The D.C. Black Pride Festival is a social, educational, and fundraising festival originating in the African-American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community of Washington, D.C. Held each year since 1991 on the long Memorial Day weekend, the D.C. Black Pride Festival draws about 25,000 to the Washington Convention Center, where displays include a health and wellness fair. In addition to activities centered in the exhibition hall, entertainment and social events extend throughout the preceding week, such as a fashion show, film festival, comedy showcase, and poetry slam. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Smith was an African-American vaudeville singer, dancer, and actress, but her most enduring legacy is a single she recorded in 1920 for Okeh Records. The first recording of vocal blues by an African-American artist, “Crazy Blues” quickly—and somewhat unexpectedly—became a bestseller. Its success opened record executives’ eyes to a previously neglected market—African-American buyers—and ushered in the era of the “race record.” Smith’s “Crazy Blues” was accorded what honor in 2005? 
Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS) is a rare genetic disorder that generally affects males, whose symptoms result from an enzyme deficiency that leads to increased levels of uric acid in the body. The buildup of this toxic waste product causes severe mental and physical problems, including impaired renal function, gout, cerebral palsy, and cognitive impairment. Suffers also often exhibit compulsive self-mutilating behaviors, such as lip and finger biting. Why is LNS rarely seen in women? 
After witnessing a deadly high-rise hotel fire, Dan Goodwin resolved to call attention to the need for better skyscraper firefighting and rescue techniques. Six months after the blaze, he donned a homemade Spider-Man suit and, using suction cups and climbing gear, began an ascent of Chicago’s Sears Tower—then the world’s tallest building. He reached the top seven hours later and was promptly arrested. What structure—formerly the world’s tallest—did he climb with no equipment, twice in one day? 
According to a French legend, 
After studying engineering in Kiev, Sikorsky devoted himself to developing the helicopter. In 1910, after failing to build a workable model, he turned to fixed-wing airplane design, and, several years later, he built and flew the first multi-motored plane, a four-engine aircraft with an innovative enclosed cabin. Sikorsky immigrated to the US in 1919 and had continued success designing airplanes. How long would it be before he finally realized his dream of building his first working helicopter? 
Armillaria ostoyae is a honey fungus commonly found colonizing both hardwood and conifer wood in forests of the western US. By attacking the sapwood and forming thin, shoestring-like strands known as rhizomorphs, this fungus is able to travel great distances under the bark or between trees. A mushroom of this type found in eastern Oregon’s Malheur National Forest is believed to be the largest fungal colony in the world, spanning 2,200 acres (8.9 km²), and is estimated to be how old?