The Puerto Rican Parrot

The Puerto Rican Parrot is the only remaining native parrot in US territory and one of the 10 most endangered bird species in the world. It has green feathers with black edges, a red forehead, and white ovals around the eyes. It was abundant at the time of Columbus’ arrival, but its numbers declined with the clearing of Puerto Rico’s virgin forests to make way for agricultural, mainly sugar cane, production. In 1975, the population reached an absolute low of how many individuals? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The History of Auto Racing

Automobile racing originated in France in 1894, almost immediately after the construction of the first successful petrol-fueled autos, and it appeared in the US the following year. Open-road races were banned in France in 1903, however, after they led to 8 fatalities. Today, there are several different categories of racing. In open-wheel, stock-car, and other types of circuit auto races, flags are displayed to communicate instructions to competitors. What does a black flag signify? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Sunflowers

The sunflower is a plant native to the New World and common throughout the US. Its stem can grow up to 10 ft (3 m) tall, and its flower head, commonly having yellow rays, can reach 1 ft (30 cm) in diameter. The sunflower was domesticated around 1000 BCE in the Americas, where the Incas venerated it as an image of their sun god, and it reached Europe in the 16th century. It is valued today for its oil-bearing seeds that can be made into bread. The sunflower is the state flower of what US state? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Toyota Prius

The award-winning Toyota Prius was the world’s first commercially mass-produced and marketed hybrid automobile. Toyota’s goal for the Prius was to reduce the amount of pollutants it produced and to increase its energy efficiency. To achieve this goal, the company reduced the engine’s gasoline consumption, added two electric motor/generators, reduced air resistance and road friction, and reduced the car’s weight. Supposedly, why did Toyota choose the name “Prius” for their hybrid car? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Rickshaws

A rickshaw is a small, two-wheeled carriage that is usually drawn by one person. The first rickshaws appeared in Japan around 1868 and became a popular mode of transportation because human labor was considerably cheaper than that of horses. Rickshaws were mainly used in Asia, but nowadays they are outlawed in many places and have been replaced by cycle and auto rickshaws. What is the origin of the carriage’s name? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Teddy Bears

The teddy bear is a traditional stuffed toy bear for children. One legend has it that the name originates from an incident involving Theodore Roosevelt, whose attendants found and caught an old injured bear during a hunting trip. “Teddy” refused to kill the animal, however, calling it “unsportsmanlike.” “Teddy’s Bear” was immediately publicized by political cartoonists, and its stuffed animal form began selling in stores shortly thereafter. Where is the world’s first teddy bear museum located? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Amish

The Amish are an orthodox Anabaptist sect that separated from the Mennonites in the late 17th century and live today primarily in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Amish separate themselves from mainstream society for religious reasons: they do not join the military, they draw no Social Security, and they refuse financial assistance from the government. Though the Amish learn English in school, most speak a German dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch. What are Hochmut and Demut? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Steve Martin

An Emmy-winning television comedy writer in the late 1960s, Martin began performing stand-up in the early 70s, achieving acclaim as a regular on Saturday Night Live in the late 70s. He recorded several comedy albums, two of them Grammy winners, and starred in TV specials and numerous comedy films. Martin has also found success as a writer of plays and novellas. Which of his novellas was made into a 2005 feature film? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Heirloom Plants

An heirloom plant is an open-pollinated cultivar that was commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but which is not used in modern large-scale agriculture. Most food crops are now grown in huge, monocultural plots owned by corporations, and few varieties of each type of crop are grown. The increasing popularity of heirloom gardening can be seen as a reaction to this trend. Why is 1951 a key year for heirloom gardeners? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary