In 1954, John C. Lilly developed the isolation tank to test the effects of sensory deprivation. Such tanks are intended to completely deprive the brain of any external stimulation; they are lightless, soundproof, and filled with warm saltwater to promote flotation and reduce skin sensation. Isolation tanks are now used for meditation, relaxation, and in alternative medicine. A therapeutic session typically lasts an hour, and it is reportedly common to experience what during the first 40 minutes? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
After Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, and his Mormon followers were forced to flee Missouri in 1839, they established a new community in Nauvoo, Illinois. They soon set to building a grandiose temple, but construction was only half complete when Smith was assassinated in 1844. Two years later, the Mormons were driven from that city as well. They tried to sell their temple for $200,000, but it ultimately sold for what greatly reduced price? 
In 1325, Ibn Battuta embarked on an extraordinary 75,000-mile (120,675-km) journey via Mecca to Egypt, East Africa, India, and China. He set out at age 21 and returned home some 30 years later. No other medieval traveler is known to have journeyed so extensively. The details of his travels are recorded in a narrative titled The Adventures of Ibn Battuta. His inventions and academic work are also renowned. What nearly cost Ibn Battuta his life en route to China? 
The Tootsie Roll chocolatey chew has a long history that begins in New York City in 1896. Leo Hirshfield invented the candy as a non-melting, economical alternative to traditional chocolates. Tootsie Rolls were so hardy, in fact, that they were added to soldiers’ rations during WWII. As of 2003, Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. was producing 60 million Tootsie Rolls and 20 million Tootsie Pops, lollipops with a Tootsie Roll filling, every day. During what era did the Tootsie Pop gain popularity? 
The now discredited theory of recapitulation, also known as the biogenetic law, states that the stages in an organism’s embryonic development and differentiation (ontogeny) correspond to the stages of evolutionary development characteristic to its species (phylogeny). Ernst Haeckel, who proposed the theory in 1866, produced a number of controversial embryo drawings to support this premise. How did he interpret the presence of gill slits in human embryos? 
A pulse is caused by the alternate expansion and contraction of artery walls as heart action varies blood volume within the arteries. The arteries become distended during systole, or heart contraction, and their walls contract during diastole, when the heart relaxes. The pulse, measured in beats per minute, can be felt at a number of points throughout the human body, but is most commonly palpated at the wrist or neck. Where are the pulse points in the lower limbs? 
In 1980, a group of radical environmental activists formed the group Earth First!, pledging “No Compromise in Defense of Mother Earth!” In 1985, the group held its first “tree sit,” in which members sat in and around trees to prevent logging. From about 1987 on, the group turned to direct action tactics and attracted many new members. Though the organization has its roots in the US, chapters have developed in countries spanning the globe. What was the Merseyside Dock Action? 
In January 1919, a molasses tank, containing as much as 2,300,000 gal (8,700,000 L) of molasses, exploded in Boston, sending a wave of molasses coursing through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56km/h). The wave of molasses was so powerful that it broke the girders of nearby elevated train structures, lifted a train off its tracks, and destroyed nearby buildings. The streets were flooded with about 3 ft (1 m) of molasses, hindering rescue efforts. How many people were killed in the disaster? 
Salvador Dalí remains one of the most important painters of both the surrealist movement and the 20th century. Influenced by Freud’s psychoanalytic theories and dream studies, he developed a repertoire of striking, dreamlike, distorted images in a style he termed “hand-painted dream photographs.” Completed in 1931, The Persistence of Memory is Dalí’s most famous work. It depicts four soft, melting pocket watches. How is this imagery generally interpreted? 
Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary, which operated from 1829-1970, is considered the world’s first penitentiary. Its revolutionary incarceration system used solitary confinement to rehabilitate inmates, but it is believed that this led to significant mental illness rather than the intended spiritual reflection. The prison now operates as a museum and hosts over 74,000 visitors at its annual Terror Behind the Walls haunted house. How did bank robber Willie Sutton escape the prison in 1945?