In 1998, the United States signed The Copyright Term Extension Act into law, thereby extending the copyright terms set forth in the international Berne Convention of 1886. The act increased America’s term of protection for copyrighted works by 20 years. Sonny Bono, a songwriter, filmmaker, and congressman, was a major proponent of copyright extension, and the act, passed nine months after his death, was named in his honor. Why is the act pejoratively known as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1939, Nazi forces staged an attack on a German radio station and planted the bullet-riddled body of a Polish sympathizer at the scene, reporting the attack as the work of Polish saboteurs. The attack was part of a Nazi propaganda campaign called Operation Himmler, which involved a series of staged incidents intended to create the appearance of Polish aggression against Germany and provide a basis for the subsequent invasion of Poland. What was Hitler quoted as having said about the campaign? 
In order to minimize conflict and avoid embarrassment, group members often refrain from promoting viewpoints that deviate from the apparent group consensus. This mode of thinking is known as “groupthink” and is characterized by extensive self-censorship among group members who unquestioningly believe in the morality of the group. Striving for unanimity without appraising alternative courses of action can often have dire consequences. What fiasco inspired the study of the concept of “groupthink”? 
Dried, compressed blocks of tea leaves have been used in Asia as a source of food, component of beverages, and form of currency for centuries. In Ancient China, tea was often mixed with binding agents—including flour, blood, and manure—to increase its durability, thus fortifying the tea brick against the physical demands of its use as currency. Siberian nomads preferred tea-brick currency over metal coins and continued to use the edible money until what period? 
In 1810, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published his observations of color. Most physicists dispute the validity of his work because of his reification of darkness and explanation of color as the interplay between darkness and light. Goethe considered this work his magnum opus and it remains a remarkable catalogue of observations on color perception and color phenomena. What inspired Goethe to pursue his own study of color and challenge the widely accepted theories posited by Newton? 
Waterboarding, a torture method that simulates drowning, has existed in various forms since the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Generally, water is poured over the face of an immobilized prisoner, inducing the gag reflex and mimicking sensations associated with drowning. The technique gained international attention in 2006, when reports surfaced charging the US with torturing detainees during the “War on Terror.” When CIA officers were waterboarded during training, how quickly did they break? 
Deinococcus radiodurans has been listed as the world’s toughest bacterium in The Guinness Book of World Records because of its extraordinary resistance to extreme conditions. It is the most radioresistant organism known to science and is able to rapidly repair damage to its genome. Many question how such a resilient bacterium could evolve on Earth, and some have suggested that the organism is actually of Martian origin. How do they propose the bacterium came to this planet? 
The hand cannon, which dates back to the late 13th century, was the first handheld portable firearm. The origin of the weapon is widely disputed, and a number of groups, including the Arabs, Chinese, Mongols, and Europeans, claim credit for its invention. Though the hand cannon lacked accuracy and was fairly unwieldy, its armor-penetrating capabilities eventually brought the simple weapon to the forefront of European warfare. How were hand cannons fired? 
The Yezidi, or Yazidi, are members of a syncretistic religion that developed during the 12th century and mingles folk traditions with the beliefs and practices of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. According to Yezidi tradition, the world is under the care of 7 Holy Beings, or Angels. Preeminent among these is Melek Taus, or the Peacock Angel, leader of the archangels and a demiurge whose tears of repentance quenched the fires of hell. Why do some people believe the Yezidi are devil worshippers? 
A pulsar is a rapidly spinning neutron star that emits radiation in narrow beams focused by the star’s magnetic field. Because the pulsar’s magnetic poles do not align with the poles of its rotational axis, the beams sweep around like the beacon of a lighthouse and are thus observed on Earth as short, regular pulses. Some scientists initially suggested that extraterrestrial civilizations were the source of the strange signals and thus dubbed the first pulsar LGM-1, which is an acronym for what?