While experimenting with electricity, Galvani, an Italian physicist and physician, noticed that a frog’s leg contracted when it was touched with charged metal. This observation led him to conclude—incorrectly—that animal tissue generates electricity. His research focused attention on electricity in animals, stimulating the study of electrotherapy and electric currents. Today, many terms in electricity are derived from his name. What noted novel might have been inspired in part by Galvani’s work? Discuss
Month: September 2022
born in the purple
Born into royalty. Purple is a color traditionally associated with royalty. Watch the video
The Irish Potato Famine
By the early 1840s, nearly half of the Irish population, particularly the rural poor, depended almost entirely on the potato for sustenance. The Irish Potato Famine, which lasted from 1845 to 1849, led to the deaths of more than a million people from starvation or famine-related diseases. A watershed moment in Ireland’s demographic history, it also provoked a massive exodus, and the British government’s minimal relief efforts worsened Anglo-Irish relations. What caused the potato crop to fail? Discuss
carrefour
Definition: (noun) A junction where one street or road crosses another.
Synonyms: crossroad, crossway, intersection, crossing.
Usage: When his jalopy broke down right in the middle of a busy carrefour, he swore he would invest in a more reliable car.
Discuss
First V-2 Rocket Hits London (1944)
Developed by Germany during World War II, the Vergeltungswaffe 2 (V-2) rocket was the world’s first modern ballistic missile and the first known manmade object to enter outer space. Thousands were launched on Allied targets during the last year of the war, causing more than 9,000 deaths. One of the rocket’s first targets was London, which was hit just days after Hitler declared his plans to start V-2 attacks. To what did the British government initially attribute the resulting explosion? Discuss
Nativity of the Theotokos
The Greek word theotokos means “god-bearer,” or “mother of God.” The feast known as the Nativity of the Theotokos is observed in Orthodox Christian churches on September 8. Western Christian churches celebrate the feast on the same day, but call it the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The feast of Mary’s nativity is believed to have originated in the East, probably in Syria or Palestine, some centuries ago. By the 11th century, the observation of this feast had spread throughout the Christian world. Discuss
King Richard I of England (1157)
Among the few kings of England remembered by reputation, not number, Richard the Lionheart reigned from 1189 to 1199. After rebelling against his father, Henry II, Richard rose to the throne upon Henry’s death. He set out on the Third Crusade shortly after his coronation. Unable to capture the strongly fortified city of Jerusalem, Richard negotiated a treaty with Saladin that allowed Christian pilgrims access to its holy sites. How much time did Richard spend in England during his entire reign? Discuss
bone-idle
Extremely lazy. Watch the video
Iron Lung
An iron lung—or negative pressure ventilator—is an airtight metal tank that encloses all of the body except the head and forces the lungs to inhale and exhale through regulated changes in air pressure. It was invented in 1928 by American industrial hygienist Philip Drinker. Though Drinker devised the iron lung to help victims of coal gas poisoning, it became a preferred treatment for polio, which tends to paralyze the respiratory muscles. What methods have largely replaced the iron lung? Discuss