Month: June 2020

Nefertari

Nefertari was the favorite wife of Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II, who reigned for 67 years in the 13th century BCE. Though little is known about Nefertari’s origins, it is assumed she was of noble descent. As the mother of Ramesses’ heir, she most likely enjoyed a high status. Ramesses honored her with a temple of her own next to his and built her the largest, most spectacular tomb in the Valley of the Queens. She is depicted in numerous paintings and statues, often playing what instrument? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ravinia Festival

Chicago’s 12-week festival of classical music, theater, and dance takes place in Highland Park, one of the city’s northern suburbs. Although today the festival can boast performances by some of the world’s most distinguished conductors, soloists, symphony orchestras, and dance companies, its history since 1904 has been punctuated by periodic financial crises and, in the 1940s, a fire that destroyed the Ravinia Park pavilion. But since that time the festival has rebounded, expanding to include pop, jazz, and folk music as well as several weeks of theater performances. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Hungry Enough to Eat an Elephant (or Two)

Castor and Pollux were two elephants, possibly siblings, who were killed and eaten by the besieged citizens of Paris in 1870. During the course of the Franco-Prussian war, German forces surrounded Paris and cut off its supply lines. Food stores dwindled, and within months, most of city’s horses, dog, and cats had been consumed. In desperation, butchers turned to the city’s zoos. The antelopes, camels, yaks, and zebras went first. Finally, it was the elephants’ turn. How did they taste? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Gentlemen’s Club

Though today the term is often associated with strip clubs, the traditional British gentlemen’s club was an exclusive, members-only establishment where upper-class men could drink, dine, and socialize. Most barred women, and many had strict membership requirements—like requiring prospective members to have traveled at least 500 miles from London in order to gain admittance. Their numbers have dwindled since their heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries. What is the largest gentlemen’s club today? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Blackbeard Pirate Festival

The Blackbeard Pirate Festival takes place in Hampton, Virginia, on a two-day weekend in early June. The festival acknowledges Hampton’s history as a key colonial port, the wealth of which attracted the notorious 18th-century Caribbean pirate Blackbeard. The festival features tours of replicas of three “tall ships” similar to the ones Blackbeard may have plundered; a street fair with live music, as well as refreshments and children’s events; and several historical re-enactments such as an invasion of Hampton Harbor by pirates seeking revenge for Blackbeard’s death. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Kurt Wenner

Wenner is an American artist best known for his highly realistic, three-dimensional street art drawn using chalk. He produced his first chalk drawings on sidewalks in Rome after moving there in 1982 to study classical art. While he is not the only artist to have created anamorphic illusions in chalk, Wenner transformed the art form with his Renaissance-style mythical and religious scenes. He has also created advertisements. What work did Wenner do for NASA before studying in Rome? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary