Why did the panther cross the river? No one knows, but the big cat’s mini-migration has generated mega-excitement among conservationists. The panther in question lives in Florida, and her species is endangered. Just 100 to 200 of the animals inhabit a … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1819, the whaling ship Essex left Massachusetts for the South Pacific to hunt sperm whales. On November 20, 1820, in an incident that would inspire Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, the Essex was rammed multiple times by a sperm whale and sank 2,000 miles (3,700 km) off the coast of South America. The crew took three small boats to a nearby island, but many soon set out again. Conditions in the boats worsened, and the sailors had to resort to cannibalism. How many survived? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Three Glorious Days is a French wine festival that occurs on the last weekend of November in Côte d’Or Department, Burgundy, in eastern France. On the first day, the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin receive their new members, followed by a pig dinner during which hundreds of bottles of wine are uncorked. The second day of the festival takes place at Beaune, where a wine auction is held at the Hospice de Beaune. On the final day in Meursault, everyone who has taken part in the work of the wine harvest is invited to a huge banquet with folk dancing and merrymaking. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Landis was a US federal judge and the first commissioner of professional baseball. Named for a Georgia mountain where his father had been wounded during the Civil War, he practiced law in Illinois before serving as a US district judge. In 1907, he presided over a famous case in which the Standard Oil Company was found guilty of granting unlawful freight rebates and fined $29 million, but his decision was later reversed. He was named baseball commissioner in 1920 in the aftermath of what scandal? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
A cytokine storm is a potentially fatal immune reaction that results from an uncontrolled positive feedback loop between immune cells and cytokines, proteins that facilitate intercellular communication. During an immune response, cytokines prompt immune cells to travel to the site of infection as well as stimulate the production of more cytokines. The body regulates this process, but in some cases it becomes inappropriately elevated. What are the primary symptoms of a cytokine storm? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) A small halo or rainbow near the horizon just off the parhelic circle.
Synonyms: mock sun, parhelion.
Usage: The scientists concluded that the sundog's rainbow-like appearance must be the result of the diffraction of light.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Astronomers claim to have discovered the roundest object ever measured in nature. Kepler 11145123 is a distant, slowly rotating star that’s more than twice the size of the Sun. Researchers were able to show that the difference between its radius as … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1969, four months after the Apollo 11 mission culminated with the first moonwalk, Apollo 12 returned to the Moon with astronauts Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, and Richard Gordon. The craft touched down on the Ocean of Storms near the Surveyor 3 probe, which had landed there in 1967, and Conrad and Bean walked to the probe to remove some of its instruments to take back to Earth for study. What were Conrad’s first words when he set foot on the lunar surface? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
At the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery in southern Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. This 270-word speech is considered one of the greatest in American history. Equal Opportunity Day is observed at Gettysburg National Cemetery each year, where ceremonies commemorating Lincoln’s address are held under the sponsorship of the Sons of Union Veterans and the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania. Sometimes, this day is referred to as “Gettysburg Address Day.” Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
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Born Netty Reiling, Seghers was a German novelist. She won fame with her first novel of social protest, The Revolt of the Fishermen, but in 1933 she was forced to leave Germany. In Mexico, she wrote The Seventh Cross, a poignant story of escape from a concentration camp. Other works include Transit and a study of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. After World War II she settled in East Berlin. Who starred in the film version of The Seventh Cross in 1944? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary