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Characterized by their corkscrew-like shaft, Solomonic columns draw their name from the Biblical description of the two columns that famously flanked the entrance to the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, built in the 10th c BCE. According to tradition, that temple was the source of a set of columns brought to Rome by Constantine the Great in the 4th c CE for the original St. Peter’s Basilica, where several of the pillars still remain. These columns are now believed to have originally stood where? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The world’s most famous case of art theft—the removal of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911—was solved when museum employee Vincenzo Peruggia tried to sell the painting to a gallery in Italy. He had kept the masterpiece in his apartment for two years after having simply walked out of the museum with it hidden under his coat. What famous painter—some of whose own sketches would be stolen more than 50 years later—was questioned before Peruggia was caught? 
Zhou Tong was the archery teacher of famous Song Dynasty general Yue Fei. Zhou certainly led an impressive life, however, it was the publication of a fictional biography of Yue Fei during the Qing Dynasty that made Zhou into a local hao, or folk hero. Zhou’s fictional exploits have since been chronicled in films, comic books, and even his own modern fictional biography. What unorthodox ritual did Yue Fei engage in to mourn his former teacher after Zhou’s death in 1121? 
For the first three centuries CE, the people of Roman Egypt, especially those of the Faiyum region, used hot, pigmented wax to paint portraits of the dead on wooden or plaster-coated panels. Renowned for their naturalism, the detailed funerary masks, which were placed over the faces of Faiyum’s ancient mummies, make up the richest body of portraiture to have survived from antiquity. What do some scholars claim the age of the subjects in the portraits says about life expectancy at the time? 
The kind of innocent and youthful attractive beauty that we call cuteness may be a key to survival. Zoologist Konrad Lorenz, who first introduced it as a scientific concept in the study of animal behavior, argued in 1949 that cuteness—characterized by a combination of infantile features, such as big eyes, big heads, and shortened noses—triggers nurturing responses in adults, ultimately securing the survival of the species. What human behavior did Lorenz use as evidence of his theory? 
Written and illustrated by Italian architect and industrial designer Luigi Serafini over a 30-month period from 1976 to 1978, Codex Seraphinianus is a visual encyclopedia of an unknown world. Each of the book’s 11 chapters uses an incomprehensible alphabetic language and colorful textbook-style illustrations to describe the world’s nature and various aspects of life, including its surreal animals, machines, and history. What chapter is thought to be the most abstract and enigmatic? 
A cylinder seal is a roller-like object made from hard stone, glass, or ceramics and engraved with a “picture story.” Used in ancient times to roll an impression onto wet clay, seals incorporated sociological or religious images and were used to mark graves, doors, storage jars, amulets, and cloth. Later, they were even used to notarize clay documents. What ancient ruler is featured on a famous cylinder that depicts him aiming his bow at a lion? 
If you had a recent conversation with ELIZA, PARRY, A.L.I.C.E., or ELLA, you were talking to a chatterbot, a computer program designed to simulate an intelligent conversation with human users through auditory or textual prompts. Though many appear to be interpreting human input before providing a response, most chatterbots simply scan for keywords and pull a similar reply from a database. Some people find these sorts of conversations engaging. What book was allegedly written by a chatterbot? 
These white blood cell-filled filters are the lymphatic system’s filtration units. They collect and destroy dangerous bacteria, viruses, and foreign particles that infiltrate the body. There are approximately 500 to 600 lymph nodes throughout the body, with clusters in the neck, underarms, chest, groin, and abdomen. The bean-shaped nodes normally range in size from a few millimeters up to 2 centimeters but may become enlarged due to the presence of a tumor. What else causes lymph nodes to swell? 
Also called the motor speech center, Broca’s area is a section of the human brain involved in language processing, speech production, and comprehension. The region is named after 19th century physician Paul Broca, who located it in the frontal lobe of the cortex. Damage to the area can result in a condition called Broca’s aphasia, which renders sufferers unable to create grammatically complex sentences. In his research, Broca worked closely with a patient who could only produce what five words?