The Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, California, that features more than 2,000 pink stars featuring the names of celebrities honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for their contributions to the entertainment industry. Each star contains a bronze emblem representing one of five categories for which an honoree can receive a star—such as a camera denoting achievement in film. Who received the walk’s first star? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Gerhard Richter (1932)

Richter is considered one of the foremost German artists of the post-World War II period, indeed one of the foremost artists in the world, and the prices his works fetch at auction reflect this distinction. Unwilling to settle on any one medium or approach, Richter paints, photographs, draws, and sculpts and has varied his style from austere photorealism to satirical pop to minimalism to pure abstraction. This fluidity is interpreted by some as a reaction to the early training he received where? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Hurling the Silver Ball

St. Ia (or Eia or Ives) is the patron saint of St. Ives, Cornwall. St. Ives celebrates Feast Monday on the Monday after the Feast of St. Ia (February 3), by playing an ancient game known as hurling, using a ball made of cork encased in silver. The mayor begins the game by tossing the ball against the side of the parish church. The game stops promptly at 12 noon, and whoever has the ball in his or her possession at that time receives a cash prize or a medal. The festivities continue in the afternoon with more sporting events and a municipal ball in the evening. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

William G. Morgan Invents Volleyball (1895)

William G. Morgan invented volleyball in Holyoke, Massachusetts, just four years after basketball was invented in the neighboring town of Springfield. Morgan, a physical education director, created “Mintonette” for older athletes who wanted to play indoor sports but deemed basketball too rough. The name volleyball came from the nature of the game: “volleying” a ball back and forth over a net. Players can also “spike” the ball and drive it downward into the opponents’ court. What is a “pancake”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Coral Reefs

A coral reef is a ridge of living coral, coral skeletons, and calcium carbonate deposits from organisms such as calcareous algae, mollusks, and protozoans. The resulting structure provides a critical habitat for a wide variety of fish and marine invertebrates. Coral reefs also protect shores against erosion by causing large waves to break and lose some of their force before reaching land. More than 90% of the estimated 109,800 sq mi (284,300 sq km) of reefs in the world are in what region? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Afonso IV of Portugal (1291)

Though he was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal, Afonso IV felt threatened by the apparent favoritism his father showed to his illegitimate half-brothers and spent the final years of his father’s life and reign in revolt. He succeeded to the throne in 1325 and, as history is doomed to repeat itself, found himself 20 years later the target of his own son’s rebellion against him. What had Afonso done to provoke his son’s rage? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Finnish Sliding Festival

Patterned after the traditional event in Finland that celebrates Shrove Tuesday before the beginning of Lent, the Finnish Sliding Festival, or Laskiainen, has been held in White, Minnesota, every winter for more than 50 years. It features two large ice slides, which are constructed at the edge of Loon Lake. People bring their sleds or toboggans for an exciting ride down the slide onto the frozen lake. Other activities at the weekend event include log-sawing contests, Finnish music and dance performances, and traditional Finnish foods such as oven pancakes and pea soup. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Boy Scouts of America Founded (1910)

One of the largest youth organizations in the US is the Boy Scouts of America, which promotes community service and character building. The scouts’ activities aim at mental, moral, and physical development, stressing outdoor skills and training in citizenship and lifesaving. Scouts receive recognition in the form of merit badges and awards. The basic scout unit is a troop of about 15 boys, under the leadership of an adult scoutmaster. How many of the 12 men to walk on the moon were Boy Scouts? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary