Vasco da Gama Sets Sail on First Direct European Voyage to India (1497)

In 1497, da Gama began his epochal voyage to India, becoming the first European to journey there directly by sea. With four vessels, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope, passed the easternmost point reached by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488, continued up the coast of Africa to Malindi, and sailed across the Indian Ocean to Calicut. His voyage opened up a way for Europe to reach the Indies and marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire. For what brutal methods was da Gama known during his travels? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

‘Ksan Celebrations

On Friday evenings in July and August, dances and accompanying songs are performed by the ‘Ksan, or Gitxsan, people in a longhouse in a village in Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada. The dances are said to go back to pre-history; they were revived in 1958, and the ‘Ksan dancers have since performed in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Kansas City, Missouri, and even Australia. Performers must be Git ‘Ksan, meaning “People of the ‘Ksan” (named after the nearby Skeena River). Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Alfred Binet (1857)

A major figure in the development of experimental psychology in France, Binet founded L’Année Psychologique, the first French journal on psychology, in 1895. He is also known for his research and innovations in measuring reasoning ability. Between 1905 and 1911, he and Théodore Simon developed influential scales for the measurement of the intelligence of children, which, with revisions, came into wide use in schools, industries, and the army. How did the scales work? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Nikola Tesla: “The Man Who Invented the 20th Century”

Deemed “the patron saint of modern electricity” by contemporary biographers, Nikola Tesla was an inventor, physicist, and mechanical and electrical engineer best known for his revolutionary contributions to the fields of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla was the holder of myriad patents and is credited by some with the invention of radio technology. What strange behaviors led many to regard Tesla as a “mad scientist”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mary Surratt Hanged for Role in Lincoln Assassination (1865)

When Surratt was hanged for conspiring to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, she became the first woman executed by the US federal government. Today, her execution is generally considered to have been a gross miscarriage of justice. During her trial, prosecutors failed to establish that she knew of John Wilkes Booth’s unsuccessful plot to abduct Lincoln, and it is now widely believed that she was not a party to the assassination plans either. What happened to her son, who also stood accused? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Tanabata

This Japanese festival is based on a Chinese legend of parted lovers who are identified with two of the brightest stars in the night sky: Vega, representing a weaver-princess, who is permitted by the king to marry the simple cowherd, Altair. On the seventh day of the seventh month, the lovers are able to meet. The festival is observed throughout Japan, with people hanging colorful strips of paper on bamboo branches outside their homes. It is an especially colorful occasion in Sendai, where it occurs a month later, on August 6-8. The whole city is decked out with paper streamers and works of origami. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Camillo Golgi (1843)

An Italian physician and cytologist, Golgi devised a way to stain nerve tissue and, using the technique, was able to clearly observe a neuron, now called a Golgi cell, along with its axon and dendrites branching off. The discovery led to the identification of the neuron as the basic structural unit of the nervous system. He also discovered the Golgi tendon organ and the Golgi apparatus. He shared the 1906 Nobel Prize with Santiago Ramón y Cajal. What discovery did Golgi make about malaria? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Sleep Paralysis

Have you ever had a dream in which you felt frozen or unable to move? Well, the experience may actually have been real. Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of the body shortly after waking or before falling asleep. Paralysis occurs normally during the sleep cycle to prevent the body from acting out dreamt movements; occasionally, this paralysis can persist as a person passes into a waking state. What is one technique recommended to end such attacks? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary