Month: June 2018

Mike Tyson Bites Off Part of Evander Holyfield’s Ear (1997)

Once a renowned heavyweight boxer, Tyson sought a comeback in 1995 after spending three years in prison following a rape conviction. His first fight with Holyfield in 1996 saw Holyfield, who was in the midst of a comeback of his own, defeat Tyson for the heavyweight title. Their 1997 rematch was temporarily halted when Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield’s ear—and permanently stopped when Tyson bit him again on the other ear and was disqualified. What reason did Tyson give for the infamous bite? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion

The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village that was raided by the police on June 28, 1969. As the outraged crowd threw stones and bottles, more police arrived and subdued what had turned into a riot. Today, the event is regarded as a turning point in the history of the gay rights movement. It is commemorated in New York, Philadelphia, and other U.S. cities with parades, memorial services for those who have died of AIDS, and other activities to draw attention to the ways in which homosexuals have been discriminated against. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Alexis Carrel (1873)

In 1894, French president Sadi Carnot died because surgeons could not reconnect his severed veins after a stabbing. The incident inspired Carrel, a French surgeon, to develop a suturing technique based on methods used by embroiderers. Known as triangulation, the technique is still used today. Carrel won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for his work on sutures and organ transplants. He also developed the artificial heart with what American famous for non-medical work? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Richard Dadd

Dadd was an English painter of the Victorian era noted for his depictions of mythological and fairytale scenes rendered with obsessively minuscule detail. Most of his best-known works were created while he was incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital. In 1842, during an expedition to Egypt, Dadd underwent a dramatic personality change, becoming delusional and increasingly violent, and murdered his father upon his return. His actions are now thought to have been a result of what disorder? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Africa’s baobab trees can live for more than 1000 years but the oldest and largest of them are dying

The oldest and biggest angiosperm trees in the world, the African baobabs, are dying or already dead, an international team of scientists has found. The scientists added that the spate of deaths, described in the journal Nature Plants, might be the result of a … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Battle of Dettingen (1743)

In 1713, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI issued the Pragmatic Sanction, which stated that a female heir could inherit his lands. When his daughter Maria Theresa became queen in 1740, the War of Austrian Succession erupted. Austrian, British, German, and Dutch troops formed the Pragmatic Army, named in support of the sanction, and defeated French troops in the Battle of Dettingen, despite having no access to supplies. In the battle, what did King George II do that no British monarch has done since? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as Mormons, commemorate the day on which their founder, Joseph Smith, and his brother, Hyrum, were murdered in the city jail in Carthage, Illinois, in 1844. Joseph had announced his candidacy for presidency earlier that year; as the mayor of Nauvoo, IL, Smith saw to it that the press used to print the opposition newspaper was destroyed. Threats of mob violence followed, and Smith and his brother were jailed for treason. A mob of men stormed the jail on June 27 and killed them, thus elevating them to the status of martyrs. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary