For decades, space advocates have been pushing for space settlement: humans living and working permanently beyond Earth. Those visions come in different forms, from bases on the Moon and Mars to the space colonies espoused by Gerard K. O’Neill more than … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
After starting out as The High Numbers, British rock band The Who gained international fame in the 1960s and 70s with songs like “My Generation,” “Pinball Wizard,” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” The band’s incredibly loud concerts and penchant for destroying their instruments onstage boosted their appeal to rock fans, but offstage destruction overshadowed the music on December 3, 1979, when a stampede prior to The Who’s show at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio, killed how many fans? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Vaitarani is the river that, according to Hindu belief, runs between the earth and the underworld, which the dead must cross to reach the realm of Yama, the ruler and judge of the dead. Because this river is said to be filled with all kinds of filth and moral offenses, Hindus believe that it can only be crossed with the aid of a cow. On this day, devout Hindus observe a fast and other prescribed rituals. In the evening they worship a black cow, who is bathed in fragrant water and has sandal paste applied to her horns. Brahmans are given gifts of food, clothes, and a cow made out of gold or silver. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
A Vassar graduate and the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—”it being understood that her admission did not establish a precedent for the general admission of females”—chemist Ellen Richards was one of the US’s foremost female chemists of her time and the founder of the country’s home economics movement. Yet, perhaps her greatest contributions were the advances she made in opening up science education and professions to women. What were some of her notable firsts? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Sufism is an umbrella term for the ascetic and mystical movements within Islam that seek to find divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God. Fanaa is the Sufi concept of achieving complete unity with God by “annihilating” the self. Similar to the idea of nirvana in Buddhism, the concept was advocated by al-Bistami and used by Hallaj in the declaration of his unity with God, which led to his execution for heresy in 922. What similar concept is found in Hinduism? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) The humanistic study of language and literature.
Synonyms: linguistics.
Usage: Another master had come, with a degree of doctor of philology from the University of Heidelberg…to teach French to the upper forms and German to anyone who cared to take it up.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Scientists have discovered the fossils of a massive “mammal-like” reptile that roamed the Earth 210 million years ago, with its weight of 9,000 kg (19,841 lbs.) making it the largest four-legged non-dinosaur to have inhabited the Triassic period. The … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In the late 1940s, doctors at the Yale School of Medicine used parts from an Erector Set to build the first artificial heart pump. The device bypassed the heart of a dog for more than an hour. However, an artificial heart would not be implanted in a human until decades later. Barney Clark, a Seattle dentist with congestive heart failure, was the first recipient. Though the surgery was successful, Clark never recovered enough to leave the hospital and died of complications after how long? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Advent season marks the beginning of the Christian year in Western Christianity. Its length varies from 22 to 28 days, beginning on the Sunday nearest St. Andrew’s Day and encompassing the next three Sundays, ending on Christmas Eve. Originally a period of reflection and penitence in preparation for Christmas, Advent has sometimes been referred to as the Winter Lent. Today it is usually associated with the Advent calendars that parents give their children to help them count the days until Christmas. In Orthodox (Eastern) Christianity, Advent begins on November 15. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
A Hungarian engineer and inventor, Goldmark immigrated to the US in 1933 and went to work in the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) laboratories. There he developed the first commercial color television system, but it was not compatible with existing black-and-white television sets and was soon superseded by one that was. Later, he developed the system that would allow the US Lunar Orbiter to relay photographs from the Moon to Earth. What did he invent that revolutionized the recording industry? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary