Drone finds ‘rare’ shark nursery, 2500 feet beneath the surface

Drone footage of a rare shark nursery, found 200 miles off west of Ireland, has been revealed. It’s being called a discovery on a “scale not previously documented in Irish waters.” The footage showed off a large concentration of uncased shark eggs, alongside … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Dr. Crippen Hanged for Wife’s Murder (1910)

More than 100 years after Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen was hanged for the alleged murder, dismemberment, and basement burial of his second wife, the controversial case continues to captivate. The case is compelling not only because it is so gruesome but also because Crippen became an international fugitive, fleeing with his lover aboard a Canada-bound ocean liner, and was the first criminal apprehended with the help of radiotelegraphy. What new evidence has called Crippen’s guilt into question? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Pushkar Mela

Pushkar Fair is a camel fair and one of the best known of the Hindu religious fairs of India. It is held at Pushkar, the place where it is said a lotus flower slipped out of Lord Brahma‘s hands. Water sprang up where the petals fell and created the holy waters of Pushkar Lake. The commercial side of the fair features the sale of about 10,000 camels. Sheep, goats, horses, and donkeys are also sold there. Camel races are a highlight. On the night of the full moon (Kartika Purnima), devotees bathe in the waters of the lake and then make offerings of coconut and rice at the Brahma temple. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Alfonso the Wise, King of Castile and León (1221)

Alfonso X, son and successor of Ferdinand III, sought to become Holy Roman Emperor but eventually renounced his claim due to Spanish antagonism and papal opposition. He crushed revolts by Muslims in 1252 and nobles in 1254, but once his eldest son was killed while fighting the Moors in 1275, civil war for succession broke out between Ferdinand’s children and Alfonso’s second son, who succeeded him as Sancho IV. Why is Alfonso depicted in the House of Representatives chamber of the US Capitol? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The De Havilland Vampire

The de Havilland Vampire, which made its maiden flight in September 1943, was the first Royal Air Force fighter with a top speed exceeding 500 mph (805 km/h). Although it never saw service during World War II—it was still in development at the war’s end—it is credited with a number of aviation firsts, including becoming the first jet to take off from and land on an aircraft carrier and to fly across the Atlantic. Which major Western powers were the only ones not to use this type of aircraft? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Why NASA chose a ‘vanilla ice cream’ landing site on Mars for the InSight Lander

Sometimes, boring is best — and that’s certainly true when you’re trying to set a lander down on the surface of Mars, where any eventfulness is likely bad news. That’s why scientists carefully chose a flat, featureless expanse of the Red Planet called … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Cutty Sark Is Launched (1869)

The tea trade in the 1860s and 70s was intensely competitive, with merchant ships racing to be the first to arrive in London with that year’s crop from China. It was for this purpose that the three-masted clipper Cutty Sark was originally built. She became one of the swiftest and most celebrated British clippers, but within a few years of her launch, steamships had largely supplanted clippers in the tea trade, so she began carrying other cargos. What is the origin and meaning of her name? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Thanksgiving

The first American Thanksgiving was entirely religious, and took place on December 4, 1619, but most Americans think of the first “official” Thanksgiving as the one that took place at Plymouth Colony in October 1621, a year after the Pilgrims first landed on the New England coast. Today, Thanksgiving is a time for family reunions and traditions, most of which center around the preparation of an elaborate meal featuring turkey and a dozen or so accompanying dishes. The widespread sales that begin in stores the next day mark the start of the Christmas shopping season. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary