Month: April 2021

Floralia

An ancient Roman festival held in honor of Flora, the goddess of flowers and gardens, the Floralia was first instituted in 238 BCE. In 173 BCE, the Roman Senate made it an annual festival extending for six days—starting on the anniversary of the founding of Flora’s temple. Traditionally, the first person to lay a garland on the temple’s statue of Flora was destined to have good fortune. The Floralia, which featured small statues of Flora that children would decorate with flowers, is believed to have been the precedent for Christian-oriented May Day celebrations. Discuss

The Doctors' Plot

In January 1953, a plot to murder leading Soviet government and party officials was “uncovered.” Nine prominent doctors, at least six of them Jews, were arrested and confessed their involvement. The reports sparked an upwelling of anti-Semitism in the USSR. Months later, news broke that the charges were false and that the confessions had been obtained by torture. Who alleged that Stalin, whose death in March brought down the scheme, had planned to use the scandal to launch a massive party purge? Discuss

organs

consensus – Came into English in a physiological sense, meaning “a set of organs” or the “involuntary or reflex actions of the nervous system.” More…

homogenous – Can refer to genetically related tissue or organs. More…

lung – Goes back to an Indo-European word for “light,” because of the lightness of the organ. More…

sensorium – The seat of common sense, the center of the brain to which sense impressions are transmitted by the nerves from the organs. More…

South Africa Freedom Day

On April 27, 1994, the Republic of South Africa held its first democratic elections. The African National Congress (ANC) won the election, bringing with it socio-economic change that improved the lives of all South Africans, especially the poor. Every year, South Africa celebrates Freedom Day, a public holiday that commemorates the anniversary of the historic day in 1994. Special cultural events and exhibitions are held in various venues around Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, and other locations around the country. Discuss

Wagonways

The idea of using “tracked” roads dates back millennia. In the US and England, the first railroads employed not locomotives but horse-drawn wagons, which were used to haul minerals on the tracks. In 1829, locomotives were imported to the US from England, but they were found to be too heavy for the existing tracks. However, steam powered railroads soon grew to dominate the transportation of cargo. How did horses continue to be used by railroads after the advent of steam locomotives? Discuss