If you’re reading this at home, you are currently surrounded by arthropods — invertebrates with exoskeletons and jointed legs. But just how many spiders, crustaceans and other creepy crawlies live in the average American home? Until now, that question … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Shoichi Yokoi was a Japanese soldier who went into hiding in the jungles of Guam in 1944 as Allied forces took the island; 28 years later, he was still there. He had hidden in an underground cave, fearing to come out of hiding even after finding leaflets declaring that WWII had ended. In 1972, he was found by hunters and returned to Japan. He was the third-to-last Japanese soldier to surrender after the war, before Hiroo Onoda and Teruo Nakamura. What did Yokoi allegedly say upon his return? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Tradition calls for Japanese Buddhists to honor Kshitigarba Jizo on the 24th day of each month with a ritual known as Jizo Ennichi. Kshitigarba Jizo is a Bodhisattva, or “Buddha-to-be.” Among Japanese Buddhists, he is known for helping children, women in labor, and the wicked. He is also believed to participate in ushering in the souls of the faithful when they die. His statue is most often found outside temples, where he can guide both the dead and the living. Shrines in his honor are set up along roadsides, since he protects travelers as well. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The nephew of Roman emperor Trajan, Hadrian became emperor when he was adopted and named successor just before Trajan’s death, after years of intrigue. After executing his senatorial opponents and abandoning many of Trajan’s conquests, he began to travel widely, and many of his accomplishments were related to his visits abroad, including the beginning of construction of Hadrian’s Wall. The wall is one of the largest and most significant remains of the Roman occupation of what area? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Read, an Englishwoman who was born in the late 17th century, spent much of her life disguised as a man and working in industries generally reserved for men. She was on a ship bound for the West Indies when it was captured by pirate captain Calico Jack Rackham. Read joined his crew and became one of the most notorious female pirates of the time. When Rackham’s ship was captured and the crew sentenced to death, Read received a stay of execution after she “pled her belly,” a reference to what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) Treacherous cunning; skillful deceit.
Synonyms: craftiness, foxiness, slyness, wiliness, cunning.
Usage: Her mild eyes seemed incapable of any severity or guile, and yet she has committed a murder.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Sorry Spiderman fans, but scientists may have disproved his signature move. Humans are too big and have too small feet to climb a wall like a spider, according to a new study. Hundreds of smaller animals, from tiny mites to geckos, have adhesive footpads … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Shortly after marrying drifter Erasmus Shue, Heaster was found dead and was soon buried. Her mother, who suspected foul play, claimed to have had a vision in which her daughter’s ghost stated that Shue had broken her neck, killing her. When the body was exhumed, an autopsy confirmed that Heaster’s neck had been broken, and Shue was tried for murder. What role did the ghost—since known as the Greenbrier Ghost for Heaster’s hometown of Greenbrier County, West Virginia—play in the trial? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
This event, held near the Japanese city of Nara, is one of the ancient capital’s most thrilling spectacles. It takes place on Mt. Wakakusa—fireworks are ignited, and at six o’clock in the evening, priests from the temples of Todai-ji and Kofuku-ji set fire to the dry grass on the slopes. The whole mountain turns into a flaming beacon that lights up the night sky and can be seen for miles. The festival commemorates the historic burning of the hill 10 centuries ago during a friendly disagreement about the boundaries of the two major temples and a shrine in Nara. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
One of the foremost French artists of the 19th century, Manet is often regarded as the father of modern painting. Rebelling against the academic tradition, he developed a realist style that was one of the founding forces of Impressionism. Although his talent is recognized today, Manet was often greeted with harsh criticism during his career, including for his paintings Le déjeuner sur l’herbe—The Luncheon on the Grass—and Olympia. Why were the paintings controversial? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary