Is that an asteroid-like comet? A comet-like asteroid? A space rock with a bit of a split personality, born near Earth, has found its way back home, according to a new study published on Friday in the journal Science Advances. “If you’d shown me the … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Carnegie Hall has long been the most famous concert hall in the US. Admired for its beauty and superb acoustics, it was designed in a Neo-Italian Renaissance style by architect William Burnet Tuthill and was endowed by industrialist Andrew Carnegie at the insistence of conductor Walter Damrosch. Pyotr Tchaikovsky was the guest of honor at its opening. The venue was slated for demolition in the 1950s but was saved by a public outcry. What was it called before it was named after Carnegie in 1893? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Kodomo-no-Hi is a national holiday in Japan that was known as Boys’ Day from the 9th century, but became a day for both boys and girls in 1948. Today, the day is observed largely with family picnics. Households with sons erect tall bamboo poles outside the home and attach streamers in the shape of carp for each son. The carp supposedly represents the strength, courage, and determination shown in its upstream journeys. The festivities are part of Golden Week, which also includes Greenery Day and Japan Constitution Memorial Day. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The daughter of a Spanish noble, Eugénia married Napoleon III in 1853 and became the empress of France. She took an active role in the politics of the Second Empire, acting as regent when her husband was at war. She also encouraged French opposition to a Prussian candidate for the Spanish throne in the controversy that precipitated the Franco-Prussian War. Deposed after Napoleon’s defeat and capture, she fled and settled in England. Why was her marriage to Napoleon controversial? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Aviophobia, also called aviatophobia, is the fear of flying or being on an airplane while it is in flight. Because air travel is difficult to avoid, this fear can be crippling both professionally as well as personally. While a significant portion of the population experiences anxiety related to air travel, the fear only becomes aviophobia when it significantly interferes with a person’s ability to travel by air. What are some techniques a person with aviophobia can use to conquer this fear? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) An odd, whimsical, or stubborn notion.
Synonyms: oddity, queerness, quirk.
Usage: He is perhaps the sanest man and has the fewest crotchets of any I chance to know.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Research in a German laboratory involving five lizards called Australian bearded dragons indicates that these reptiles may dream and could prompt a fundamental reassessment of the evolution of sleep. Scientists said on Thursday they have documented for … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The May Fourth Movement was the first mass movement in modern Chinese history. It began with about 5,000 university students in Beijing protesting the Versailles Conference’s decision to transfer former German concessions in China to Japan. Demonstrations and strikes spread, and a nationwide boycott of Japanese goods followed. The movement began a patriotic outburst of new urban intellectuals against foreign imperialists and warlords and is often cited as the seminal event that led to what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
On May 4, 1978, South African forces attacked a SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) base located in the old Angolan mining town of Cassinga. Hundreds of Namibians died during the attack. Namibia eventually won its political independence in 1990 and is currently ruled by the SWAPO party government, and a national holiday is declared every year on the anniversary of the attack to commemorate those who died in their country’s struggle for independence. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Hepburn was a Belgian-born film actress who combined elegance with a radiant, elfin innocence. After spending World War II in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, she studied ballet and acting in London and was discovered by French writer Colette, who insisted she play the lead in Gigi on Broadway. She made her US film debut in Roman Holiday, for which she won an Academy Award, and then returned to Broadway and won a Tony Award in Ondine. What was Hepburn’s last film? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary