To be in a particularly and persistently irritable, unhappy, or grouchy mood or state, especially when it is not in line with one’s normal disposition. Watch the video
Month: July 2022
Monticello
Monticello—”little mountain” in Italian—is the estate designed and built by Thomas Jefferson, based on the classical style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. Located near Charlottesville, Virginia, it was Jefferson’s home for 56 years and was built on property he inherited from his father. Today, the site operates as a museum and is the only home in the US that has been designated a World Heritage Site. What forced Jefferson’s daughter to sell the estate? Discuss
procurator
Definition: (noun) One authorized to manage the affairs of another; an agent.
Synonyms: proxy, placeholder.
Usage: The wealthy businessman’s procurator arrived at the auction to bid on his behalf.
Discuss
Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet Collides with Jupiter (1994)
In March 1993, astronomers Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker and David Levy made the first observation of a comet orbiting a planet rather than the Sun. Sixteen months later, fragments of the comet collided with Jupiter’s southern hemisphere, providing the first direct observation of the collision of two solar system objects. The impact left prominent scars that some said were more easily visible than the planet’s Great Red Spot. How did the event highlight Jupiter’s role as “cosmic vacuum cleaner”? Discuss
La Paz Day
Bolivia was officially established as an independent country on August 6, 1825, an event now commemorated each year on Bolivia Independence Day. The capital city of La Paz, however, celebrates its own Independence Day on July 16. The holiday commemorates the date in 1809 when Pedro Domingo Murillo led a revolt of mestizos, or those of mixed European and South American heritage, against the Spanish authorities. July 16 is now a municipal holiday in La Paz, and the day is celebrated with parades, concerts, fireworks, and dances. Discuss
Trygve Lie (1896)
The United Nations was established in 1945, and Lie, a Norwegian politician, became its first Secretary General the next year. His role required that he take an active part in a variety of negotiations, but the Soviet Union ceased to cooperate with him after he supported UN intervention in the Korean War, and his effectiveness was further hampered by charges from anticommunist politicians in the US that his secretariat had employed subversives. What was the impetus for Lie’s resignation in 1952? Discuss
vertically challenged
Short; not tall in stature. (Pseudo-politically correct slang used for humorous effect.) Watch the video
Saffron
Saffron is a plant native to Asia Minor, where for centuries it has been cultivated for its aromatic orange-yellow stigmas—one of the world’s most expensive spices. When handpicked and dried, the stigmas yield saffron powder, the source of the principal yellow dye of the ancient world. The plant is still grown in limited quantities for the powder, which is used in medicines and perfumes and for flavoring. How many flowers must be harvested to produce one pound (0.45 kg) of dry saffron? Discuss
deleterious
Teutonic Knights Defeated at Battle of Grunwald (1410)
Early in the 15th century, the Teutonic Order, a German military religious order founded during the Third Crusade, sought to expand its influence over Lithuania and Poland. Though its purported mission was to spread Christianity, it invaded the already Christian nations and was defeated at the Battle of Grunwald. Afterward, the Order’s strength waned, and today it exists only as a clerical organization. How was the memory of the Battle of Grunwald used as propaganda during World War I? Discuss