Today, the science behind parhelia—also known as “sun dogs”—is well understood, but when the huge, glowing halos and miniature suns appeared in the sky above Stockholm in 1535, it was a major event. A painting of the occurrence is the earliest color depiction of Stockholm, then a crowded cluster of stone buildings on an island. It is also the earliest depiction of sun dogs and is largely scientifically accurate. What were some of the conflicting interpretations of the omen at the time? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
This birthday festival in Hong Kong celebrates Tin Hau, queen of Heaven and goddess of the sea. Also known as Tien-hou or 
One of the premier composers and players of Latin music, Puente was an American bandleader, pianist, and virtuoso percussionist. He formed his own band in 1947 and rose to prominence with the salsa, mambo, merengue, and cha-cha-cha fads of the 1950s. Always experimenting, he became a pioneer of Latin-jazz fusion and recorded more than 100 albums, winning multiple Grammy awards. His compositions include “Pare Cochero” and “Oye Como Va.” On what TV shows did Puente appear as a guest star? 
Perhaps the largest animal to have ever lived, the blue whale can grow to be 100 ft (30.5 m) long and weigh as much as 200 tons. It eats as much as 4 tons of krill a day, and its massive mouth can hold up to 100 tons of food and water, but its throat restricts the passage of anything wider than a beach ball. Once abundant, it was nearly hunted to extinction before being placed under the protection of the international community in 1966. What is the blue whale’s only natural predator? 
Ordained in 1951, the German-born Ratzinger came to be regarded as the most influential person in the Catholic hierarchy after the pope through his high-profile positions within the church and his uncompromising stance on Catholic teachings. He presided over the funeral of Pope John Paul II as dean of the College of Cardinals and, after just two days and four ballots, was elected pope in one of the fastest papal elections in a century. Why did he pray not to be elected during the papal conclave? 
Ness was 26 years old when he was hired as a special agent of the US Department of Justice to head its Chicago Prohibition bureau, with the express purpose of breaking up the bootlegging network of Al Capone. He formed a nine-man team of unbribable officers known as “the Untouchables.” Numerous attempts were made on his life, and one of his friends was killed, but he eventually helped take down Capone, who was convicted on tax evasion charges. What did Ness do after Prohibition ended? 
Many spiders use webs of proteinaceous fibers extruded from silk-spinning organs, called spinnerets, to catch prey without having to expend energy pursuing it. However, constructing a web is an energetically costly process, and it is not uncommon for a spider to eat its own web each day to recoup some of the energy expended in its spinning. A remarkable material, spider silk possesses a tensile strength comparable to that of high-grade steel and has been used in medical settings to do what?