Parasitoids

A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant part of its life attached to or inside a single host, which it feeds on and ultimately kills. Parasitoid larvae are dependent on a host during development, but adult parasitoids are free-living insects. In a typical parasitic relationship, the parasite and host coexist without lethal damage to the host. However, in a parasitoid relationship, the host is killed, typically before it can produce offspring. What is a hyperparasite? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Muhammad Ali Becomes Wali of Egypt (1805)

Four years after Ali, an Ottoman army commander, helped drive Napoleon from Ottoman-ruled Egypt, he was named wali—governor—of Egypt. He helped modernize Egypt and attempted to secure its independence. Though unsuccessful, his efforts established his progeny as the rulers of Egypt and Sudan for nearly 150 years and rendered Egypt a de facto independent state. He is thus considered one of the fathers of modern Egypt. How did Ali trick Egypt’s Mamluk leaders into walking into a massacre? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Dennis Lee Hopper (1936)

Hopper was an American film actor. He appeared in two films with James Dean in the 1950s but achieved fame of his own after directing and starring in 1969’s Easy Rider. His career foundered in the 70s, but important roles in Apocalypse Now (1979) and Blue Velvet (1986) helped him revitalize his career in the 80s and 90s. In addition to acting, he was a noted artist. In 1983, he checked into rehab shortly after performing what daredevil stunt involving dynamite? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Ancient Olympic Games

Held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BCE to 393 CE, the Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions between various city-states. Originally, the games were comprised of just one event: the stadion race, a short sprint of about 624 ft (190 m), or the length of the stadium. Eventually, other events were added, including wrestling, chariot racing, a pentathlon, and the hoplitodromos, a race participants ran wearing heavy armor. What did competitors wear during other events? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Scientists Finally Have an Answer for Use of ‘Unusual, Mysterious’ Narwhal Tusk

For the first time since the species was discovered, scientists have captured evidence of Narwhals using their tusks to “hit and stun fish” before eating them. The evidence was captured by Canadian scientists, according to a news release from the … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Junko Tabei Becomes First Woman to Summit Mount Everest (1975)

Tabei founded a climbing club for women in Japan in 1969 and, by 1972, was a recognized mountain climber. When Japanese newspaper and television companies sponsored an all-female expedition to climb Mount Everest, Tabei was one of the 15 women selected to go. In 1975, after months of training and preparation, the 35-year-old mother of two became the first woman to reach Everest’s 29,035-foot (8,850-m) summit. What disaster partway up the slope nearly ended the climb? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

St. Brendan’s Day

This is the feast day of St. Brendan, who lived in the sixth century and is one of the most popular Irish saints and is alleged to be the author of Navigatio Brendani (the story of his journey to a land across the ocean). No one, including St. Brendan, knew where he had been, but a number of legends developed over the centuries. In 1977, Tim Severin built a boat out of leather as described in Navigatio and set out to follow St. Brendan’s instructions. He ended up in Newfoundland, giving credence to the theory that St. Brendan reached America 1,000 years before Columbus. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary