A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds). It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America. They typically have a thick, orange or yellow shell, creased from the stem to the bottom, containing the seeds and pulp. Pumpkins are widely grown for commercial use, and are used both in food and recreation. Pumpkin pie, for instance, is a traditional part of Thanksgiving meals in the United States, and pumpki...

Pumpkin pie is a traditional sweet dessert, often eaten during the fall and early winter, especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States and Canada. The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time and featured also at Halloween. The pie consists of a pumpkin-based custard, ranging in color from orange to brown, baked in a single pie shell, rarely with a top crust. The pie is generally flavored with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. This pie is often made from canned pumpkin or packaged pumpkin pie filling (spices included). Preparation The traditional method for preparing...

A modern jack-o'-lantern is a carved pumpkin, although originally large turnips were carved. It is associated chiefly with the holiday of Samhain and Halloween and was named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called ignis fatuus or jack-o'-lantern. In a jack-o'-lantern, the top is cut off, and the inside flesh then scooped out; an image, usually a monstrous face, is carved out, and the lid replaced. It is typically seen during Halloween. Origin Pumpkin carving is thought to come from Ireland, where turnips, mangelwurzel or beets were used. Turnip lanter...