Month: April 2019

Coober Pedy Opal Festival

The South Australian town of Coober Pedy is known for its opal mines, producing about 70 percent of the world’s opals. Celebrated over Easter weekend, the annual Opal Festival includes such competitive events as the mine rescue demonstration, tug-of-war, triathlons for men and women, games and races for children, and the multicultural dance and singing competition. Saturday is the main day, kicking off with a morning street parade featuring a marching band, mining equipment, and floats and culminating in a fireworks display and a dance at night. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Click Consonants

Clicks are speech sounds used in many African languages, particularly in the Khoisan family of languages. They are produced by raising the back of the tongue to make contact with the palate and simultaneously closing the lips or touching the teeth or alveolar ridge with the tip and sides of the tongue. The only non-African language known to use clicks as regular speech sounds is Damin, spoken by certain Aboriginal Australians. What click sound is used in English to express disapproval or pity? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the opening engagements of the American Revolution. While marching from Boston to Concord to seize colonists’ military stores, a British force of 700 was met at Lexington by 77 local minutemen. After a brief exchange of shots, the outnumbered colonists fell back. The British continued on to Concord, where they were defeated by a militia of about 500. Who had been sent to warn the people of the Massachusetts countryside about the impending British attack? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Sámi Easter Festival

The Sámi Easter Festival takes place annually during Easter in Kautokeino, Norway. The Sámi people are the indigenous people of the northernmost Nordic regions, including northern Norway. Festival activities include tours by reindeer-drawn sleigh, ice fishing, and snowmobiling. There are art exhibitions and concerts, with some featuring traditional yoik, as well as modern music of the Sámis. The festival is also host to the annual reindeer-racing world-cup race. A film festival runs every year in conjunction with the Sámi festival, with a variety of films on offer for viewing indoors or out. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Loquat

The loquat is a small ornamental evergreen tree that belongs to the rose family and is related to the apple and other temperate-zone fruit trees. It bears yellowish, oval-shaped fruits that grow in clusters and taste similar to mildly tart apples or pears. Probably indigenous to China, it has been grown from antiquity in Japan and northern India and is also cultivated in Indochina, the Mediterranean region, and New World subtropics. What deadly poison is found in the fruit’s seeds? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Qanats

Known by many names throughout the Middle East and North Africa, qanats are water management systems used to provide water to human settlements and for irrigation in hot, arid, and semi-arid climates. Qanats are constructed as a series of well-like vertical shafts that tap into subterranean water and are connected by a gently sloping tunnel. Since the destination is lower than the source, the water drains into it by gravity. How were qanats used in ancient times to store ice in the desert? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Verrazzano Day

Observed in New York state, Verrazzano Day commemorates the discovery of New York Harbor by the Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano on April 17, 1524. With the backing of King Francis I of France, Verrazzano sailed his ship to the New World, reaching the Carolina coast in March 1524, and then sailing northward, exploring the eastern coast of North America. He also discovered Block Island and Narragansett Bay in what is now Rhode Island. In naming the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, New York gave Verrazzano official recognition. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary