In 1970, journalist Hunter S. Thompson was assigned to cover the Kentucky Derby for Scanlan’s Monthly. With a deadline fast approaching and his story still unwritten, Thompson desperately resorted to tearing out pages of his notes and sending them to his editor. The resulting story, titled “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved,” became the first example of Gonzo journalism. Whose belief that “fiction is often the best fact” formed the basis for Thompson’s subjective writing style? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
A meme is an idea, thought, or piece of information that is passed from generation to generation through imitation and behavioral replication. The terms memes and memetics, coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, are the cultural counterpart to the biological study of genes and genetics. In his book, Dawkins hypothesizes that human cultures evolve via “contagious” communications in a manner similar to the gene pools of populations. What is a memeplex? 
An automat is a fast food restaurant where food and drinks are served by coin- and bill-operated vending machines. Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart opened the first automat in the US in 1902 and quickly popularized the notion of take-out food with their slogan “Less work for Mother.” The original automat machines, which had little windows containing the prepared meals, were filled from behind by workers who cooked the fresh food in an unseen kitchen. What led to the decline of automat dining? 
Synesthesia is a condition in which one type of sensory stimulus evokes sensations associated with a different sense, as when hearing a sound stimulates the visualization of a color. Approximately 1 in 2,000 people have the condition, and most of those affected are female. Synesthesia can result in a number of cross-sensory experiences, but it most commonly manifests as a grapheme-color interchange. Which Russian painter, regarded by some as the originator of abstract art, had synesthesia? 
Free running is a physical art in which practitioners use acrobatic movements such as vaulting, jumping, and somersaulting to interact with the environment and pass obstacles along a path in a smooth and fluid manner. The sport is sometimes described as a more adventurous form of jogging, often involving building-to-building jumps and one-story drops. What 2006 action film features Sébastien Foucan, the art’s founder, using his free running skills to escape from a construction site? 
Located in the remote, mountainous border region between the Jiangxi and Hunan provinces of China, Jinggangshan is known as the birthplace of the Chinese Red Army and the “cradle of the Chinese revolution.” In 1927, after an unsuccessful uprising against the Kuomintang, Mao Zedong’s army retreated to Jinggangshan and established a military base there. During the 1960s, the area became a place of pilgrimage for young Red Guards. Why did the government begin discouraging such pilgrimages? 
Despite a century of study, researchers can agree on the decipherment of only a single phrase of Proto-Sinaitic script, a Middle Bronze Age alphabet dating to 1500 BCE. The Proto-Sinaitic script is one of two similar undeciphered scripts dated to that period and believed to be ancestral to nearly all modern alphabets. Many experts believe the language of Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions is Semitic, and cite the one phrase that was interpreted as proof of this hypothesis. What is the phrase? 
Chekhov’s gun is a literary technique in which a seemingly insignificant element is introduced early in a story and later becomes crucial to the plot. It is named for famed Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, who felt strongly that any object introduced in a story must be used, or it should not be featured in the first place. The technique has remained popular and is widely used in modern literature, film, and television. What popular fantasy novels frequently feature this plot device? 
The weightlessness experienced by humans in space poses a number of challenges in the performance of day-to-day tasks. Early experts feared that weightless conditions would make food difficult to swallow, allowing it to collect dangerously in the throat. Scientists began developing bite-sized cubes, freeze-dried powders, and semiliquid space foods for astronaut use, but the space travelers found the foods unappetizing, difficult to rehydrate, and messy. How have these concerns been addressed? 
When scientists discovered the Laotian rock rat, a large, rat-like creature with a thick, hairy tail, they believed that the animal was so different from known rodents that it warranted classification in a new, distinct family called Laonastidae. Shortly thereafter, another group of experts published their assertion that the animal was actually a member of the ancient fossil family Diatomyidae. Under what urban circumstances did researchers find the first Laotian rock rat specimens?