Ever heard that if you looked at the color yellow for too long, you might begin to feel anxious or irritated? Or that babies are more likely to cry in yellow rooms and a colleague sporting the color would be judged deeply? Or considered a coward? The rumors are … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
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Six months after applying for a patent for a three-wheeled horseless carriage driven by an internal combustion engine, Benz staged a public demonstration of the contraption in Mannheim, Germany. Widely regarded as the first automobile, the Benz Patent Motorwagen resembled a park bench on a giant tricycle and had a steering handle instead of the now-familiar wheel. It was only used for short jaunts until 1888, when Benz’s wife took it for its first long-distance road trip. What was its top speed? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Festival in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, is an annual celebration of Pennsylvania Dutch foods, crafts, and customs. There are special foods, such as apple butter, rivvel soup (rivvels are like dumplings), and the fruit pies that the Pennsylvania Dutch claim to have originated. Traditional artisans featured at the fair include tinsmiths, weavers, pretzel-makers, candlemakers, potters, and quilters. There are reenactments of a Pennsylvania Dutch funeral feast and demonstrations of nipsi—a complicated game that involves batting a piece of wood. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Raised in California, Fisher moved to Dijon, France, after her first marriage. There, she was inspired by the gastronomist Brillat-Savarin, and her 1949 translation of his Physiology of Taste is considered a classic. She created a new literary genre with her culinary writing, producing witty essays evoking the pleasures of life and food in a graceful style. Her books include How to Cook a Wolf and The Gastronomical Me. Where did Fisher spend her last 20 years? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Haruspicy is a method of divination that involves the examination of animal entrails, especially the livers of sacrificed sheep and poultry. A priest who practices this form of divination is known as a haruspex. The technique is thought to have originated in the Near East with the Hittites and Babylonians. It later spread with the Etruscans to the Roman Empire, where it became so popular that a college was opened to preserve the practice. What did haruspices believe the entrails could tell them? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) Strikingly appropriate and relevant.
Synonyms: apt, pertinent.
Usage: The governor approached the warriors humbly and proclaimed their heroism loudly, flattering them with his well-timed and apposite compliments.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
Robotic pincers inspired by geckos could help collect garbage in space, a new study finds. In experiments, the device was able to glom on to objects in the lab and even floating items within the International Space Station. Someday, such grippers could be … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Now the world’s largest corporation, the Walmart chain of superstores was founded by Sam Walton, a former US Army Captain with an economics degree. Walton owned and ran a chain of five-and-dime stores in Arkansas before he opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962. In the 50 years since, the company, which sells brand-name goods in high volume at low prices, has flourished. It now has 8,500 stores operating in over a dozen countries. What was the last US state to get a Walmart? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
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Sponsored by the Fillmore Merchants Association in San Francisco, California, the Fillmore Jazz Festival is the largest free jazz festival in the western United States. The festival comprises two full days and nights of musical entertainment on three stages, held on the weekend closest to Independence Day. In addition to offering performances of standards from the 20th-century golden age of jazz, the lineup features local and national acts offering funk, fusion, salsa, Afro-rhythms, and R&B. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Hesse was German novelist and poet who wrote about the individual’s search for spiritual fulfillment, often through mysticism. His major works include Siddhartha and Steppenwolf. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946. At around the time of his death in 1962, his novels began to enjoy a revival of popularity due to their association with some of the themes of the 1960s counterculture movement. What fellow German writers did Hesse help to escape from the Nazis? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary