Yakuza are members of traditional organized crime groups in Japan. Although yakuza membership declined in the 1990s following an anti-gang law passed by the Japanese government, there are thought to be nearly 90,000 active yakuza members in Japan today. Though, as a matter of principle, yakuza do not recognize direct theft as a legitimate enterprise, they frequently engage in a form of extortion known as sokaiya. How does it work? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Ominously known as the “ghost chili” or “poison chili,” the naga jolokia was once the hottest chili pepper in the world, as certified by Guinness World Records in 2007. Originally grown in northeastern India and Bangladesh, the naga jolokia has measured over 1,000,000 on the Scoville scale, a system developed to measure the “hotness” or piquancy of chili peppers. In comparison, jalapeño peppers range from 2,500 to 8,000. What pepper has since surpassed it as the world’s hottest? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Yerba mate is a plant whose leaves are used to make a beverage called mate, the national drink of Argentina and Uruguay. Mate is a caffeinated infusion, much like a cross between green tee and coffee, that is prepared by steeping dried leaves in hot water. It is traditionally served in a hollow gourd with a metal straw and is usually enjoyed in a social setting. Uruguay enacted a national law that prohibits drinking mate while performing what other activity? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Whether it takes the form of a long-term “holy war” or a brief “pie fight,” Internet flaming, a form of hostile interaction that occurs between users of a public electronic forum, can be devastating to an online community. Flames are often malicious, offensive attacks on points of view that differ from the flamer’s. Many believe the phenomenon is perpetuated by the anonymity of online interaction, which allows flamers to avoid real-life consequences. What are some famous examples of flaming? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1885, after attaching a bellows camera to a compound microscope, Bentley became the first known snowflake photographer. He went on to develop a highly successful method of photographing the ephemeral snow crystals on a black velvet backing before they melted. Bentley also collaborated on the article that proposed the idea that no two snowflakes are alike. In 1931, some 2,000 of Bentley’s 5,000 snowflake photographs were published in a book titled what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Stalag Luft III was a German prisoner-of-war camp in Poland during WWII that at one time housed some 10,000 allied airmen. It is best known for the 1944 tunneling escape immortalized in the book and film The Great Escape, which recount the true story of a group of prisoners who dug three escape shafts using ventilation ducts, air pumps, electric lights, and even a rail car system to move the dirt. How many of the 76 men who emerged from the one finished tunnel ultimately reached safety? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Catacombs of Paris are a network of subterranean tunnels and rooms located in Roman-era limestone quarries that were converted into a mass tomb at the end of the 18th century to curb the spread of disease due to improper burials and mass graves. Today, only a small portion of the catacombs, which span more than 186 miles, is open to the public, but many enter them illegally via secret entrances found throughout Paris. Why were the catacombs closed to the public in 2009? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Accidentally discovered in 1934 while scientists were experimenting with sonar, sonoluminescence is the emission of short bursts of light from the implosion of bubbles formed in a liquid medium as sound waves pass through it. Scientists have since theorized that the temperatures inside the bubbles are hot enough to melt steel. In 2001, the first known instance of an animal producing light by sonoluminescence was reported. What creature exhibited such behavior? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Derveni Papyrus, Europe’s oldest surviving manuscript, is an ancient Greek papyrus scroll dating to approximately 340 BCE. Found in Derveni, in northern Greece, in 1962, the scroll is an allegorical commentary on a poem ascribed to the mythic poet Orpheus which discusses the birth of the gods. It begins with the words “Close the doors, you uninitiated,” a famous admonition to secrecy. The text was officially published how many years after its discovery in 1962? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In the Spartan tradition of Krypteia, young men who successfully completed their rigorous training regime were sent into the countryside unarmed and told to kill any members of Sparta’s serf population, or “Helots,” that they encountered at night and to take any food they needed. The tradition derives it name from a Greek word meaning “hidden, secret things,” and its goal and nature are still a matter of debate among historians. What purposes do scholars believe Krypteia served? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary