Month: July 2023

Erle Stanley Gardner (1889)

After serving as a trial lawyer for many years, Gardner began writing detective stories for magazines in the early 1920s. He became a prolific novelist whose narratives were characterized by fast action and clever legal devices—which he based on his own courtroom tactics. His most famous character was the unconventional lawyer Perry Mason, who appeared in more than 80 novels and inspired a television series. Gardner published his stories under at least seven pseudonyms. What were some of them? Discuss

Quartz

Quartz, which can split light into a spectrum, is one of the most common of all rock-forming minerals and one of the most important constituents of the earth’s crust. Quartz may be transparent, translucent, or opaque; it may be colorless or colored. Varieties are classified as crystalline and cryptocrystalline, whose crystal structure can be seen only under the microscope, if at all. What is quartz’s rank on the Mohs scale of hardness? Discuss

First Test of a Nuclear Weapon (1945)

Called the Trinity test, the first test of a nuclear weapon was conducted by the US in New Mexico on what is now White Sands Missile Range. The detonation of the implosion-design plutonium bomb—the same type used on Nagasaki, Japan, a few weeks later—was equivalent to the explosion of approximately 20 kilotons of TNT, and is usually considered the beginning of the Atomic Age. It is said that the scientists who observed the detonation set up a betting pool on what the result would be. Who won? Discuss

Nuestra Señora de Itatí

The town of Itatí is situated on the banks of Argentina‘s Paraná River. Two days before the well-known festival of Neustra Señora de Itatí, which is held on July 16, thousands of pilgrims begin to arrive from San Luis de Palmar in a seemingly endless procession of people on horseback, in carts, and on foot; festival goers arrive from all over Argentina as well. Worship services take place on the 16th in the huge basilica that guards the copper statue of the Virgin, which is more than 24 feet high. Pilgrims even ascend up into the statue until their heads reach the Virgin’s crown. Discuss

Mary Baker Eddy (1821)

Eddy was the founder of the Christian Science movement, which preaches the principles of divine healing. After allegedly suffering a back injury in 1866, Eddy reportedly turned to the Bible and was unexpectedly healed. She considered that moment her discovery of Christian Science and spent the next few years refining the doctrine and plans for her new church. In 1879, the Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in Massachusetts. What newspaper, founded by Eddy in 1908, is still published today? Discuss

Medicine Men

As far back as Paleolithic times, Native Americans and other traditional peoples have believed the medicine man to be in possession of supernatural healing powers, such as the ability to inflict pain, promote fertility, and secure good hunting and fishing. Many Native Americans regarded illness as resulting from the entry of malignancy into the body; accordingly, their medicine men try to cast out the illness using ritual techniques such as bloodletting, the application of herbs, and what else? Discuss