For the first time, scientists have helped a paralyzed man experience the sense of touch in his mind-controlled robotic arm. For the cutting-edge experiment, a collaboration between the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The daughter of Austrian Archduchess Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, Marie Antoinette was the queen of France and wife of King Louis XVI. Her devotion to Austria, reputation for extravagance, and connection to scandals made her unpopular and helped to provoke the French Revolution. After the storming of the Tuileries palace, she and Louis were accused of treason. The king was executed, and Marie was tried, found guilty, and guillotined. Did she really say “Let them eat cake”? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Only during the Kawagoe Matsuri can festivalgoers view the enormous floats of old Edo (the old name for Tokyo). More than 20 richly decorated parade floats, thought to be reproductions of floats from Tokyo’s Kanda-jinja Shrine, are carried through the streets of Kawagoe. In the evening, the floats come together and bump into one another in the center of town. Hyashi bands—which play traditional Japanese music on the flute, drum, shamisen (three-stringed lute) and other instruments—also spar with one another, trying their best to interrupt the others’ rhythm. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Douglas, a US Supreme Court justice and author, practiced and taught law early in his career, before becoming a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1936. As SEC chairman, he engineered the reorganization of US stock exchanges, instituted measures aimed at protecting small investors, and began government regulation of the sale of securities. In 1939, the president appointed him to the Supreme Court. For what controversial act did Congress attempt to impeach Douglas? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Though taiko simply means “drum” in Japanese, the word is often used outside of Japan to refer to the relatively recent phenomenon of ensemble taiko drumming, and to the drums it employs, which are among the world’s largest. In fact, some of these drums are so large that they remain in a single location and are never moved. Although modern taiko was established in 1951, its first recorded use was on the battlefields of ancient Japan. How were the drums used in warfare? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) Thin and bony; angular.
Synonyms: cadaverous, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted.
Usage: A gaunt Wolf was almost dead with hunger when he happened to meet a House-dog who was passing by.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The footprints weave intricate paths across the desolate landscape. Some tracks race straight toward an unseen finish line; others meander, the outlines of their ancient owners’ toes and curves of their arches carved deeply into the sun-baked earth. The air … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Graf Zeppelin was a German, hydrogen-filled, passenger airship—the largest built up to that time. It inaugurated transatlantic flight service in 1928, making its first crossing in 111 hours. During its years of service, it completed 590 flights, including 64 to South America, two to the Middle East, and one around-the-world tour. It was retired from service in 1937, when the Hindenburg disaster brought an end to commercial zeppelin travel. Why was the airship destroyed during WWII? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Gold Rush Days are a celebratory reminder in Dahlonega, Georgia, of the town’s heyday as a gold-rush town. The nation’s first major gold rush was here in 1828, and the area around Dahlonega boomed—a federal mint built in 1838 operated for 23 years and coined more than $6 million. Mining continued into the beginning of the 20th century, and today visitors can pan for gold at several locations. The name of the town is derived from the Cherokee name Talonega, meaning “golden.” The festival includes arts and crafts exhibits, country cooking, and hog-calling contests. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
An Italian physicist and mathematician, Torricelli served as secretary to Galileo during the last three months of Galileo’s life. Two years later, pursuing a suggestion by Galileo, he filled a glass tube with mercury and inverted the tube into a dish. He noted that some of the mercury did not flow out and that the space above the mercury was a vacuum. He concluded that the variation of the height of the mercury from day to day was caused by changes in atmospheric pressure. What had he invented? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary