Licensed from Columbia University Press
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Any of about 25 species of flat green insects (family Phylliidae) with a leaflike appearance. Leaf insects, which range from India to the Fiji Islands, are about 2.3 in. (60 mm) long. The female has large leathery forewings (tegmina) that lie edge to edge on the abdomen and resemble, in their vein pattern, the midrib and veins in a leaf. The hind wings have no function. The male has small tegmina and ample, non-leaflike, functional hind wings. The newly hatched young are reddish, but become green after feeding on leaves.
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In track and field, a form of racing in which the competitor's advancing foot must touch the ground before the rear foot leaves it. Walking as a sport dates from the later 19th century. Walking races of 10 mi and 3,500 m were added to the men's Olympic program in 1908, but since 1956 the Olympic distances have been 20 km and 50 km. A women's 10-km walk was introduced in 1992.
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Religious ceremony that involves walking across hot coals, red-hot stones, or burning wood. It has been practiced in many parts of the world, including ancient Greece, India, Japan, China, Tahiti, New Zealand, Bulgaria, and Spain. The most common form of fire walking involves striding across a layer of embers spread thinly over the bottom of a shallow trench. More rarely, devotees may walk through a blazing log fire. The reasons for fire walking include purification and as an ordeal to prove innocence. Devotees believe that only those who lack faith will be burned, and many fire walkers do escape without injury.
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