Smoking cigarettes can leave a lasting imprint on human DNA, altering more than 7,000 genes in ways that may contribute to the development of smoking-related diseases, a new study says. Reviewing results from blood samples taken from nearly 16,000 people … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
O’Connor is a lawyer and jurist who was the first female associate justice of the US Supreme Court. She served as an assistant state attorney general in her home state of Arizona in the late 1960s and, in 1969, was appointed to the state senate, where she became the country’s first female majority leader. She was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court in 1981, becoming the first female justice. Who took O’Connor’s Supreme Court seat when she retired in 2006? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Since 1936, the last Sunday in September has been designated by the U.S. Congress as Gold Star Mother’s Day in the United States, honoring the mothers of US service men and women who have died at war. The Gold Star mothers‘ group was founded in the aftermath of World War I by Grace Darling Siebold, whose son George had been killed in an air battle over France in 1918. Each year, Gold Star Mother’s Day is commemorated during several ceremonies in the nation’s capital, including flower and wreath laying services at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Largely self-taught, Rothko was an American painter who became a leading exponent of a uniquely personal strain within the larger movement of abstract expressionism. By 1950, he was creating his so-called color-field paintings, works with large rectangles of color that express moods. In 1970, he committed suicide shortly after completing what some regard as his masterwork, a group of murals for a chapel in Houston, Texas. For what record-breaking price did one of Rothko’s paintings sell in 2007? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Fluxus, “to flow” in Latin, is an international group of artists noted for blending various artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. Considered an attitude rather than a movement or style, Fluxus encourages a do-it-yourself aesthetic and values simplicity. Fluxus developed out of many of the concepts explored by composer John Cage, who focused on the notion of chance in art through works such as 4’33”—a “composition” performed without a single note being played. What are Fluxus boxes? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) A firm abnormal elevated blemish on the skin; caused by a virus.
Synonyms: wart.
Usage: When he developed a verruca on the bottom of his foot, walking became extremely painful.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Nearly half a century ago, archaeologists found a charred ancient scroll in the ark of a synagogue on the western shore of the Dead Sea.The lump of carbonized parchment could not be opened or read. Its curators did nothing but conserve it, hoping that new … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1946, Japanese mechanic, race car driver, and self-taught engineer Soichiro Honda founded a company that made small, efficient engines. It was incorporated as Honda Motor Co. two years later and originally produced only motorcycles. Its clean-burning CVCC engine created an automotive revolution, and its cars won a large share of the US market after they went on sale in 1963. Today, Honda is one of the world’s leading automakers. What else besides cars and motorcycles does Honda manufacture? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
This event is a weekend celebration of the famous Kentucky smoked ham, held in Lebanon (Marion County), Kentucky, since 1970. The affair started with a simple country ham breakfast served to about 300 people on the street; now about 50,000 folks show up. Breakfast (ham cured in Marion County, eggs, biscuits with local honey, fried apples) is still served on Saturday and Sunday, but there is more: a “Pigasus Parade” with more than 100 floats, a Pokey Pig 5K run, a crafts and antiques show, a hog-calling contest, a hay-bale toss, and a hot air balloon race. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Potemkin was a Russian army officer who helped bring Catherine II to power in 1762. After fighting in the Russo-Turkish War, he became Catherine’s lover and perhaps the most powerful man in Russia. He played an important role in the annexing of the Crimea, but he underestimated the cost of colonizing it and left many projects incomplete. His success in disguising his shortcomings led to the claim that when he gave Catherine a tour of the region, he showed her “Potemkin villages,” which are what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary