Month: June 2017

College Board Administers the First SAT Exam (1926)

The SAT is a standardized test used in college admissions in the US. Developed by Carl Brigham, a Princeton psychologist who worked on the US Army’s IQ test, the first Scholastic Aptitude Test was administered in 1926 to over 8,000 test-takers—60% of whom were male. Criticized as being biased toward whites, males, and the middle class, the exam has been modified over the years to improve fairness. Still, its value as a predictor of success in college is debated. What does “SAT” stand for today?

Source: The Free Dictionary

Festa de São João do Porto (So Joo Festival)

June 23, the eve of the Feast of St. John the Baptist, is celebrated each year in Porto, Portugal, with a curious ritual. Festival-goers tap each other on the head with plastic hammers or leeks. Some say the gesture indicates romantic interest, others claim it brings good luck to the recipient. The custom can be traced to pagan times; indeed, the fireworks, music, all-night dancing, and colorful processions that feature on St. John’s Eve are more closely allied to pagan summer solstice rituals than religious observances. A large amount of wine is drunk, and grilled sardines are consumed.

Source: The Free Dictionary

Alan Mathison Turing (1912)

Turing was a groundbreaking English mathematician and logician who worked on artificial intelligence (AI), among other things. He created the Turing test to determine whether a computer is capable of humanlike thought. His papers on the subject are widely acknowledged as the foundation of research in AI. He also did valuable work in cryptography during WWII, helping to break the German Enigma code. In the midst of his pioneering work, Turing committed suicide after being convicted of what crime?

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Elvis Taxon

In paleontology, an Elvis taxon is an organism or group of organisms that has been misidentified as having re-emerged in the fossil record after a period of presumed extinction. Elvis taxa are not actually descendants of the original taxon, rather, they have simply developed a similar morphology through convergent evolution. Coined in 1993, the term is a reference to the many sightings of Elvis Presley after his death, as well as to his many impersonators. What is one example of an Elvis taxon?

Source: The Free Dictionary

Kodak Announces Discontinuation of Kodachrome Film (2009)

Manufactured by Kodak from 1935 to 2009, Kodachrome was the first commercially successful color film and was used to capture some of the most iconic images of the late 20th century. The film was known for its stability—if stored properly, it could be developed decades after being exposed and would retain its color and density for decades. Yet, advances in digital photography and the development of competing films considerably reduced demand. What famous images were recorded on Kodachrome? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Lajkonik

The most popular folk festival in Kraków, Poland, Lajkonik is believed to commemorate the horseman who carried the news of the Tartar defeat during the 13th-century Tartar invasions. A bearded horseman in oriental costume riding a richly draped wooden hobby-horse—the Lajkonik—collects money from the crowds lining the streets, tapping each donor with his rod to bring them good luck. Eventually he ends up in the market square, where he dances for the assembled dignitaries and receives from them a sack of money and a glass of wine, which he consumes after toasting the well-being of the city. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. (1903)

Raised in Indiana by a widowed father, Dillinger served a prison term for attempted robbery, then organized a gang and terrorized the Midwest in 1933. He became one of the most notorious criminals in the US. The infamous bank robber escaped jail twice, was involved in 16 killings, and was declared “public enemy number one” before being killed on a Chicago street by FBI agents at the age of 31. He was so well-known that at the scene of his death, bystanders collected what macabre souvenirs? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary