Month: April 2018

The oldest footprints in North America are right where native historians said they should be

The Heiltsuk people of British Columbia have long spoken of a time when most of Canada was entombed beneath glaciers, and their ancestors fished and foraged along the coastline that formed a thin green margin between open ocean and impenetrable ice. Now … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

“Who Shot Phil?” Episode of EastEnders Airs (2001)

After five weeks of speculation and frenzied betting, Phil Mitchell’s would-be assassin was finally revealed in a much-hyped episode of EastEnders, one of the longest running and most popular soap operas in the UK. Nearly 20 million people tuned in to watch the culmination of the “Who shot Phil?” storyline, causing the UK’s third-largest power surge on record until that time. What major sporting event was postponed to accommodate the special episode’s extended running time? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Merrie Monarch Festival

The Merrie Monarch Festival is a week of festivities in Hilo honoring Hawaii’s King David Kalakaua (1836-1891), who reigned from 1874 to 1891, and gave the United States exclusive rights to maintain a naval station at Pearl Harbor. The week’s events, starting on Easter, close with the world’s largest hula competition on the last three nights. The top hula schools (hula halau) compete in ancient and modern hula. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Louis Spohr, “The Forgotten Master” (1784)

A highly respected German composer and violinist in the 19th century, Spohr has been largely neglected since then. After touring Europe, he became kapellmeister—leader of the orchestra—in Kassel, Germany, in 1822 and remained there for the rest of his life, eventually directing all of the city’s music. Highly prolific, he wrote 15 violin concertos, nine symphonies, and many operas. In 1857, what accident put an end to Spohr’s violin playing? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Wendigos

The wendigo of Algonquian mythology is a malevolent, cannibalistic spirit into which humans can transform or which can possess humans. Those who have indulged in cannibalism or succumbed to greed are thought to be particularly susceptible. It is said that whenever wendigos eat someone, they grow larger in proportion to the meal they have just had. Thus, though wendigos are constantly gorging themselves, they remain emaciated from starvation and are never full. What is windigo psychosis? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Bodies Found in Unsolved Hinterkaifeck Murders (1922)

In 1922, Hinterkaifeck, a small farmstead north of Munich, became the scene of one of the most puzzling unsolved crimes in German history. On the evening of March 31, the farm’s six inhabitants, ranging in age from two to 72, were brutally murdered. The perpetrator likely remained at the farm for several days thereafter, but by the time the crime was discovered, he or she had disappeared without a trace. What unexplained events supposedly occurred there in the days leading up to the slaughter? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Feast of San Isidro of Seville

St. Isidro (c. 560-636), or Isidore, was born in Cartagena, Spain, and eventually became bishop of Seville. In Río Frío, Colombia, April occurs in autumn and is typically very dry. On San Isidro’s feast day, April 4, townspeople process the saint’s image around the streets in the hope that he will help bring rain. The procession takes two steps forward, then one step backward, and so on, with the idea that if it drags out long enough, some rain may fall before the festivities end. If no rain falls, those who had been singing praises to St. Isidro may begin to insult and swear at him. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary