René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, Murdered by His Own Men (1687)

La Salle was a celebrated French explorer of North America. He began exploring the Great Lakes in 1679, setting up forts in the region and organizing a federation of native American tribes to fight the Iroquois. Given power to colonize the region between Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico, he set sail in 1684 for the mouth of the Mississippi River, which he was ultimately unable to locate. Beset by losses of men and ships, La Salle was killed by mutineers after having mistakenly landed where? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Russell Auction

The C. M. Russell Auction features an art auction, a celebration of western artist Charles M. Russell, and a western-style good time in Great Falls, Montana, where Russell had his home and studio. The affair began in 1969 to raise money for the C. M. Russell Museum. Events include seminars, dance demonstrations by the Blackfeet Indians, an exhibit of paintings and sculpture of western artists and an auction of their works, and a Quick Draw, in which artists have 30 minutes to draw any subject they want. Their quick draws are then auctioned. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Wyatt Earp (1848)

Earp was an American frontiersman. In the 1870s, he worked as a police officer in Wichita and Dodge City, Kansas, where he befriended gunmen Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson. He later worked as a guard for Wells, Fargo & Company. By 1881, he had moved to Tombstone, Arizona, living as a gambler and a saloon guard. His brother Virgil became town marshal, and his other brothers bought real estate and businesses. A feud with the Clanton gang ended in a shootout at the O.K. Corral, where what happened? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Antivenin: The Antidote

Antivenin is a biological material used to neutralize the venom of poisonous creatures like snakes, scorpions, spiders, and other insects. The antitoxins are created by injecting a small amount of venom into a serum-producing animal such as a horse, sheep, goat, or rabbit. The subject animal then suffers an immune response to the venom and produces antibodies which can be harvested from its blood and used to treat envenomation in others. What is mithridatism, and why is it so named? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Kids Who Eat Two Breakfasts Are Less Likely to Be Overweight than Those Who Eat None

A growing number of children are eating free breakfasts at school, but the push to provide morning meals for all children in low-income communities has long been accompanied by a concern that it might mean more kids end up eating a double breakfast … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

UK Recognizes British Sign Language as Official Language (2003)

Making use of space and involving movement of the hands, body, face, and head, British Sign Language (BSL) is the preferred language of deaf people in the UK and those who communicate with them, such as relatives and interpreters. BSL has regional and local dialects, and some signs go in and out of fashion or evolve over time, just like spoken words. Although English is the predominant spoken language in both the UK and US, BSL differs from American Sign Language in what ways? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

St. Joseph’s Eve

In Valencia, Spain, the feast of the foster-father of Jesus is a week-long festival called Fallas de San Jose (Bonfires of St. Joseph). On St. Joseph’s Eve, March 18, fallas—huge floats of intricate scenes made of wood and papier-mâché, satirizing everything from the high cost of living to political personalities—parade through the streets. At midnight on March 19, the celebration ends with the spectacular ceremony known as the crema, when all the fallas are set on fire. The festival is said to reflect the happy and satirical nature of the Valencians. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll (1848)

In 1840, Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and the two had nine children, whose marriages, and those of their grandchildren, in turn, allied the British royal house with those of Russia, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Romania, and others. Their sixth child, Princess Louise, is regarded by biographers as the couple’s most beautiful daughter. In 1871, Louise married the Marquess of Lorne and became the Duchess of Argyll. Why was the marriage controversial? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Trembling Madness

Delirium tremens, known colloquially as the DTs, is an acute, sometimes fatal episode of delirium generally caused by alcohol withdrawal following habitual excessive drinking. A patient suffering from the DTs may experience sweating, hallucinations, tremors, and convulsions, as well as increased heart rate and body temperature. In severe cases, delirium tremens may lead to hypothermia, cardiovascular collapse, and death. When left untreated, what percentage of DT sufferers die during withdrawal? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary