Month: May 2022

The Breakers

Built to serve as the summer home of American socialite and businessman Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the Breakers is a 70-room mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. The home was constructed in the 1890s at a cost of more than $12 million and is deemed the archetype of the Gilded Age, during which socially ambitious Americans sought to imitate the European aristocracy. Today, it is Rhode Island’s most visited attraction. Why did Vanderbilt insist that wood not be used in the Breakers’ construction? Discuss

purposes

all intents and purposes – A redundant phrase, created for emphasis. More…

blamestorming – An intense discussion for the purposes of placing blame or assigning responsibility for a misdeed or failure. More…

celebrant, celebrator, reveler – Celebrants take part in religious ceremonies; celebrators or revelers gather for purposes of revelry. More…

teleology – The study of design in nature; the word’s basic meaning is “the study of ends or purposes”—attempts to understand the purpose of a natural occurrence by looking at its results. More…

Ecuador Gains Independence from Gran Colombia (1830)

Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, Ecuador was controlled by the Inca empire. Francisco Pizarro’s subordinate, Benalcázar, entered the area in 1533. Not finding the wealth of the mythical El Dorado, he and other conquistadors moved restlessly on, and the region became a colonial backwater. Ecuador remained under Spanish control until 1822, when it was joined to Gran Colombia. With the dissolution of that union in 1830, Ecuador gained its independence. Why is 1859 called the “Terrible Year”? Discuss

Ole Worm (1588)

Worm was a Danish physician and antiquarian who was the personal physician of King Christian IV of Denmark and served Copenhagen during plague epidemics. Worm’s chief contributions to medical science were in embryology. As a natural philosopher, he assembled a vast collection of stuffed and mounted animals, fossils, and other curiosities. A collector of early Scandinavian literature and texts written in the runic alphabet, he wrote extensively on rune stones. What are the Wormian bones? Discuss

Les Misérables

Les Misérables is a novel by Victor Hugo that focuses on the life of Jean Valjean, an ex-convict struggling to redeem himself. It examines the nature of good and evil, delving into French history, politics, moral philosophy, law, and the nature of love. Published in 1862, the novel helped make Hugo the most successful writer of his day. Now, more than 150 years later, the book and its many adaptations continue to resonate with the public. What did critics first think of it? Discuss

surrounded

involve – First meant “enfold, surround, wrap.” More…

enclave, exclave – An enclave is a group or area different from the surroundings, a secured area within another secured area, from Latin clavis, “key”; an exclave is the same thing, but usually describes a portion of a country separated from the main part and surrounded by politically alien territory. More…

woebegone – Begone in woebegone means “beset” or “surrounded,” so the word means “beset by woe.” More…

glade – Originally referred to a part of water not frozen over, but surrounded by ice, drawing an analogy to the same word for an opening in the woods. More…

Luna 5 Crashes on the Moon (1965)

Luna 5 was an unmanned Soviet space probe launched for lunar investigation. On May 10, the spacecraft began spinning around its axis due to a problem in a gyroscope in the guidance system unit. A subsequent attempt to fire the main engine failed because of a ground control error, and Luna 5 impacted the lunar surface. Though it failed to soft-land—Luna 9 would do so a year later—Luna 5 was the second Soviet lunar probe to land on the moon. What was the first? Discuss