Scientists have identified 91 volcanoes beneath an ice sheet covering Antarctica’s west coast, a study shows. The volcanoes covered in ice stand nearly 3 miles along West Antarctica, possibly making the region denser than east Africa where Mount … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Though infamous for slaughtering entire cities and destroying fields and irrigation systems, Genghis Khan is admired for his military brilliance. The emperor-warrior consolidated nomadic tribes into a unified Mongolia and led them to conquer much of Asia from the Pacific coast to Eastern Europe. He died on a military campaign in China, and the empire was divided. The circumstances of his death are unclear. According to legend, how did his descendants ensure that his grave would remain hidden? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
This three-day inter-tribal festival honors Chief Seattle (1786-1866), for whom Seattle, Washington, is named. He was head of the Suquamish and Duwamish Indian tribes in the Puget Sound area of Washington. Besides featuring traditional Indian dances and drumming and dancing contests, the festival has a distinctive northwestern flavor, with salmon and clam bakes and canoe races. Other highlights are a horseshoe tournament, storytelling, and the election of a Chief Seattle Days Queen. The festival closes with the blessing of Chief Seattle’s grave. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Italian composer and conductor Antonio Salieri moved to Vienna, Austria, in 1766 with his music teacher, imperial court composer Florian Gassmann. When Gassmann died, Salieri took his position and went on to become Vienna’s most popular opera composer for the remainder of the 18th century. Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt were among his most famous students. Though Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were rivals, the story that he poisoned Mozart is likely untrue. How did their rivalry begin? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Sidis was an American child prodigy who could read The New York Times by the time he was 18 months old. By age eight, he had taught himself eight languages and had invented one of his own. It is said that in his adult years he could speak more than 40 languages and learn a new one in a single day. In 1909, he became the youngest person ever to enroll at Harvard College and began lecturing on higher mathematics the following year. What became of Sidis after he graduated in 1914, at age 16? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) Easily deceived or duped.
Synonyms: fleeceable, green.
Usage: Maddie was a gullible young girl, and we easily convinced her that our homely history teacher was actually a runaway princess in disguise.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
NASA’s future deep space exploration – including to Mars – is an unprecedented venture in spaceflight, requiring us to tackle challenges we’ve never faced before. For instance, we know the human body changes significantly while in space, and we’ll need to find … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Recorded in just two sessions in the spring of 1959, Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue is widely considered to be one of the most important jazz albums ever produced. Davis assembled a group of talented musicians—including saxophonist John Coltrane and pianist Bill Evans—and gave them minimal instructions before recording. Possibly the best-selling jazz album of all time, Kind of Blue is notable for having left out something considered to be the backbone of earlier jazz composition—what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
West was an American stage and movie comedienne who started her career in burlesque and vaudeville. In 1926, she began to write, produce, and star in her own Broadway plays, which were often replete with sexual innuendo. A master of the double entendre, she treated sex with broad humor in popular films such as I’m No Angel. As a result, she constantly battled the censorship of the motion picture Production Code. What was dubbed a “Mae West” during World War II? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake is a 200-year-old competition held annually in the Cotswolds region of England. Drawing both local and international participants, the race begins when a round of Double Gloucester cheese is set loose at the top of a steep hill. Competitors dash after it, risking sprained ankles, broken bones, and concussions in the chase. Even spectators risk injury, as the cheese reaches speeds of 70 mph (113 km/h). What does the first person over the finish line win? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary