Titanic Released in US Theaters (1997)

Before Titanic was released, some film critics predicted that it would be a box office disaster. At the time, it was the costliest film ever made, and production delays had pushed the release date far past the lucrative summer season. Yet by the end of its first weekend, the three-hour-long film was selling out theaters. It won 11 Academy Awards and remained the highest-grossing film in history for 12 years. What important historical fact did the director choose to omit from the film? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Misa de Gallo

Misa de Gallo is the start of the Christmas season in the Philippines, blending Christian tradition with the harvest thanksgiving of the ancient Filipinos. As the first cockcrows are heard at dawn on Dec. 16, bells of the Roman Catholic churches ring, brass bands parade through towns, and skyrockets burst—all to awaken people for the Misa de Gallo (Cock’s Mass in English and Simbang Gabi in Tagalog) each morning of the festival. On Dec. 24 there is a midnight mass, after which people congregate in food stalls or go home for traditional breakfasts of rice cakes and ginger tea. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mary Livermore (1820)

After graduating from a female seminary in 1831 and working as a teacher, Livermore married a Universalist minister and became an activist, lecturer, and popular author. She volunteered with the US Sanitary Commission to aid soldiers of the Union Army during the American Civil War and later promoted women’s rights. In 1863, she organized a “Sanitary Fair” that raised a tremendous amount of money for the Commission. What did US President Abraham Lincoln donate for the auction event? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

E-Democracy

E-democracy is a phenomenon involving the use of electronic communications technologies, such as the Internet, to enhance democratic processes. Though it includes specific activities like electronic voting, e-democracy has a broad scope that aims to increase accessibility, transparency, and accountability in politics. Still in its infancy, the concept is the subject of debate among citizens and politicians. What is the digital divide, and how might it hamper the development of e-democracy? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

This tiny South Pacific Island should be dead by now, but it’s still alive and kicking

We all thought it would only survive for a few months when it was born in a blast of ash in January 2015. The island, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, emerged from the waters in the Kingdom of Tonga, rising nearly 400 feet above the sea, directly between the … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

World’s First Communications Satellite Launched (1958)

Today, communications satellites are widely used to provide internet access, TV and radio broadcasting, and mobile telephone service, even to areas where traditional cable service is unfeasible. The first such satellite, launched by the US Air Force, was Project SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment). It was equipped with two tape recorders—each with a four-minute capacity—and batteries that would last for 12 days. What was the first message broadcast from the satellite? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

St. Modesto’s Day

St. Modesto is the patron saint of farmers in Greece. His feast day is celebrated with various rituals in honor of farm animals. In Lemnos, kollyva (cooked wheat berries) and holy water are mixed with their fodder, while in Lesbos, the holy water is sprinkled on the fields to ward off locusts and disease. For horses and oxen, December 18 is a day of rest. The Eastern Orthodox Church reserves this day to commemorate St. Modestus, who was patriarch of Jerusalem from 631 to 634. He is known for a sermon he preached on the bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Joseph Grimaldi (1778)

Grimaldi was an English actor who is considered the inventor of the modern clown character. He made his debut as a young child at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, and for years he performed there and at Drury Lane. By the time he starred in Harlequin Mother Goose at Covent Garden in 1806, he was a legend. He is credited with introducing the white makeup now commonly worn by clowns. Exhausted by the physical exertion of clowning, he died in 1837. What famous author edited his memoirs? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Human Eye Color

Eye color is a genetic trait determined primarily by the amount and type of pigments present in the iris. There are three true colors in eyes—brown, yellow, and gray—that combine to produce a number of hues. Variations in color are attributed to varying ratios of melanin. Of the major eye colors, brown is the most common, followed by blue. The rarest, green, is possessed by just two percent of the human population. What condition can cause a person to have two different eye colors? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary