Before England adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, June 11 was the day of the Summer Solstice. In addition to being the longest day of the year, it was also St. Barnabas‘s Day (or Barnaby Day), and this association gave rise to the old English jingle, “Barnaby bright, Barnaby bright, the longest day and the shortest night.” It was customary on this day for the priests and clerks in the Church of England to wear garlands of roses and to decorate the church with them. Other names for this day were Long Barnaby and Barnaby Bright. Discuss
To have a dejected or miserable attitude or disposition; to be in a depressed or grievous state. Watch the video
Inhabited since the Neolithic period, Carchemish was a city located in what is now southern Turkey, near its border with Syria. Coveted for its location on the western bank of the Euphrates River, the city changed hands among the Mitanni, Hittite, and Assyrian Empires over the span of the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE, and Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II defeated the Egyptians there in a battle recorded in the Bible. What delayed archaeological excavations of Carchemish’s extensive ruins? Discuss
ardent spirits – Strong alcoholic liquors made by distillation, as brandy, whiskey, or gin. More…
bourbon – Named for Bourbon County, Kentucky, an American whiskey made from at least 51 percent corn, plus other grains (all bourbons are whiskey, but not all whiskeys are bourbon); whiskey is an alcoholic liquor distilled from grain, such as corn, rye, or barley, and contains approximately 40 to 50 percent ethyl alcohol by volume. More…
scat – Slang for whiskey. More…
brand name – The term originated with whiskey, as the producers branded their names on the barrels. More…
Let’s get out of here; let’s get moving. Watch the video
People have been interpreting dreams for millennia, but the field of oneirology attempts to study them scientifically. One theory, supported by PET scan studies, suggests that dreams are a result of electrical energy that stimulates memories located in various brain regions. Current research in oneirology seeks correlations between dreams and the functions of these regions. What machine did the researchers who discovered the link between dreams and REM sleep use to measure brain activity? Discuss
train shed – A large structure sheltering tracks and platforms of a railroad station. More…
hangar – Simply meant “shed” for carriages when it came into English. More…
shebang – May come from an Irish name for a speakeasy—shebeen—so the “whole shebeen” was the whole drinking establishment; shebang also first meant “hut, shed, dwelling.” More…
shoding, shed – The part in a person’s hair is the shoding or shed. More…