Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (1819)

Foucault, a French physicist, invented the Foucault pendulum and used it to provide experimental proof that the Earth rotates on its axis. He improved astronomical instruments, especially the telescope, and with Armand Fizeau took the first clear photograph of the Sun. Foucault is also known for determining the speed of light with extreme accuracy and showing that light travels slower in water than in air. He had originally studied medicine but abandoned it for physics due to a fear of what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Leviathan

In the Old Testament, there are five references to the leviathan—described by commentators as a massive sea creature, presumably a crocodile, whale, or dragon. Parallels have been drawn between these Biblical references and an ancient Babylonian creation story in which the goddess of chaos and creation, Tiamat, is slain and the two halves of her corpse are used to form the earth and sky. According to Jewish tradition, God created a male and female leviathan but then killed the female. Why? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

“Is Paul McCartney Dead?” (1969)

If one is to believe the rumors, the real Paul McCartney died at the height of Beatlemania and was secretly replaced by a double. The precise origins of this urban legend are unknown, but it gained traction at around the time that the band was breaking up. This is attributed in part to an article published in an Iowa university student newspaper addressing the rumors and pointing to supposed clues in the band’s music and album artwork that alluded to the rocker’s death. What are some examples? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (1904)

Ashton is best known as the founding choreographer of England’s Royal Ballet. He was drawn to dance at age 13 after attending a performance by the legendary Anna Pavlova in Peru, where he grew up. While studying dance with Léonide Massine and Marie Rambert, he began staging works. In the 1930s, he joined what would later become the Royal Ballet as its chief choreographer. Ashton is largely responsible for the elegantly reserved style of English classical dance. What are his most famous works? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Spinsters

By the 14th century, a woman whose occupation was spinning thread to be woven into cloth was called a “spinster.” Over time, the term came to denote unmarried women of any occupation—many of whom engaged in spinning as a respectable way to earn income—and began being used in official legal documents to refer to a woman who had never married. Despite its negative connotations, its use persisted into the 21st century. When was the term finally replaced in the legal documents of the UK? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Kidney stones form like any rock, may hold day-by-day history of your body’s health

Kidney stones are actual stones, in the geologic sense of the word, new research reveals. The combined efforts of an interdisciplinary team — which included a geologist, a microscopist, and a medical doctor — revealed a surprising trait of kidney … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Grito de Dolores: Battle Cry of Mexican War of Independence (1810)

The revolutionary movements in the US and France did not go unnoticed in Mexico, which had been subjugated by Spain centuries earlier. When Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, many Mexicans saw an opportunity to claim their own freedom. In 1810, revolutionary priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla launched the Mexican War of Independence with his Grito de Dolores—”Cry of Dolores”—a call to freedom that roused the peasants to action and became their battle cry. How is the event commemorated today? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary