My smallest cat Cloe, hates Raccoons. Whenever one of them waddles onto the patio in the wee hours, she screams. I find her on the back of the couch puffed up and snarling in horripilation. The raccoon just looks at her, seemingly bewildered, wondering how such a small cat can make such a large racket.

🦝  🐈 < ^&%$#!

Related word: I just now sat through Narcan training at work, wherein they said a side effect of the narcotic rescue miracle drug was "piloerection" -- goosebumps.

Not a pillow erection.

I was going to pick/patch and paste any interesting facts/info or details I could find about our word today.

Then I came across, Dictionary.com, they seemed to cover what I was looking for, see what you think. Note, they offer an; American and a British version. Watch both, to see the differences.

HORRIPILATION Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

My search about goose bumps, Oops!, I mean horripilation, is on going, more to follow, I hope.

Yes, both horripilation and piloerection are commonly referred to as goose bumps or goose pimples.  I wonder what causes them in the goose? 

Whether it's caused by cold, fear, or excitement, the sympathetic nervous system triggers  the tiny muscles located at the base of each hair follicle, the erector pili muscles, to contract, and this causes the hair to stand on end.  

19 minutes ago, Bill W said:

wonder what causes them in the goose? 

Shot in the dark here, but my guess is that it refers to the appearance of the flesh of any fowl after it's been plucked. To the dictionary!

Sorry, I've done it again. I am off on another wild goose chase. Has anyone, anyone of you, ever looked up in the sky and seen a distant " V " formation, far overhead,and thought, oh look a flock of goose????? No, it was always a flock of geese. It took 72 years and today's 'Word of the Day", for me to realize that:

The female is called a Goose.

The male is called a Gander.

However the plural (flock, gaggle) or any grouping of these birds, is Geese.

What wonders will tomorrows' word bring me!