Ashley was a British fashion designer and manufacturer. After serving in the Women’s Royal Naval Service during World War II, she founded a company with her husband to produce silkscreened placemats, scarves, and tea towels. Her romantic and old-fashioned look carried over into women’s clothing, home furnishings, children’s wear, fabrics, wall coverings, and decorative accessories. What inspired Ashley to start printing Victorian-style fabric in 1953? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
On November 20, 1979, approximately 200 armed Islamic fundamentalist dissidents opposed to the Saudi ruling family took over Islam’s holiest place, the Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. After 127 Saudi Arabian National Guard members were killed in an unsuccessful attempt to regain control, the nervous Saudi government called in French and Pakistani forces, which retook the shrine in a battle that left approximately 250 dead and 600 wounded. What happened to the surviving militants? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
An experimental drug dramatically reduced the toxic plaques found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, a team reports in the journal Nature. Results from a small number of patients who received a high dose of the drug, called aducanumab, hint … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Russia’s second largest city, Saint Petersburg is a major seaport, rail junction, and industrial, cultural, and scientific center. The city was built in 1703 by Peter the Great, who sought an outlet to the sea and a port for trade through the Baltic. It was the capital of the Russian Empire from 1712 to 1917. Named “Leningrad” in 1924, the city reverted to its original name, Saint Petersburg, in 1991. What had the city been called between 1914 and 1924? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Independence Day is a national holiday in Swaziland. On this day in 1968, Swaziland became self-governing after having been ruled by Britain since 1903. This national holiday was also known as Somhlolo Day or Sobhuza Day, named after Sobhuza II (1899-1982), king of Swaziland from 1921 until his death. In 1973, he disregarded the constitution passed upon independence and assumed supreme power. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1889, with Ellen Gates Starr, Addams founded Hull House in Chicago, one of the first social settlements in the US. Based on the settlements begun in England by Samuel Barnett, Hull House served as a community center for the poor and as a center for social reform, and influenced the settlement movement throughout the country. A joint recipient of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize, Addams was a leader in the women’s suffrage and pacifist movements and a lecturer and writer. What are some of her books? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Travelers who fail to familiarize themselves with a region’s customs before visiting that area risk inadvertently offending or insulting their hosts. For example, in Iraq and Iran, the “thumbs up” gesture—a Western expression of approval—is considered an offensive insult. In the Middle East, where Islam is the predominant religion, modesty and hospitality are strongly valued traits, but their practice varies across ethnic groups. How do Middle Easterners show their respect for the elderly? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) A usually dense, cylindrical, often drooping cluster of unisexual apetalous flowers found in willows, birches, and oaks.
Synonyms: ament.
Usage: Walking some forty paces away, Sergey Ivanovitch, knowing he was out of sight, stood still behind a bushy spindle-tree in full flower with its rosy red catkins.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
It’s put away now, Jim Harris says. Not much more to do. He visited the instrument storage at Kennedy Space Center, to make sure everything was in order. When you ask a flight systems design engineer at Lockheed Martin about his involvement in a device that … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary