Feast of Christ the King

In 1925, Pope Pius XI established the last Sunday in October as the Feast of Christ the King. He did so in order to remind people of Christ’s everlasting authority over the people of the earth, thereby signaling the church’s resistance to the rising tide of secular values and ideas in politics as well as in social matters. In 1970 the Roman Catholic Church moved the feast to the last Sunday before Advent begins, as did the Episcopal Church and some other churches in the Anglican Communion. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Carrie Nation (1846)

Nation was an American temperance advocate with an unorthodox style of destroying saloons with a hatchet while supporters sang hymns. Her passion was likely fueled by her first husband’s alcoholism. Though she was successful in focusing public attention on the cause of prohibition, most temperance organizations were hesitant to support her. At 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, Nation was hard to contain and was arrested 30 times before declining health forced her retirement. How did she pay her fines? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Celtic Knots

The Celtic knot is a design motif involving interwoven lines that loop around one another forming intricate knots. Developed by Celtic tribal artisans by the 7th century CE, Celtic knots decorate a variety of objects and structures but are best known for their use in the ornamentation of Christian monuments and manuscripts like the 8th-century Book of Kells and Lindisfarne Gospels. How many elementary knots are thought to form the basis of nearly all interlaced patterns in Celtic decorative art? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

After 37 jellyfish stings, a rotting tongue and neck wound, swimmer circumnavigates Great Britain

A British swimmer became the first person to circumnavigate the whole of Great Britain – a 1,791-mile challenge that took him 157 days. Hundreds of spectators cheered as long-distance swimmer Ross Edgley, 33, swam ashore in Margate on Sunday, touching dry land … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mysterious Hijacker Parachutes from Plane with $200,000 Ransom (1971)

To this day, the true identity of the well-dressed man calling himself Dan Cooper—reported in the press as D. B. Cooper—who hijacked a passenger jet and then parachuted from the airborne Boeing 727 with a $200,000 ransom, remains a mystery. Despite numerous leads and a great deal of media attention, the mystery man’s true identity and whereabouts continue to elude investigators, and the bulk of the money has never been recovered. What are some theories about who he was and what became of him? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Chitlin’ Strut

The Chitlin’ Strut is a feast of chitlins, or chitterlings (hog intestines), held in the small town of Salley, South Carolina. The affair features a “hawg-calling” contest, country music, arts and crafts, a parade, lots of chitlins (about 8,000 pounds are devoured each year), and chicken for those not enamored of chitlins. Chitlins are prepared by cleaning them well, boiling them until they are tender, and then, after coating them in egg and crumbs, frying them in deep fat until they’re crackling crisp. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Grace Horsley Darling (1815)

On September 7, 1938, Darling spotted the wrecked SS Forfarshire from a window in the lighthouse that her father kept on the Farne Islands. The ship had foundered on rocks during a storm and broken in half. The weather was too rough for a lifeboat, so Darling and her father rescued survivors in a rowboat. Darling was celebrated as a national hero and became the subject of legends and even a poem by William Wordsworth. How many people were on the Forfarshire when it went down? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

James Reavis, Owner of Arizona

Styling himself as the Baron of Arizona, Reavis was an imposter who claimed to own much of Arizona in the late 19th century. Backed by financiers who stood to gain from lands to which Reavis held fake deeds, he forged documents that would lend credibility to his claims and even went so far as to marry a woman that he falsely claimed was an heir to these lands. Government investigators reviewed his claims on several occasions and denied them each time. How did they know that the deeds were fakes? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary