Month: March 2019

Eight-Hour Day (Western Australia)

Each of Australia’s states celebrates the improvements that have been made in working conditions with its own Labor Day. In Western Australia it is celebrated on the first Monday in March. The Eight-Hour Day holiday is marked with parades and celebrations to commemorate trade union efforts to limit working hours. In many places, people still chant the unions’ slogan: “Eight hours’ labor, eight hours’ recreation, and eight hours’ rest!” Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Biofeedback

In 1961, experimental psychologist Neal Miller suggested that autonomic nervous system responses, such as heart rate or blood pressure, could be placed under voluntary control. Miller’s work led to the creation of biofeedback therapy, a patient-guided treatment that teaches an individual to control bodily functions through relaxation, visualization, and other cognitive control techniques. How does the process work? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Vasaloppet

The biggest cross-country ski race in the world takes place in Sweden on the first Sunday in March each year. The course begins on the border between Norway and Sweden, in a huge frozen field outside the village of Sälen, and ends 54 miles away in the Swedish town of Mora. The race was named for Gustav Vasa, who persuaded the people of Mora to help him drive out the Danes in 1520. He later ruled the country for almost 40 years as King Gustavus I. More than 325,000 have officially completed the Vasaloppet since the race became a national ski festival in 1922. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Secret Speech

After Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953, Nikita Krushchev emerged from a bitter power struggle as the Communist party’s first secretary. At the party’s Twentieth Congress in 1956, he delivered a “secret speech,” “On the Personality Cult and its Consequences,” harshly denouncing Stalin and his policies. The program of de-Stalinization, which had already begun, was thus supported and continued by Khrushchev. When was the full text of this “secret speech” finally officially released to the public? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Nicolas Flamel

Reportedly born around 1330, Flamel was a French scrivener and manuscript-seller whose supposed success with alchemy immortalized his name. His story has captured the imaginations of many, and he is mentioned in a number of literary works. In fact, his life is now so intertwined with legend that some historians doubt he ever existed. He is said to have created the philosopher’s stone—a mythical substance that can convert base metal to gold and confer immortality—by translating what ancient text? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Matronalia

Also known as the Matronales Feriae, the Matronalia was an ancient Roman festival in honor of Juno, the goddess of women. It was observed on March 1, the day on which her temple was dedicated. The Matronalia celebrated not only the sacredness of marriage as an institution but the peace that followed the first marriages that took place between Roman men and Sabine women. It was customary for married women to form a procession to Juno’s temple, where offerings were made to the goddess. At home, women received gifts from their husbands on this day and held feasts for their female slaves. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Brittle Bone Disease

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a group of connective-tissue diseases characterized by abnormally brittle, easily fractured bones. A genetic disorder for which there is no known cure, OI is generally inherited but can also result from an individual mutation. Of the various forms of OI, Type II is the most severe. Babies with OI Type II, if not stillborn, are born with fractures and suffer severe bone deformity; most die shortly after birth. What can be done to reduce the incidence of fractures? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary