An annual secular festival in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, the Nagoya Festival was started by the city’s merchants in 1955 to give thanks for their prosperity. It features a parade of about 700 participants depicting historical figures in period costume, among them Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, the three feudal warlords who unified the country at the end of the 16th century. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
When the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands forced Otto Frank to resign from his own company because he was a Jew, his friend Jan Gies nominally took over. Soon after, the Franks and several friends went into hiding in a secret annex on the company’s premises. For the next two years, Jan and his wife, Miep, sustained eight people in hiding, including Otto’s daughter Anne, bringing them food and supplies until they were betrayed to the Nazis. How were the Nazis responsible for the Gies’ marriage? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Hittites were an ancient Indo-European people who flourished from 1600 to 1200 BCE in what is today Turkey and Syria. They either displaced or absorbed the previous inhabitants of the region, the Hattians, whose culture had a strong influence on that of the Hittites. For several hundred years, the Hittite Empire was the chief cultural and political force in West Asia. The loose confederation of the empire was eventually broken up by invaders, and its remnants were conquered by whom? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) In opposition to a civil authority or government.
Synonyms: insurgent, subversive.
Usage: In an attempt to discourage rebellion, the dictator announced that anyone found in possession of seditious literature would be executed.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
As secretary of labor and social welfare in the wake of the 1943 revolution in Argentina, Perón enacted a wide range of benefits for workers that earned him a loyal following. In October 1945, he was overthrown in a coup, arrested, and jailed. Mass demonstrations of workers forced his release on October 17, a day now known in Argentina as Loyalty Day. Shortly thereafter, Perón ran for president and was elected by a vast majority in 1946. He was forced into exile in 1955. When did he return? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Every year since 1991, the town of Keene, New Hampshire, has held the Pumpkin Festival, in which tens of thousands of carved and lit pumpkins are displayed on scaffolding standing some 50 feet high. The scaffolding is arranged as walls and as four massive towers, and pumpkins are carved and displayed in rows thereon. In the evening, candles are lit within each pumpkin to form great flickering orange walls that light up the crowds. Related activities include the largest children’s costume parade in New England, a pumpkin pie eating contest, and a pumpkin seed spitting contest. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Born Albino Luciani, Pope John Paul I was the first pope to choose a double name, a moniker that honored his two immediate predecessors, Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. Refusing to have the centuries-old traditional papal coronation, he instead opted for a simplified ceremony. His 33-day papacy was one of the shortest reigns in papal history, resulting in the most recent “Year of Three Popes.” Several conspiracy theories surround his death. In what position was his body found? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Used by some blind people to navigate the world, human echolocation is a technique for establishing the locations and shapes of nearby objects by making sounds and interpreting the echoes that result. Sound-producing methods include tapping a cane, stamping, or making clicking noises with one’s mouth. This sort of echolocation can provide blind practitioners with enough information to identify large objects by ear alone. What are some feats that blind people have accomplished using echolocation? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) Defiantly aggressive.
Synonyms: belligerent, combative, pugnacious, bellicose, obstreperous.
Usage: Bitter and truculent when excited, I spoke as I felt, without reserve or softening.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The silent protest of two black American athletes at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City was an iconic and controversial statement. Sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos received their medals shoeless to draw attention to black poverty in America, and they performed the Black Power salute as their national anthem played. They were booed by the crowd and were later expelled from the staunchly apolitical games. Smith saluted with his right hand. Why was Carlos forced to salute with his left? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary