Month: March 2022

hue

value, chroma, hue – A color’s value is its brightness, its chroma is its strength, and its hue is its position in the spectrum. More…

tone – A color variation with more variations than a shade—having to do with the value of a hue or its chroma. More…

Munsell – A.H. Munsell was a U.S. painter (1858-1918) who developed a color classification system for chroma, hue, and value. More…

pure color – A color or hue that is unmixed with other hues. More…

Assassination Attempt on Gerry Adams (1984)

Adams is an Irish Republican politician, former member of Parliament for Belfast West, and president of Sinn Féin, the Irish nationalist movement that has gained notoriety for its association with the volatile Irish Republican Army (IRA). He has been a key figure in Irish peace negotiations and was the main architect of the 1994 IRA ceasefire. In 1984, Adams was wounded when several gunmen opened fire on his car. What did Adams allege about the British army’s failure to prevent the attack? Discuss

Mamuralia

According to one Roman myth, Mamurius was a smith who was run out of the city because the shields he made for the soldiers failed to protect them when they were substituted for the sacred shield that had fallen from heaven. Another explanation is that Mamurius represented the old year, which had to be driven away on the day preceding the first full moon of the new Roman year. In any case, the rite that took place on March 14 involved leading a man wearing only animal skins through the streets of Rome. He was pursued and beaten with long white rods until he was driven out of the city. Discuss

Paul Ehrlich (1854)

Ehrlich was a German bacteriologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1908 for his work on immunology. He is also noted for his work in hematology, cellular pathology, and the use of dyes in microscopy. Ehrlich coined the term “chemotherapy” and is credited with the first empirical observation of the blood-brain barrier. He also made notable contributions to the treatment of syphilis, stimulating research that led to the development of what widely-used drug? Discuss

Sugar Substitutes

Sugar substitutes are popular for people who are watching their weight and their dental hygiene. While natural sugar substitutes exist—sorbitol, derived from berries, is one example—many sweeteners are artificial. Saccharin, a coal-tar derivative three hundred times as sweet as sugar, was discovered in 1879. Cyclamates were approved for consumer use in 1951 but were banned in 1969 because of suspected carcinogenic properties. How was the common artificial sweetener aspartame discovered? Discuss

worms

can of worms – Based on an image of a container of maggots for use as fish bait. More…

food for worms, food for fishes – A dead human being is food for worms; a drowning victim is food for fishes. More…

silkworm – Is not a worm, but a caterpillar. More…

wormwood – There are no worms or wood involved in wormwood, which is an alteration of the word wermod, a plant used for making vermouth, absinthe and medicine. More…

Apollo 9 Safely Returns to Earth (1969)

Apollo 9 was the third manned mission in the Apollo program and consisted of a 10-day Earth-orbital mission. It was the second manned flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle and the first manned flight of the Apollo Lunar Module. During the mission, the crew tested a new spacesuit, which was the first to possess its own life support system. This meant that astronauts no longer had to rely on an umbilical connection to the spacecraft. Why did the crew name their command module “Gumdrop”? Discuss