Month: August 2019

WCSH 6 Sidewalk Art Festival

The WCSH 6 Sidewalk Art Festival is held every year in late August in Portland, Maine. More than 300 artists typically display their work at the outdoor event, which draws thousands of visitors to the festival area. The exhibit is juried, with cash prizes for first, second, and third place. For the fourth prize, the winning art work becomes part of the permanent art collection of the festival sponsor, local television station WCSH 6. Its organizers bill it as the largest and oldest one-day art show in northern New England. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of Old English monastic chronicles detailing England’s history from the start of the Christian era to 1154. Monks began compiling the chronicles in the 9th century and revised them into the 12th century. Much of the very early material is drawn from Bede’s history, but from the period of the wars of the Saxons and Danes onward, most of the annals are original. The writing is generally in prose but includes several poems, including one about what battle? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae is a family of about 5,000 beetles known in the US as ladybugs and in the UK as ladybirds. The insect’s name originated in the Middle Ages, when it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and called “beetle of Our Lady,” likely because Mary was often depicted in a red cloak in early paintings and because the seven spots on the species most common in Europe were associated with her seven joys and seven sorrows. A common myth is that the number of spots on a ladybug’s back indicates what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Battle of Bosworth Field (1485)

The Battle of Bosworth Field was the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses in which Henry Tudor defeated the royal forces of Richard III, the last king of the House of York. Richard was killed in battle, and Henry advanced to London and was crowned as Henry VII. In 1486, Henry married Edward IV’s daughter, Elizabeth, thus uniting the houses of York and Lancaster, ending the Wars of the Roses and founding the Tudor royal dynasty. This battle is featured in which of Shakespeare’s plays? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Hunterdon 4-H and Agricultural Fair

The New Jersey Agricultural Fair, held in Flemington, New Jersey, at the end of August, is a traditional agricultural fair that was started by a group of local farmers in 1856, making it one of the oldest state fairs in the country. It features a statewide 4-H lamb show and sale, a tractor pull, a horse and pony pull, and all types of car racing (mini-stocks, modified stocks, midgets, and super sprints). The fair also offers programs and exhibits of flowers, the 4-H organization, nurserymen, and various commercial enterprises. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Angkor Wat

The crowning work of Khmer architecture, Angkor Wat is a temple complex in northwestern Cambodia. About 1,700 yards (1,550 m) long by 1,500 yards (1,400 m) wide, it is the world’s largest religious structure. It was built in the 12th century by Suryavarman II as his state temple and dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. The structure consists of a rising series of towers and courtyards surrounded by a vast moat and culminating in a 213-ft (65-m) central tower shaped like the bud of what flower? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mona Lisa Stolen by a Louvre Employee (1911)

In 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa disappeared from the Louvre and was believed to be lost forever. Two years later, former Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia was caught trying to sell the masterpiece to a gallery owner in his native Italy. It turned out that Peruggia had stolen the painting by hiding in a closet, waiting until the museum had closed, taking it down, and simply walking out with it hidden under his coat. How much time did Peruggia serve in jail for his crime? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary