Month: August 2019

National Championship Chuckwagon Races

The National Championship Chuckwagon Races take place at Dan Eoff’s “Bar Of” Ranch in Clinton, Arkansas, each Labor Day weekend from Friday through Sunday. About 150 teams consisting of a wagon and four horses compete in five divisions for the National Champion title. The races are for amateurs and open to all. In addition to chuckwagon racing, events include bronc fanning (so called because riders attempt to calm ornery mounts by fanning them with their cowboy hats) and the annual Snowy River Race. Live music and dances add to the weekend’s festivities. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Monopods

Monopods are mythological dwarf-like creatures with a single leg and a large foot. They are found in many works of fiction dating back to ancient Greece. Monopods are even mentioned in Pliny the Elder’s Historia Naturalis (c. 77 CE), an encyclopedia of natural history. Twentieth-century writer C.S. Lewis also featured the one-legged creatures in his Chronicles of Narnia allegorical fantasy series. In both of these accounts, monopods are said to use their oversized feet for what purpose? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Battle of Tannenberg Ends (1914)

The Battle of Tannenberg was a decisive engagement between Russian and German forces in WWI. After invading German East Prussia, the Russian First and Second armies became separated. German forces then attacked one of the isolated armies and forced its retreat, killing and capturing tens of thousands in the process. Though disastrous for Russia, the battle forced Germany to divert troops from the Western Front during the first critical weeks of the war. Why was the battle named after Tannenberg? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Turkey Victory Day

Turkey Victory Day honors the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and the military victory over the Greeks in 1922. It is celebrated throughout Turkey and on the island of Cyprus. The primary celebration is held at Atatürk’s Mausoleum in the city of Ankara. Leading military officials visit the tomb to lay a ceremonial wreath; wreaths are also placed on various statues of Atatürk found throughout the city. A ceremony including military and governmental officials is then held at the Atatürk Culture Center, and marches are held in major cities across the country. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Tyrian Purple

Tyrian purple is a purple-red natural dye that was highly prized in the ancient world because it did not fade from weathering and sunlight but instead became brighter and more intense. Excreted by the hypobranchial gland of certain mollusks of the genus Murex, Tyrian purple was expensive and a status symbol tightly controlled by sumptuary laws. In Byzantium, it was restricted to coloring silks for imperial use. How is the dye substance used by the sea snails that secrete it? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Canadian National Exhibition

The first Canadian National Exhibition was held in 1879 in Toronto. The fair moved briefly to Ottawa, but it returned to Toronto and was called the Toronto Industrial Exhibition until 1921, when the name was changed to reflect its nationwide appeal. Located on the shores of Lake Ontario, about 10 minutes from downtown Toronto, the fairgrounds occupy 350 acres of lawns, gardens, pavilions, and Victorian-style buildings. Events include an air show, a horse show, celebrity appearances, and much more. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mary Carleton, Imposter

Carleton was a 17th-century Englishwoman who was brought up on charges of bigamy after marrying multiple men. She then took on the persona of a German princess and married John Carleton, but she was exposed and put on trial. Both published pamphlets to support their versions of events. After her acquittal, Mary starred in a play about her life. She went on to defraud more men but was eventually arrested and sent to a penal colony. How was she punished for returning to England without permission? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary