Month: October 2020

Delta and Northwest Merge to Form World’s Largest Airline (2008)

Founded as an aerial crop dusting operation in Georgia, Delta became the world’s largest commercial air carrier more than 80 years after its inception when it merged with Northwest Airlines. The consolidation process was completed by January 31, 2010. Today, Delta has approximately 75,000 employees, and its headquarters in Atlanta includes the world’s largest connecting hub. In 2007, Delta began a comprehensive recycling program. By 2010, how many acres of airplane carpet had it recycled? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Punky Night

In the English village of Hinton St. George, Somerset, it is traditional for both children and adults to walk through town carrying “punkies,” or lanterns made from carved-out mangel-wurzels, or mangolds (a variety of beet), with candles in them. Although this custom is observed in other English towns, the celebration at Hinton St. George is by far the best established. There is a procession of children carrying punkies through the streets, begging for money, and singing the “punky song.” A prize is given out for the best carved punky. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Bill Mauldin (1921)

After joining the US Army as an infantryman in 1940, Mauldin began sketching cartoons about enlisted life. In 1944, he began producing his cartoons full time for the US military newspaper, Stars and Stripes. His portrayal of two cynical and unkempt American soldiers, Willie and Joe, made Mauldin a hero to American soldiers in World War II. Later, Mauldin became a political cartoonist for civilian papers. What fate had Mauldin intended for Willie and Joe at the end of the war? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Theory of Everything

In physics, there are four fundamental forces—gravitational, electromagnetic, strong, and weak. Each plays a vital role in how the universe works. For example, the strong force is what holds atoms together. For years, physicists have sought a single theory that explains how all the forces work together: the theory of everything. Even on his deathbed, Einstein was working on this problem. Some believe no solution exists. What notable physicist once believed it was possible, then changed his mind? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Harvard College Is Founded (1636)

Founded with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Harvard College was named for its first benefactor, John Harvard. He bequeathed his books and about £780 to the fledgling college. The oldest and one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the US, Harvard originally trained Puritan ministers. Today, it has the largest university endowment in the US, estimated at more than $25 billion in 2009. Why did Harvard athletes first adopt the color red? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Evelyn Waugh (1903)

Waugh was an English novelist who is widely considered the greatest satirist of his generation. His novels, characterized by sardonic wit, technical brilliance, and his devoted Catholicism, include A Handful of Dust and Brideshead Revisited. Waugh also wrote amusing travel books. After service in World War II, he led a retired life, and his writing grew increasingly misanthropic. In 1925, Waugh’s suicide attempt was thwarted when he was coincidentally attacked by what animal? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Johann Reichhart

Born into a family of professional executioners, Reichhart executed about 3,000 people in Germany during his career, which began in 1924. Most of the people he dispatched were convicted of political crimes under the Nazi regime. He was later employed to help execute Nazi war criminals by hanging. Said to have been a lonely man who sought to execute the condemned as quickly as possible to shorten their suffering, he reportedly preferred what method of execution? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Turkmenistan Gains Independence from the Soviet Union (1991)

Following Turkmenistan’s independence, the head of its Communist Party, Saparmurat Niyazov, became president. He developed a totalitarian cult of personality, isolating the Central Asian nation culturally and politically. Citizens were tested on their knowledge of Niyazov’s autobiography and spiritual guide book, the Ruhnama—even on driver’s license tests. Niyazov’s successor later reversed many of his policies, including the decision to rename the months of the calendar after what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary