Month: April 2020

Cat Coat Genetics

The genes that determine the length, pattern, coloration, and texture of a cat’s fur are so complex that, theoretically, a practically countless number of distinct coats could be generated. These genes interact in such a way that they may cancel each other out in one generation only to manifest in the next. Some coloration is temperature-sensitive, creating cats that have darker fur on the tips of their bodies, where fur is cooler. Which type of cat looks like it has an M on its forehead? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

First Day of Summer in Iceland

In Iceland the First Day of Summer is second in importance only to Christmas and New Year’s Day. It is a legal holiday observed on the Thursday between April 19 and April 25, a time of year that marks the end of the long northern winter. Special foods associated with the First Day of Summer include flat rye breads up to a foot in diameter, on top of which the day’s share of food for each person would be piled. Since the turn of the century it has also been a popular day for young people to give speeches, poetry readings and dramatic performances, or to engage in singing, dancing, and sports. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Joachim Murat

Murat distinguished himself as a daring cavalry commander while serving with Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy and Egypt and later aided Napoleon in his 1799 coup d’état. The next year, he married Napoleon’s sister Caroline and in 1808 was chosen to succeed Joseph Bonaparte as king of Naples. He continued his military leadership as well, but after Napoleon’s fall, he fled to Corsica. When he tried to regain his throne, he was captured and executed. What were his instructions to the firing squad? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Peppercorn Ceremony

This ceremony has been a tradition on the island of Bermuda since 1816, when a lease to the State House in St. George was granted to the common council of St. George in trust by the members of the Masonic Lodge for the annual rent of one peppercorn. On the day of the Peppercorn Ceremony, the governor of Bermuda arrives at the State House in a horse-drawn carriage and receives a key to the State House. The rent of one peppercorn is delivered on a velvet pillow, and members of the Executive Council proceed to the State House for their meeting. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Zanj Rebellion

At the height of the Abbasid Empire, thousands of East Africans, known as Zanj, were transported as slaves to work in the salt marshes near the town of Basra, in what is now southern Iraq. Led by Ali ibn Muhammad, the exploited Zanj—free and enslaved alike—rebelled in 869 CE. They successfully raided towns and villages and even expanded north and established a capital. It took 15 years for the Abbasids to suppress the revolt, in part because they were also struggling with what other group? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Catacombs of Rome

The catacombs—underground tunnel systems lined with recesses for bodies—of Rome date to about the 1st century and were built due to land shortages and because persecuted Christians needed a place to bury their dead. Early Christians also took refuge and occasionally worshipped in the tunnels. Thus they are unique in their abundance of Early Christian artwork and iconography. Forgotten for centuries, the catacombs were accidently rediscovered in 1578. Why is Rome uniquely suited for such tunnels? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary