Beehive Tombs

Beehive tombs, or tholoi, are the large, underground ceremonial tombs constructed in Greece during the Late Bronze Age. The tombs, usually built into the side of a hill, have a distinctive beehive shape formed with layers of stone that taper toward the top of the structure. Though many of these tombs have been pillaged, they have still provided archeologists with some of the richest finds from the period. What might the abundance of such tombs at certain sites reveal about who used them? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Apple Lisa Launched (1983)

In 1983, after five years of development, Apple released the Lisa, the first personal computer with a graphical user interface. Although the Lisa was a commercial failure—due in part to its initial price tag of $9,995—it had a significant impact on the computer industry. It is often rumored to have been named after the first daughter of Apple’s Steve Jobs, though several acronyms have been ascribed to the name. What project did Jobs join after being forced out of the Lisa project? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Bonfim Festival (Festa do Bonfim)

There is a church in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, known as Our Lord of the Happy Ending (bonfim). Today during the Bonfim Festival, hundreds of Brazilian women dress in the traditional white dresses of colonial Bahia and form a procession to the church. The bahianas balance jars of water, scented with blossoms, on their heads. The washing of the steps at Bonfim Basilica on the second Thursday after Epiphany is the highlight of the festival. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

James Watt (1736)

A largely self-taught Scottish engineer and inventor, Watt greatly impacted the Industrial Revolution with his development of the Watt engine. Asked to repair a model of Thomas Newcomen’s steam engine, he instead made improvements to it that resulted in a new type of engine. One such design enhancement, the separate condenser, radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. The watt, a unit of power, is named for him. What other unit of power did he develop? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Jug Bands

Jug bands are musical groups that use a mix of traditional and improvised instruments—usually ordinary objects modified for making music, such as the jug, washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe, and kazoo. Early jug bands were typically made up of African-American vaudeville and medicine show musicians. Emerging in the urban South, the bands played a mixture of Memphis blues—before it was formally called the blues—ragtime, and Appalachian music. How does one play the jug? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Massive Strolling Alligator Enthralls Tourists at Fla. Nature Reserve — and on Video

The Florida alligator refused to wow the small crowd, if it noticed them, with a burst of speed as it crossed the grassy path. Its size was enough. Each slow step was like the twist of a queen’s wave, as though such things as urgency were below the … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

WWII: First Armed Insurgency in Warsaw Ghetto (1943)

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish armed resistance that took place in the Warsaw Ghetto of Nazi-occupied Poland during WWII. By July 1942, the Nazis had forced 500,000 Jews into the Warsaw Ghetto. Starvation killed thousands each month and thousands more were transferred to “labor” camps every day. When word reached the ghetto that the destination was actually the gas chambers at Treblinka, the newly formed Jewish insurgency attacked the Nazis. How long did the insurgency last? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary