Author: Ian

Papiamento

Papiamento is a Spanish-based creole language with Portuguese, Dutch, and English influences that is now primarily used in the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. It developed in the Netherlands’ possessions in the West Indies and possibly arrived there with African slaves, who used it to communicate with Portuguese slave traders. Its name is thought to come from papear, the Portuguese word for “chatter.” Approximately how many people speak Papiamento today? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya (1869)

Krupskaya was a Russian revolutionary and educator who was a Marxist agitator in the years leading up to the Russian Revolution. She married Bolshevik founder Vladimir Lenin in 1898, while both were serving terms in exile. After the Revolution, she joined the People’s Commissariat of Education and helped develop educational systems that offered both academic and professional training to women and workers. Her biography is known as the most detailed account of Lenin’s life but omits what events? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Kuwait Liberation Day

After Iraqi President Saddam Hussein‘s troops invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, several countries in the United Nations formed a military coalition—including troops and equipment from the US, France, and Britain—to force them out. Operation Desert Storm began on January 17, 1991, and, for five weeks, US and British air forces relentlessly bombed Baghdad. This was followed by four days of a ground war, which resulted in Hussein’s troops leaving Kuwait. February 26 is a national holiday in Kuwait celebrating the end of Iraq’s military presence in Kuwait. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Radar Is Demonstrated (1935)

Radar is a means for detecting the position, movement, and nature of a remote object through radio waves reflected from its surface. During the 1930s, several countries independently developed the technology for military use, exploiting radar’s capacity to detect aircrafts and ships. One of the earliest practical radar systems was devised by Sir Robert Watson-Watt, a Scottish physicist and descendent of the inventor of the steam engine, James Watt. What was the “Battle of the Beams”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Zorro

Zorro, Spanish for “fox,” is a fictional character created by Johnston McCulley. The masked swordsman made his first appearance in The Curse of Capistrano, serialized in a pulp magazine in 1919. Zorro’s true identity is Don Diego de la Vega, a nobleman who lives in Spanish-era California and disguises himself in a mask to protect the common people from tyrannical officials. It has been noted that Zorro was actually one of the original inspirations for what comic strip action heroes? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841)

Renoir’s paintings number in the thousands and are notable for their saturated color, vibrant light, and warm sensuality. Early in his career, Renoir developed a close relationship with Claude Monet and became a celebrated artist of the Impressionist style. At times the two painters worked side-by-side, creating several pairs of paintings that depict the same scenes. Though crippled with rheumatoid arthritis in his later life, Renoir continued to paint. How did he manage to do so? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Fiesta sa EDSA (People Power Anniversary)

The Fiesta sa EDSA is a commemoration of the bloodless People Power Revolution in the Philippines on February 22-25, 1986, in which the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos was toppled. Two key government officers rebelled in protest of Marcos’s oppression and demanded his resignation. Pro-Marcos forces threatened to annihilate them, but two million unarmed people, with offerings of flowers, food, and prayers, provided a human shield and overcame the military’s firepower. The day is marked with ceremonies at the site of the revolution in Quezon City, a part of Manila. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary