Month: October 2019

Chulalongkorn Day

Chulalongkorn Day is a national holiday in Thailand commemorating King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), the king who abolished slavery and introduced numerous reforms when the country was still called Siam. He succeeded to the throne in 1868 when he was 15 years old, was crowned in 1873, and ruled until his death in 1910. He had been a pupil of Anna Leonowens, who taught the young prince about Abraham Lincoln. The story of her stay in the royal court, and her teaching of the royal children and concubines, was told in Margaret Landon’s book, Anna and the King of Siam. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Melungeon

“Melungeon” is a controversial term applied to a group of people who traditionally lived near the Cumberland Gap area of central Appalachia in the US and who have mixed Native American, white, and black ancestry. Though culturally and linguistically identical to their white neighbors and generally well-integrated, melungeons began being pejoratively identified as such in the period of heightened racial tensions leading up to the Civil War. What is known about the group’s history and origins? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Simchat Torah

This Jewish holiday, which follows Sukkot, celebrates the annual completion of the public reading of the Torah and the beginning of a new reading cycle. The hand-lettered scrolls of the Torah are removed from the Ark (a box-like container) and paraded around the synagogue amidst singing and dancing. Simchat Torah means “rejoicing in the law,” which is as good a description as any of what takes place on this day. To be chosen to read the final verses of the last book, Deuteronomy, or to read the opening verses of the first book, Genesis, is considered a great honor. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Prepulse Inhibition

Prepulse inhibition is a neurological phenomenon in which a weaker pre-stimulus—a prepulse—inhibits the reaction of an organism to a subsequent startling stimulus. The reduction of the startle reflex reflects the ability of the nervous system to adapt to a strong sensory stimulus when a preceding weaker signal provides it advance warning. The phenomenon has been detected in numerous species, including humans. Disruption of prepulse inhibition has been reported in patients with what diseases? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

gormandize

Definition: (verb) Overeat or eat immodestly; make a pig of oneself.

Synonyms: binge, glut, gorge, ingurgitate, overeat, overindulge, pig out, scarf out, satiate, stuff.

Usage: After June all the little Court Society of Pumpernickel used to … make for a hundred watering-places, where they drank at the wells, … rushed with hundreds of their kind to gormandize at the tables d’hote, and idled away the summer.
Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Trafalgar Day

This is the anniversary of the famous naval battle fought by the British off Cape Trafalgar, Spain, in 1805, under the command of Viscount Horatio Nelson (1758-1805). The victory that cost Lord Nelson his life was commemorated by the column erected in his honor in London’s Trafalgar Square. Ceremonies on Trafalgar Day, or Nelson Day, include a naval parade from London’s Mall to Trafalgar Square, where a brief service is held and wreaths are placed at the foot of Nelson’s Column. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Singapore Flyer

At 541 feet (165 m)—or 42 stories—high, the Singapore Flyer is the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. Described by its operators as an observation wheel, it was opened to the public in 2008. The wheel contains 28 enclosed capsules, each of which is capable of holding 28 passengers. A complete rotation of the wheel takes approximately 30 minutes. The wheel originally rotated in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed from the nearby Marina Centre, but its direction was later changed. Why? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Jacqueline Kennedy Weds Aristotle Onassis (1968)

Jacqueline Bouvier married future US President John F. Kennedy in 1953. As first lady, she promoted the arts, history, and high style. After Kennedy’s assassination, her stoic behavior enhanced her standing with the public, but she stunned the world in 1968 when she married Greek millionaire shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. For a time, she was the world’s premier celebrity, but after Onassis’s death in 1975, she returned to New York, where she got a job doing what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary