Peacock was an English writer whose comic and satirical novels—which contain some of his best poems—parody the intellectual pretenses of his age. His best-known work, Nightmare Abbey, satirizes the English romantic movement and contains characters based on Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, and his close friend Percy Bysshe Shelley. After Shelley’s death, Peacock became his literary executor. Peacock died at the age of 80 from injuries sustained while trying to save what from a fire? Discuss
Month: October 2024
The Were-Jaguar
The were-jaguar is one of the most prominent and enigmatic designs of the Olmec people, who flourished between 1200 BCE and 400 BCE in south-central Mexico. Seen in murals and statues, the design is characterized by a down-turned mouth, almond-shaped eyes, fleshy lips, and a cleft forehead. Though the term is derived from the Old English “were,” meaning “man,” and “jaguar,” the predatory cat revered by the Olmec people, some scholars believe were-jaguars represent a different animal. Which one? Discuss
The First British Open Is Held in Scotland (1860)
The Open Championship of the British Isles, or the Open, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious golf championship tournaments in the world. It began in 1860 at Scotland’s Prestwick course and is now rotated among select courses in England and Scotland. The first tournament was won by Willie Park, who also recorded the tournament’s highest single-hole stroke total—21. Though today the Open has a multimillion-dollar prize fund, there was no prize money initially. Instead, Park won what? Discuss
Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (1938)
Knievel was an American daredevil and icon of the 1970s. He began doing motorcycle stunts as a teenager, then embarked on an incredibly varied career that included professional hockey, a stint in the army, work in copper mines, and eventually crime—safecracking and holdups. In 1965 he “went straight” and took up performing dangerous and thrilling stunts, which did not always go smoothly and eventually earned him the record for most broken bones in a lifetime. What canyon did Knievel try to jump? Discuss
Taiko
Though taiko simply means “drum” in Japanese, the word is often used outside of Japan to refer to the relatively recent phenomenon of ensemble taiko drumming, and to the drums it employs, which are among the world’s largest. In fact, some of these drums are so large that they remain in a single location and are never moved. Although modern taiko was established in 1951, its first recorded use was on the battlefields of ancient Japan. How were the drums used in warfare? Discuss
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William Orville Douglas (1898)
Douglas, a US Supreme Court justice and author, practiced and taught law early in his career, before becoming a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1936. As SEC chairman, he engineered the reorganization of US stock exchanges, instituted measures aimed at protecting small investors, and began government regulation of the sale of securities. In 1939, the president appointed him to the Supreme Court. For what controversial act did Congress attempt to impeach Douglas? Discuss
Fenghuang
Commonly known in the West as the Chinese phoenix, the fenghuang is a mythical Chinese bird fabled to reign over all other birds. Though there was initially a distinction between the male feng and female huang, today the two are often combined into a single feminine entity that pairs with the masculine Chinese dragon to symbolize the yin-yang principle with respect to marital harmony. Ancient texts describe the fenghuang as having the physical traits of several different animals. What are they? Discuss
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Graf Zeppelin Completes Its First Transatlantic Flight (1928)
The Graf Zeppelin was a German, hydrogen-filled, passenger airship—the largest built up to that time. It inaugurated transatlantic flight service in 1928, making its first crossing in 111 hours. During its years of service, it completed 590 flights, including 64 to South America, two to the Middle East, and one around-the-world tour. It was retired from service in 1937, when the Hindenburg disaster brought an end to commercial zeppelin travel. Why was the airship destroyed during WWII? Discuss