Pica

Characterized by the consumption of materials such as soil, chalk, and hair, pica is a disorder involving an appetite for non-nutritive substances or an abnormal compulsion to eat foodstuffs that are usually ingredients, such as flour or starch. Such eating behaviors have been observed in people of all ages but are only termed pica if they persist for more than one month in persons deemed developmentally able to determine whether an item is appropriate for consumption. How is pica treated? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

US Air Force Nuclear Weapons Incident (2007)

In 2007, six cruise missiles with nuclear warheads were mistakenly loaded onto a US Air Force bomber and transported from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana without the knowledge the flight crew. A military investigation of the incident found that a number of procedures for handling nuclear weapons had been carried out improperly by numerous service members. Disciplinary actions were taken against many officers, including what high-ranking officials? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Burning Man

Burning Man is a counterculture festival held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, conceived by Larry Harvey in 1986 to honor the Summer Solstice. It has since become a populist phenomenon, where participants set up a temporary “city,” creating their own community. People are expected to interact with one another, produce and display artwork, play music, do sponteneous performances—as long as they actively participate. The 50-foot-high Man towers over Black Rock City until the climax of the festival on Saturday night, when the figure is ignited and the Man becomes a fiery blaze. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ingrid Bergman (1915)

Bergman was a Swedish actress who specialized in portrayals of strong, sophisticated women. Her radiance and unaffected charm made her a star in films such as Casablanca, Gaslight, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious. A scandal caused by her affair with director Roberto Rossellini kept her off the US screen for seven years and forced her to return to Europe until 1956, when she made her successful Hollywood comeback in Anastasia. How many Academy Awards did she win? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Total Solar Eclipse of 1999

Often considered the most-viewed total solar eclipse in human history, the eclipse of August 11, 1999, was the first total eclipse visible from Europe in nearly a decade. The path of the moon’s shadow began in the Atlantic Ocean just before noon and traversed England, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Serbia before reaching maximum coverage in Romania and continuing across Bulgaria, the Black Sea, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and India. What spacecraft also observed the moon’s shadow? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Caleb Davis Bradham Begins Selling “Pepsi-Cola” (1898)

Bradham was a pharmacist who invented a soft drink made with kola nut extract, vanilla, and “rare oils.” He believed his drink aided digestion and renamed it “Pepsi-Cola” after the kola nut and pepsin, an enzyme that aids in digestion. In 1902, he incorporated the Pepsi-Cola Co, and, in 1931, the trademark and assets were bought by Charles Guth, who improved the formula and marketed a 12-ounce bottle for five cents with huge success. What did Bradham originally call his drink? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary