Lockheed SR-71 Flies from New York to London in Under Two Hours (1974)

Shrouded in secrecy, the SR-71 Blackbird was a US reconnaissance plane used from the 1960s through the 90s. Difficult to detect by radar and virtually untouchable by anti-aircraft missiles, it flew at three times the speed of sound and at altitudes of up to 85,000 feet (26,000 m). Its existence was publicly acknowledged in 1964. A decade later, an SR-71 flew from New York to London in just under 1 hour and 55 minutes, crushing the previous record. What life support measures kept the crew alive? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Walter Reuther (1907)

Reuther was a US labor leader. As a local union leader in Detroit, Michigan, he helped organize sit-down strikes that made the United Automobile Workers (UAW) a power in the auto industry. He was president of the UAW from 1946 until his 1970 death in a plane crash. He was an architect of the 1955 merger of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). What role did Reuther play in the so-called Chicken War between the US and Europe in the 1960s? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Fairy Rings

Also known as pixie rings, fairy circles, and elf circles, fairy rings are naturally occurring rings or arcs of mushrooms found in forested areas or grasslands. The rings are formed when a spore grows underground and pushes out mycelia—fungal threads—in all directions, eventually producing a ring of mushrooms or a dark circle of grass. In English folklore, fairy rings were said to be caused by elves, fairies, or pixies dancing in a circle. What are some superstitions about fairy rings? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary