Real Madrid Football Club Founded (1902)

One of the richest and most valuable sports franchises in the world, the Real Madrid Football Club is also one of the most successful, having won dozens of championships over the course of its storied history. In 1953, club president Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, a former player, embarked on the strategy of signing world-class players from abroad, not only from Spain—a trend that has continued to fuel the club’s success and worldwide popularity. Who owns and operates Real Madrid? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Town Meeting Day

An official state holiday in Vermont, this is the day on which nearly every town elects its officers, approves budgets, and deals with other civic issues in a daylong public meeting of the voters. It more or less coincides with the anniversary of Vermont’s admission to the Union on March 4, 1791. Vermonters pride themselves on their active participation in these meetings, which often include heated debates on issues of local importance. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Sarah Caldwell (1924)

Caldwell was a violin prodigy from an early age. In 1957, she founded what would become the Opera Company of Boston. Notorious for her ability to avert financial crises and meet last-minute deadlines while overseeing every detail of production, she made the company one of the most distinguished and innovative in the US. With the growing success of her company, she began to appear as a guest conductor of major orchestras. In 1976, Caldwell became the first woman to do what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Monteverde

Monteverde is a small town in Costa Rica founded by American Quakers whose religious pacifism during the build-up to the Korean war led them to immigrate to this country without an army. One of Costa Rica’s most popular tourist destinations, the area of Monteverde, Spanish for “green mountain,” boasts lush rain and cloud forests filled with some 250 species of mammals, amphibians, and reptiles; 500 species of birds; and 3,000 species of plants. How much rainfall does Monteverde get annually? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

First Meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club (1975)

In 1975, computer hobbyists in Silicon Valley, California, decided to meet regularly to exchange ideas. The first meeting took place in a garage. Members of the club would go on to become some of the most influential players in the burgeoning computer industry, including, most notably, Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who formed their company the next year. What other giants of the industry were members of the Homebrew Computer Club during its early years? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac (1658)

Originally of the minor Gascon nobility, Cadillac came to America in 1683 to seek his fortune. He became a favorite of the governor of New France, was placed in charge of a frontier post at Mackinac, and eventually proposed the creation of a new fort with a better strategic position against the English. With a band of colonists, he founded in 1701 what would become the city of Detroit. Ten years later, he was appointed governor of what vast French territory? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Lipid Bilayers

Absolutely essential for all life on Earth, lipid bilayers are a critical component of all biological membranes, including cell membranes. They are composed of two layers of phospholipids—a class of fat-soluble molecules—positioned such that their hydrophilic, or water-absorbing, heads face outward, and their hydrophobic, or water-repelling, tails face inward, blocking entry of water and water-soluble material into the cell. Why is it important that lipid bilayers are asymmetrical? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary