A Martian Volcano May Have Continuously Erupted for Billions of Years

While humanity may have to a wait few more decades to set foot on Mars, researchers are already getting a glimpse of the Red Planet’s geology. A new meteorite study, published this week in the journal Science Advances, suggests that a Martian volcano … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Santiago, Chile, Founded (1541)

Santiago is the capital and the largest city of Chile. Just months after it was founded on the banks of the Mapocho River by Spanish conquistadors, the settlement was nearly wiped out by the indigenous Mapuche peoples. Today, it is one of the largest cities in South America, having survived the 1647 earthquake that leveled the city, frequent flooding from the Mapocho, and a number of other calamities. What meteorological phenomenon traps smog in the city? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Myanmar Union Day

In the Union of Myanmar, also known as Burma, Union Day commemorates the day in 1947 that Bogyoke Aung San, a Burmese nationalist leader, helped to unify all of Burma. Five days before Union Day, an annual relay of the Union flag begins. A ceremony to mark the start of the relay is held at City Hall. The flag is carried through 45 townships before arriving at People’s Square on Pyay Road for a Union Day ceremony. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

William Roscoe Estep (1920)

Estep was an American Baptist historian, author, and professor of church history. He was considered one of the world’s leading authorities on the Anabaptist movement, a Christian sect that rejects infant baptism and practices the ritual of believer’s baptism only after a person has made a declaration of faith. Estep wrote numerous works, including books on subjects such as Baptist and Anabaptist history, religious liberty, and world missions. At what theological seminary did he teach? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Colloidal Silver

Colloidal silver is a mixture of silver particles and water that has antimicrobial properties. Formerly used on external wounds and burns to prevent infection, colloidal silver is cited by some alternative-health practitioners as a beneficial nutritional supplement and a powerful antibiotic that is relatively safe for human consumption. However, most members of the mainstream medical community warn users that it can lead to argyria, a rare but permanent condition that turns the skin what color? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Lateran Treaty Signed Between Italy and the Vatican (1929)

The Lateran Treaty ended the political dispute between the Italian government and the Papacy that began when Italy took Rome as its capital in 1871 and limited papal sovereignty to just a few buildings. The treaty created Vatican City and gave the Holy See sovereignty there. Though Italy was under fascist control when the treaty was signed, successive governments have upheld the agreement. The Lateran Treaty established Roman Catholicism as the state religion of Italy. When did this change? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

St. Sarkis’s Day

In Armenia, St. Sarkis is associated with predictions about love and romance. It is customary for young lovers to put out crumbs for birds and watch to see which way the birds fly off, for it is believed that their future spouse will come from the same direction. It is also traditional to leave some pokhint—a dish made of flour, butter, and honey—outside the door on St. Sarkis’s Day. According to legend, when St. Sarkis was battling the Georgians, the roasted wheat in his pocket miraculously turned into pokhint. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Leo Szilard (1898)

Szilard was a Hungarian-American nuclear physicist who, after immigrating to America from Nazi Germany, was instrumental in the development of nuclear weapons. Working with Enrico Fermi, he developed the first self-sustained nuclear reactor based on uranium fission. He was one of the first to realize that nuclear chain reactions could be used in bombs and, in 1939, helped to establish the Manhattan Project. Later he protested nuclear warfare and decided to study what instead? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary