Month: October 2020

Lichtenberg Figures

Named for German physicist Georg Lichtenberg, Lichtenberg figures are branching, lightning-like fractal patterns that can appear on or in insulating materials, such as glass, after an electrical discharge. They are also sometimes found on the skin of lightning strike victims in the form of intricate patterns thought to be caused by damage to small blood vessels along the path of the current. In capturing the figures on paper, Lichtenberg discovered the principle behind what modern technology? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

California Avocado Festival

The California Avocado Festival is held every October in Carpinteria, California. The three-day, free event features music, arts and crafts, activities (including a golf tournament), and a kids’ block party with games, face-painting, and crafts. It also celebrates the avocado. At the Avocado Expo tent, competitors vie to win the awards for best guacamole and biggest avocado. There are cooking demonstrations and a display of the largest vat of guacamole in the world. About 100,000 visitors enjoy each year’s avocado celebration. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Bride Kidnapping

Almost always illegal, but still prevalent in parts of Asia, the Caucasus, and elsewhere, bride kidnapping is a custom in which a man abducts a woman for the purpose of marriage. The two may or may not be acquainted, and the man sometimes has help with the abduction. In some cases, the process includes rape. In others, the kidnapper apologizes to the woman’s family. In Kyrgyzstan, the man’s family may gather to convince the kidnapped woman to marry her captor. How does she signal her acceptance? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Mid-Autumn Festival (Singapore)

The Mid-Autumn Festival, sometimes known as the Mooncake Festival, is observed by Chinese communities around the world. The cakes are often sold along with lanterns and are filled with either a sweet bean paste or with melon and lotus seeds, and may be flavored with orange peels, egg yolks, or other spices. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, children all over Singapore have parades so they can show off their lighted lanterns. There are also lantern-making contests, Chinese costume-making competitions, lion and dragon dances, and concerts. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

False Friends

False friends are words that look or sound the same in different languages but have different meanings. Unlike false cognates, which are completely unrelated, false friends may have a shared origin. For example, gift has a far more sinister German meaning—poison—than it does in English, though both languages derive the word from the same Germanic root. How might a new Spanish speaker worsen her situation by mistakenly using the word embarazada to indicate that she is embarrassed? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary