Zeno Crowned Co-Emperor of Byzantine Empire (474 CE)

A military leader, Zeno married the daughter of Byzantine emperor Leo I in about 466 CE. When Leo I died, Zeno’s seven-year-old son Leo II became emperor and Zeno was appointed co-emperor. Leo II died within the year, making Zeno sole emperor. Zeno made peace with the Vandals in Africa, put down a rebellion in Asia Minor, got the Ostrogoths to leave the Eastern Empire, and tried to solve the Monophysite controversy, causing a schism with Rome. Why did Zeno change his name from Tarasicodissa? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

St. Maron’s Day

St. Maron (also spelled St. Maroun), the patron saint of Lebanon, was a monk who died in 410 CE. The Feast of St. Maron, as it is known in Lebanon, does not have the cultural significance for its citizens that it had in past eras—today, Maronites only make up one-quarter of the Lebanese population (between one-half and one million). In Lebanon and abroad, the most common ceremony of the feast day is the Maronite liturgy, which is a distinctive blend of Catholic doctrine, Arabic music, and singing in Syriac-Aramaic, a classical language that was spoken by Jesus. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Carmen Miranda (1909)

Miranda was a Brazilian singer and actress who, in the 1930s, was the most popular recording artist in Brazil, where she appeared in five films. Recruited by a Broadway producer, she made her US film debut in Down Argentine Way. Typecast as the “Brazilian Bombshell” and given such caricatural roles as “The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” in The Gang’s All Here, she became the highest-paid female performer in the US during World War II. What was her final film? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Tree-Kangaroo

These marsupials are generally found in the rainforests and mountainous regions of New Guinea and Queensland. They are related to the kangaroos endemic to Australia, with whom they share many similar features, including their large hind legs and long, narrow feet. In contrast to the kangaroo, however, these macropods live in trees, have the ability to move their hind legs independently of one another, and leap great distances from tree to tree. How far can a tree-kangaroo jump? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Orangeburg Massacre (1968)

In the Orangeburg massacre, local police in Orangeburg, South Carolina, fired into a crowd of about 200 people protesting segregation, killing three students and injuring 27 others. Although the incident predated the Kent State shootings and Jackson State killings and was the first incident of its kind on a US college campus, the Orangeburg Massacre received relatively little media coverage. On that day, the demonstrators were gathered to protest the segregation of what type of facility? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Hobart Royal Regatta

The Royal Hobart Regatta is an aquatic carnival that includes sailing, rowing, and swimming events, as well as fireworks and parades. It is a holiday in Tasmania, Australia, and is held on the Derwint River in early February during Australia’s summer season. Hobart is the capital of Tasmania, Australia’s southernmost state. A similar holiday in northern Tasmania is observed on the first Monday in November and is called Recreation Day. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Kate Chopin (1851)

A St. Louis, Missouri, native, Chopin moved to Louisiana when she married at the age of 20. After her husband passed away, she returned to St. Louis and began her professional writing career. Now considered a forerunner of 20th-century feminist authors, Chopin gained attention with her many short stories featuring Creole tales and New Orleans culture but virtually stopped publishing after her novel The Awakening was heavily criticized on what grounds? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Body Worlds

Gunther von Hagens’s Body Worlds, a traveling exhibition of preserved human bodies and body parts, has been the subject of controversy since it opened in Tokyo in 1995. Developers claim that the exhibit uses only specimens from willing donors and is intended to educate laymen about the human body, but some see the project as denigrating the deceased, and religious groups have voiced objections to the public exhibition of human corpses. What technique is used to preserve the human tissue? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary