Arthur Rubinstein (1887)

Rubinstein was a Polish-American pianist whose enormous popularity spanned many decades. He debuted in 1900 and performed with moderate success until the 1930s, when he stopped performing for five years to improve his technique and reemerged as a giant of 20th-century music, active into his 80s. In the US, he was equally noted as soloist and chamber musician. His repertoire ranged from Bach to 20th-century Spanish composers, but he was particularly noted for his interpretation of what composer? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Baobab

Exceeded in trunk diameter only by sequoias, baobabs are gigantic trees native to Africa, Australia, and India. Some are reputed to be thousands of years old, but their ages are impossible to verify because the wood does not produce annual growth rings. Though wide enough to be hollowed out for dwellings, baobabs are not very tall, and are often called “bottle trees” and “upside-down trees” because of their appearance. What is “the Boab Prison Tree,” and how was it once used? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

National Geographic Society Founded (1888)

The National Geographic Society is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. It was founded in 1888 by a small group of eminent explorers and scientists and, by the turn of the 21st century, boasted approximately nine million members. It has supported more than 7,000 major scientific projects and expeditions, including those of the Leakey family, Jacques Cousteau, and Jane Goodall. What popular traveling exhibits has it sponsored? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mauni Amavasya

Complete silence is observed on the day known to Hindus as Mauni Amavasya. Because bathing during Magha, one of the most sacred Hindu months, is considered to be a purifying act, many Hindus camp out along the banks of the Ganges River throughout the month and bathe daily in the sacred river. But the bathing and fasting end with the observance of Mauni Amavasya, a day for worshipping Lord Vishnu and circumambulating the peepal (a type of ficus) tree, which is regarded as holy. For many Hindus, the celebration takes place at Prayag, where the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers flow together. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Donna Reed (1921)

Reed was an American film and television actress. In 1946, she starred in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, playing Mary Bailey—the wife of James Stewart’s character, George Bailey. She went on to win the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in From Here to Eternity and later received a Golden Globe for Best Female TV Star for her performance as Donna Stone in The Donna Reed Show. Why did Reed once sue the producers of the TV show Dallas? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Guerrilla Gardening

Guerrilla gardening is a form of activism in which groups take over abandoned plots of land that they do not own in order to grow crops or plants. The earliest recorded use of the term was in 1973, when the Green Guerilla group transformed a derelict private lot in New York’s Bowery district into a garden. That garden is still being cared for by volunteers and is now protected by the city’s parks department. What American folk hero do some consider an early practitioner of guerrilla gardening? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary