The Poppy

The poppy family is composed chiefly of herbs from the Northern Hemisphere that have characteristic milky or colored sap. Most species are native to the Old World, and many are cultivated in gardens for their brilliantly colored, if short-lived, blossoms. The opium poppy is grown for its opium as well as for its seeds for cooking and baking. The poppy has been the symbol of the dead and of sleep since antiquity. In many countries, the poppy is worn to commemorate what holiday? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Highland Games

The modern Highland Games began in the 1780s as an organized effort to revive Scottish Highland traditions. These celebrations of Scottish and Celtic heritage center around competitions in piping, drumming, dancing, and Scottish heavy athletics. The caber toss, in which a competitor balances a long, heavy wooden pole vertically and then tosses it, has become a recognized symbol of the Highland Games. What other feats of strength are often included in the Games’ athletic competitions? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Pointillism

Pointillism, a Post-Impressionist school of painting exemplified by Georges Seurat and his followers in late 19th-century France, is characterized by the application of paint in small dots and brush strokes. These distinct points of primary colors create the visual effect of a wide selection of secondary colors, relying heavily on the viewer’s perceptive ability to mix the color spots into a full range of tones. The technique is analogous to the color production of what modern devices? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Apartheid

Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced in South Africa for almost 50 years that was legally abolished in the early 1990s. Apartheid served not only to separate whites from non-whites, but also non-white groups from one another. The 1959 Sharpeville Massacre, in which police officers opened fire on unarmed protesters, killing 69 and injuring 186, was a major turning point in public opinion of South African apartheid. What does the word apartheid mean in Afrikaans? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. First described in 1906, the disease is characterized by abnormal accumulation of plaques and malformed nerve cells. The disease usually affects people over age 65; short-term memory loss is an early symptom. The cause of Alzheimer’s is not known, and, as yet, there is no known cure. How do chess and crossword puzzles factor into Alzheimer’s prevention? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Chinatown

A Chinatown is a section of an urban area outside of China that is associated with a large number of Chinese residents or commercial activities. These are most common in Southeast Asia and North America. Today, some Chinatowns are focused on commercial tourism while others are actual living and working communities; some are a synthesis of both. Many Chinatowns have beautifully crafted paifang, large red arched entrance structures. Who traditionally financed paifang construction? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Wall Street

Wall Street is a narrow street in lower Manhattan, New York City, extending east from Broadway to the East River. It is the center of one of the greatest financial districts in the world. As the first permanent home of the New York Stock Exchange, the term “Wall Street” has come to denote US financial interests. Many New York financial firms, however, are no longer headquartered on Wall Street, but elsewhere in Manhattan, Connecticut, or New Jersey. Where did Wall Street get its name? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Longfellow was a popular 19th c. American poet. He wrote some of the most popular poems in American literature and his works created a new body of romantic American legends. In preparation for professorships, he traveled to Europe twice to study languages. His works were immensely popular during his lifetime and remain so, despite critics’ complaints that they are simple, sentimental, and moralizing. As a teenager, Longfellow began a lifelong friendship with what other famous American novelist? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ulan Bator

Ulan Bator, or Ulaanbaator, is the capital of the Republic of Mongolia. Founded in 1649 as a monastery town, today it is the junction point of the country’s major roads and caravan routes; it lies on the Trans-Siberian RR, linking Russia with Beijing. The city is home to a library of ancient Mongolian, Chinese, and Tibetan manuscripts. The 1904 British expedition to Tibet prompted the Dalai Lama to leave Lhasa for Ulan Bator, where he remained for 4 years. In whose honor was Ulaanbaator named? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church, a Christian denomination, is best known for its teaching that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is the Sabbath and that the second advent of Jesus is imminent. Born out of the Millerite Movement of the 1840s, the church was part of the wave of revivalism known as the Second Great Awakening. The core set of theological beliefs held by the church are expressed in its 28 Fundamentals, which states what about death? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary