In selfies, a woman documented a lump under her skin for weeks before doctors were able to remove it — and it didn’t stay in one place, according to a case report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The lump appeared after the unnamed woman, 32, visited … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Around noon on July 10, 1976, an explosion occurred in the ICMESA manufacturing plant north of Milan, Italy, releasing a poisonous cloud of dioxin gas. Although dioxin is toxic—it was an ingredient in the herbicide Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War—evacuation efforts began slowly. Named for the small Italian town most affected, the Seveso disaster led to legislation aimed at preventing chemical accidents. How many animals were slaughtered to prevent toxins from entering the food chain? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Bahama Islands gained independence from Great Britain at 12:01 a.m. on this day in 1973. The islands had been a British colony for nearly 250 years, but are now a commonwealth, with their own prime minister and parliament. Businesses are closed on the tenth, a legal holiday, but festivities go on for a week with parades and celebrations. A fireworks display at Clifford Park in Nassau on July 10 tops off the celebrations. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
One of the great literary figures of the modern age, Proust was a French author who is best known for À la recherche du temps perdu, his 3,200-page masterpiece. After the death of his mother, the asthmatic Proust increasingly withdrew to eccentric seclusion, where he wrote his multivolume, semiautobiographical work. The discursive novel explores issues of human psychology, time, memory, and desire, but Proust died before completing it. What is the English translation of his novel’s title? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
“Mad as a March hare” is an idiomatic phrase derived from the excitable and unpredictable antics of hares during their breeding season, often incorrectly believed to occur only in March. Though the phrase has been in continuous use since the 16th century, it was popularized by Lewis Carroll in his book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in which the March Hare co-hosts a tea party with the Mad Hatter. What are some of the strange behaviors displayed by hares during mating season? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) Peaceful resistance to a government by fasting or refusing to cooperate.
Synonyms: passive resistance.
Usage: Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., were two of the most articulate advocates of nonviolence.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
A “nude” sponge-like animal with no organs and just one orifice that lived 500,000 years ago is offering compelling new clues about a bizarre group of ancient creatures. Though it somewhat resembles a sponge, the newcomer — now called Allonnia nuda … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In the early hours of July 9, 1982, 32-year-old Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace—for the second time—and entered Queen Elizabeth II’s bedroom. He set off the alarm, but guards believed it to be false and turned it off. The Queen awoke when Fagan moved a curtain in her bedroom, and he talked to her while she waited for police to arrive. The officer who was supposed to be posted outside her door at the time was walking the Queen’s dogs. Why was Fagan not charged for his brazen trespass? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Canada’s northernmost territory of Nunavut was established on July 9, 1993, through a land claim signed by the national government and the Inuit of the Nunavut Settlement Area. Most of the day’s activities take place in Nunavut’s hub and capital city, Iqaluit. Festivities include barbeques, parades, traditional Inuit games, and feasts featuring local cuisine of caribou, walrus, and arctic char. In recent years, the day’s program has also included organized tournaments of cribbage, checkers, and Scrabble. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Fanny Fern was the pseudonym of Sara Willis Parton, an immensely popular American columnist and novelist known for her conversational writing style and emphasis on the everyday concerns of middle-class women. Though she had struggled to support her children after her first husband died and caused a scandal by ending her unhappy second marriage, she persevered and by 1855 commanded the unprecedented sum of $100 a week for her New York Ledger column. What famous saying is attributed to her? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary