A polymath born in Persia around 980 CE, Avicenna was, among other things, an astronomer, chemist, mathematician, poet, and the foremost physician and philosopher of his time. The Canon of Medicine, one of his most famous works, remained a standard medical text at many Islamic and European universities until the 18th century. Called the “doctor of doctors,” Avicenna is regarded as the father of modern medicine. How old was Avicenna when he began studying medicine? Discuss
Author: Ian
Two Libyans Indicted for Pan Am 103 Attack (1991)
In 1991, after a three-year investigation, US and UK authorities announced indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. During a trial held a decade later in the Netherlands, one of the defendants was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. Whose presence on board the airplane has given rise to a number of conspiracy theories about the motivations behind the bombing? Discuss
The Vienna Dioscurides
The Vienna Dioscurides is an early 6th-century copy of De Materia Medica, a manuscript first created by the ancient Greek physician and pharmacologist Dioscurides. A precursor to all modern pharmacopeias, it remained in practical use until about 1600. The Vienna Dioscurides contains more than 400 pictures of animals and plants and is the earliest known manuscript to use a solid gold background. It is also the oldest surviving illustrated treatise on what type of animal? Discuss
Grace Kelly (1929)
Kelly was an American actress who gained critical and popular praise for her performances in High Noon and The Country Girl, for which she won an Academy Award. She also starred in three Alfred Hitchcock films but cut short her promising acting career in 1956 when she married Prince Rainier III, becoming Princess Grace of Monaco and retiring from acting. In 1982, she died in an accident after suffering a stroke while driving on a mountain road. How did she and Prince Rainier meet? Discuss
frisson
Ramzi Yousef Found Guilty of Masterminding 1993 World Trade Center Bombing (1997)
In 1993, terrorists detonated a car-bomb in an underground garage of the World Trade Center complex in New York City, killing six, injuring more than a thousand, and causing more than $300 million in damage. In all, ten militant Islamist conspirators were convicted of involvement in the bombing, including Yousef, who also bombed an important Shia shrine in Iran in 1994 and later planned a large-scale terrorist scheme that included killing the pope. What alleged 9-11 mastermind is Yousef’s uncle? Discuss
Mud Volcanoes
Mud volcanoes are formations created by the geological emission of liquids and gases. They are frequently associated with earthquake zones, and when they erupt, they release an often acidic slurry as well as methane and other hydrocarbon gases. Some mud volcanoes also spew flames when they erupt, though the volcanoes themselves tend to be relatively cool. A 2006 drilling accident in Indonesia created a mud volcano that inundated a number of villages and displaced how many people? Discuss
Highwayman Joseph "Blueskin" Blake Hanged (1724)
In the early 18th century, English criminal Jonathan Wild maintained a highly organized gang of thieves and long escaped punishment by posing as an instrument of justice and helping the authorities catch other criminals independent of, or rebellious to, his control. One such criminal was Blake, who was arrested after a burglary. He was tried, convicted, and hanged. What other notorious criminal—Blake’s partner in crime—escaped from prison when Blake attacked a witness at his trial? Discuss
Alessandro Moreschi (1858)
Moreschi was the late 19th century’s most famous castrato—a male singer who undergoes castration before puberty and, as a result, retains a soprano or alto voice that becomes extraordinarily powerful as he develops the lung capacity and physical bulk of an adult. He was first soprano in the Sistine Chapel choir for 30 years and was the only castrato of the bel canto tradition to make solo sound recordings. What do modern music critics say about the singing featured in these recordings? Discuss