Medieval Fortifications

In the thousand years leading up to the Renaissance, developments in the construction and design of defensive fortifications changed warfare. As new tactics, weapons, and siege techniques were created to breach them, fortifications were modified to maintain their effectiveness. Along with walls, moats, and drawbridges, soldiers used measures such as machicolations—openings between a wall and a parapet through which stones and boiling water could be hurled—and killing fields, which were what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

“Jumping the Shark”

“Jumping the shark” is a colloquialism used by TV critics and fans to denote the point in a TV series at which the characters or plot veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. Shows that have “jumped the shark” are typically deemed to have passed their peak and undergone too many changes to retain their original appeal. The term is an allusion to a scene in a 1977 episode of the TV series Happy Days, when the popular character Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli does what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Malmedy Massacre

The Malmedy Massacre occurred in 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge—a bloody German offensive on the Western Front near the end of World War II. Under orders from Hitler to carry out the attack with brutality, the German spearhead trapped an American convoy, forcing the Americans to surrender. The unarmed prisoners were then taken to a field, where approximately 80 of them were executed. Some troops managed to escape to the Allied lines. What became of the German officer who led the massacre? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Framing: The Art of “Spinning” Information

A frame is a schema of interpretation that individuals rely on to understand events. In framing, specific social and political forces use these unconscious collections of stereotypes to develop rhetorical packaging that encourages certain interpretations and discourages others. It has become especially popular in the US, where it is used by both major political parties. What framing strategies were included in the political memo titled “The 14 Words Never to Use”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Monty Hall Problem

Named after the host of the game show Let’s Make a Deal, the Monty Hall problem is a probability puzzle that has a history of stumping even respected mathematicians. In this problem, a game show contestant is asked to choose one of three doors. There is a car behind one and goats behind the other two. He picks door 1, but the host, who knows what is behind each door, opens door 3 to reveal a goat. The host then asks the player if he wants to switch to door 2. Should the player switch? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Water Memory

The idea that water can retain a “memory” of a substance dissolved in it even after heavy dilution was proposed by French immunologist Jacques Benveniste to explain the alleged therapeutic powers of homeopathic remedies, which are prepared by serially diluting aqueous solutions to such a degree that even a single molecule of the original solute is unlikely to remain in each final preparation. He successfully tested his theory in 1988, but attempts to reproduce his results have failed. Why? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Cueva de las Manos

Spanish for “Cave of the Hands,” Cueva de las Manos is an Argentinean cave famed for the paintings of hands—along with depictions of humans, animals, hunting scenes, and geometric shapes—that are believed to have been made thousands of years ago by the region’s indigenous inhabitants. Based on the size of the hands, it is speculated that teenage boys stenciled them on the wall of the cave to mark their advancement into manhood. Most of the paintings are of left hands, suggesting what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Wendigos

The wendigo of Algonquian mythology is a malevolent, cannibalistic spirit into which humans can transform or which can possess humans. Those who have indulged in cannibalism or succumbed to greed are thought to be particularly susceptible. It is said that whenever wendigos eat someone, they grow larger in proportion to the meal they have just had. Thus, though wendigos are constantly gorging themselves, they remain emaciated from starvation and are never full. What is windigo psychosis? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Erzsébet Báthory: Serial Killer Countess

Remembered as the “Bloody Lady of Cachtice” and considered the most infamous serial killer in Hungarian and Slovak history, Erzsébet Báthory was a 17th-century Hungarian countess from the renowned Báthory family. Accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young girls, Báthory was arrested and sentenced to house arrest in 1610. Her story inspired numerous legends, including that of the countess bathing in her victims’ blood in order to retain her youth. How did she die? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Caenorhabditis elegans

The first multicellular organism to have its genome fully sequenced, C. elegans is a nematode that lives in soil, feeds on bacteria, and reaches about 0.04 in (1 mm) in length. Its small genome and transparent skin have led it to be widely used as a “model organism” by geneticists and developmental biologists. Because it experiences the same symptoms as humans undergo when they stop using a certain product, C. elegans has been identified as a model for dependence on what substance? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary