Author: Ian

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

Evangelista Torricelli (1608)

An Italian physicist and mathematician, Torricelli served as secretary to Galileo during the last three months of Galileo’s life. Two years later, pursuing a suggestion by Galileo, he filled a glass tube with mercury and inverted the tube into a dish. He noted that some of the mercury did not flow out and that the space above the mercury was a vacuum. He concluded that the variation of the height of the mercury from day to day was caused by changes in atmospheric pressure. What had he invented? Discuss

Psychoactive Toads

The subjects of rumor and urban legend since the 1970s, psychoactive toads are toads from which hallucinogenic, mind-altering substances such as 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin can be derived. The presence of such substances may produce psychoactive effects in persons who smoke the toad skin or venom. However, contrary to popular myth, there is no evidence that hallucinatory effects can be achieved by licking the toads. In what country have dogs begun to pursue the toads? Discuss

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

Edgar Allan Poe's "Eureka"

Famed poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe considered his 1848 essay “Eureka” to be his career masterpiece. Though described as a “prose poem” by Poe, who wished it to be viewed as art, the work is also a notable scientific and mystical essay unlike any of his other works and includes a cosmological theory that touches on black holes and the big bang theory about 80 years before the 2 subjects gained widespread recognition. Poe claimed “Eureka” was more important than what major scientific discovery? Discuss

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890)

Eisenhower was the 34th president of the US. During WWII, he successfully commanded US forces in the invasions of Sicily and Italy. He was then appointed supreme commander of Allied forces and planned the Normandy Campaign and the war in Europe until the German surrender. After the war, both Democrats and Republicans courted him as a presidential candidate. He was elected as a Republican in landslide elections in 1952 and 1956. What famous warning did he issue in his final presidential address? Discuss

Catharism

The Cathars were members of a Christian sect that flourished in France in the 12th and 13th centuries. Because most adherents believed in reincarnation—as opposed to resurrection—as a way of reaching the pure spirit realm, the Roman Catholic Church regarded the sect as heretical and launched the Albigensian Crusade to crush the movement. In one account of a massacre of some 20,000 Cathars, one of the crusade’s commanders is asked how to tell Cathars from Catholics. What was his famous reply? Discuss