The Giant Clam

Also known as the bear’s paw clam, Tridacna gigas is the largest bivalve mollusk in the world. Found in the South Pacific and Indian oceans, especially in the Great Barrier Reef, the giant clam can weigh more than 500 lb (225 kg) and grow to more than 4 ft (120 cm) in length. The clams are a source of food for people of the South Pacific and have also been harvested for their huge shells. Why are stories of people being trapped within giant clams unlikely to be true? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Cocoanut Grove Nightclub Fire (1942)

The deadliest nightclub fire in US history, the Cocoanut Grove fire claimed 492 lives. When the fire broke out, the Boston, Massachusetts, club was packed well beyond capacity. About 1,000 people were inside, with limited avenues of escape. Side doors had been locked to prevent patrons from skipping out on tabs, and the main entrance, a revolving door, was rendered useless by the crush of the crowd, as were other unlocked doors that opened inward. What is one theory as to what sparked the fire? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Alexander Godunov (1949)

Godunov was a Russian ballet dancer and film actor whose defection caused a diplomatic incident between the US and USSR. On August 21, 1979, while on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet in New York City, Godunov requested political asylum. Days later, the KGB put his wife, a soloist with the company, on a plane to Moscow, but the State Department grounded it until officials determined that she was leaving voluntarily. The couple later divorced. In what blockbuster did Godunov play a German terrorist? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Scrimshaw

Scrimshaw is the decoration of bone or ivory objects, such as whale teeth and walrus tusks, with fanciful designs. Traditionally carved by Anglo-American and Native American whalers with a jackknife or sail needle and emphasized with black pigments, scrimshaw works, which often depict maritime scenes, date to at least the late 17th century. The craft reached its peak around the mid-1800s and is still practiced by whalers in Siberia and Alaska. What did early scrimshaw artists use for pigment? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Great Storm of 1703: First Eddystone Lighthouse Is Destroyed (1703)

For five years, the Eddystone Lighthouse guided mariners safely past the treacherous Eddystone Rocks off the southwestern coast of the UK. Then, a catastrophic hurricane struck. The Great Storm claimed hundreds of ships, thousands of lives, and the Eddystone Lighthouse—along with its builder, Henry Winstanley, who was inside at the time. Fire destroyed the second lighthouse on the site, and erosion led to the dismantling of the third. How did operators mark the 100th anniversary of the fourth? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary