The sewing machine is a device that stitches cloth and other materials. An attempt at mechanical sewing was made in England in 1790 with a machine having a forked, automatic needle that made a single-thread chain, but it was American inventor Elias Howe who made the first successful machine in 1846, using an eye-pointed needle and an intermittent feed. Isaac M. Singer, who is often credited with inventing the machine, patented what improvements to the device? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Michelin Guide (Le Guide Michelin) is a series of guide books to over a dozen countries published annually by the Michelin company. André Michelin published the first edition of the guide in 1900 to help drivers maintain their cars, find decent lodging, and eat well while touring France. Today, the Michelin Red Guide is the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide. International food critics have accused the guide of what type of bias? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Order of Skull and Bones is a secret society based at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1832 by Phi Beta Kappa pledges William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft. Membership has included US Presidents such as George W. Bush, Supreme Court Justices, business leaders, and US Senators such as John Kerry. What fictional Simpsons character is a member? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Jacaranda is a tropical American tree or shrub that has pinnately compound, opposite leaves and panicles of pale purple flowers with funnel-shaped corollas. Several species are widely grown as ornamental plants throughout the subtropical regions of the world and are valued for their intense flower displays. What city in South Africa is popularly known as the Jacaranda City? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Caviar is the roe, or eggs, of various species of sturgeon processed as a piquant table delicacy. Due to its high price, it is synonymous in Western culture with luxury and wealth. The best-known caviar comes from the countries on the Black and Caspian seas and the rivers that flow into them. In 2006, however, declines in sturgeon species led to a suspension of the international trade in nearly all caviar from wild Caspian sturgeon. Caviar should be served with utensils made from what material? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Pizza is a baked pie of Italian origin consisting of a shallow breadlike crust covered with toppings such as seasoned tomato sauce and cheese, and often peppers, sausage, and mushrooms. Popular throughout the world, pizza is now a symbol of cultural variation. In Brazil, pizzas may be topped with chocolate; in South Korea, sweet potato puree is popular; in Scotland, the “pizza supper” consists of French fries and a deep-fried frozen pizza. What toppings are popular in Sweden? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Mount Damavand is the highest peak in the Middle East with an elevation of 5,610 m (18, 405 ft). It is located in Iran in the middle of the Alborz mountain range, near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. In Zoroastrian texts and mythology, the three-headed dragon Aži Dahaka is chained within this dormant volcano, there to remain until the end of the world. In Persian mythology, the mountain is where Zahhak the Dragon King is slain by what hero? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Cobalt is a silver-white, lustrous, hard, brittle metal that is chemically active and rarely occurs uncombined in nature. It is, however, often found in meteoric metal. Cobalt compounds have been used for centuries to impart a rich blue color to glass, glazes, and ceramics. The element has been detected in Egyptian sculpture and Persian jewelry from the third millennium BCE. The word cobalt is derived from the German word for “goblin.” Why was the element thus named? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a highly competitive annual spelling bee run on a non-profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company, held at a hotel in the Washington, DC, area. The competition came into existence in 1925, and the first winning word was “gladiolus.” The bee is open to the winners of sponsored regional spelling bees held mostly throughout the US, and participants must be in eighth grade or below, or 15 years old or younger. Why is it called a spelling “bee”? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The Black Death was a form of bubonic plague that was pandemic throughout Europe, the Middle East, and much of Asia in the 14th century. Thought to have been caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, it killed between one-third and half of Europe’s population and at least 75 million people worldwide. Recently, it has been argued that the Black Death was not caused by bubonic plague, at all, but by what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary