It’s a common high school movie trope: The dorky, four-eyed kid who excels academically despite their failing sight. But a new study suggests there might be a kernel of truth in that stereotype. In what is believed to be the largest genetic study into … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
With a summit elevation of 20,320 ft (6,194 m), Alaska’s Mt. McKinley is the tallest mountain in North America. James Wickersham led the first recorded climbing attempt in 1903 but turned back at 8,000 ft (2,438 m). In 1910, a group known as the Sourdough expedition claimed to have summited its lower, northern peak. Three years later, explorer Hudson Stuck and three others made the first successful ascent of the South Summit—its true summit. How did Stuck’s ascent verify the Sourdough climb? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Morley was an American archaeologist who studied pre-Columbian Maya civilization throughout Central America, including at Copán, Honduras, Petén, Guatemala, and Chichén Itzá, Mexico. Though his archaeological work was widely recognized during his lifetime, it was only after his death that his other career was revealed—Morley worked as a spy for the US during World War I by searching for German submarine bases in Central America. His adventurous life may have inspired what famous film character? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Between 50 and 80 percent of amputees experience phantom limb sensations, feelings that an absent limb is still present. These sensations are often painful. In the early 1990s, neurologist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran hypothesized that the phenomenon might be caused by changes in the brain rather than in peripheral nerves and developed the mirror box to alleviate the discomfort. A simple device, it creates the visual illusion that the phantom limb has reappeared. How is this believed to help? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) <i>Zoology</i> Giving birth to living offspring that develop within the mother's body. Most mammals and some other animals are viviparous.
Synonyms: live-bearing.
Usage: Viviparous offspring live independently and require an external food supply from birth.
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Source: The Free Dictionary
Scientists have discovered three vast canyons in one of the last places to be explored on Earth – under the ice at the South Pole. The deep troughs run for hundreds of kilometres, cutting through tall mountains – none of which are visible at the snowy … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1822, St. Martin, a Canadian fur trapper, was accidentally shot with a musket at close range, leaving a fist-sized hole in his stomach. Dr. William Beaumont, a US Army surgeon, saved his life. However, the wound never healed properly, and the small hole that remained enabled Beaumont to experiment on digestion by inserting and removing food to study the effects of gastric juices. Why, when St. Martin died at age 86, did his family wait to bury him until his body began to decompose? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Cosgrave was the first prime minister of the Irish Free State, which was created following a 1921 treaty with Britain. Serving from 1922 to 1932, he was able to maintain a democratic government despite several crises and the tensions related to the Irish struggle for sovereignty. Cosgrave was elected to British Parliament in 1918 but protested British rule by refusing to take his seat. Two years earlier, his role in the Easter Rising of 1916 earned him a death sentence. How did he avoid it? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Best known as Charles Blondin or “The Great Blondin,” Jean François Gravelet was a French tightrope walker and acrobat who achieved fame in 1859 with his many crossings of Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Balancing 160 feet (48 m) above the water on a 1,100-foot (335-m) tightrope, Blondin dazzled crowds by using a different theatrical variation each time he crossed, performing the feat blindfolded, in a sack, pushing a wheelbarrow, on stilts, carrying a man on his back, and sitting down to do what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) Someone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks.
Synonyms: diversionist, wrecker.
Usage: The saboteurs planned to bomb several buses and office buildings in the city.
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Source: The Free Dictionary