Irena Sendler (1910)

Working with Polish resistance groups and a network of helpers, Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children during WWII by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, sometimes hidden in suitcases. After changing the children’s names and arranging for their care, she buried records of their identities in jars, hoping to someday reunite them with their parents. Though she was arrested, tortured, and reportedly executed in 1943, she actually survived the war and lived to be 98. How did she survive the Nazis? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Charles Pierre Baudelaire

Baudelaire was a 19th-century French poet and critic. The only volume of his poems published in his lifetime, Les Fleurs du mal, translated as The Flowers of Evil, was initially condemned as obscene. Later accepted as a masterpiece, the book is recognized for the brilliant phrasing, rhythm, and expressiveness of its lyrics. Baudelaire also translated many of Poe’s works, bringing them to the attention of the French public. What literary movement is he credited with helping develop? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Most bugs wouldn’t survive being eaten by a toad, but these beetles get barfed to safety

Bombardier beetles are known for their feisty response to predators. When confronted, the insects blast their adversary with a boiling-hot secretion of noxious chemicals. If they get swallowed anyway, they have a back-up plan: Blast their way out from the inside. In … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ayatollah Khomeini Calls for the Execution of Author Salman Rushdie (1989)

When British-Indian author Salman Rushdie’s fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, was published in 1988, it received much critical acclaim, but it was also the subject of intense controversy within the Muslim community due to its allegedly blasphemous content. Particularly outraged was Iran’s political and religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a call for Rushdie’s execution. What misunderstanding about the book’s title, as translated into Arabic, may have contributed to the crisis? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Vinegrower’s Day

This pre-harvest vineyard festival in Bulgaria involves pruning the vines and sprinkling them with wine. Ritual songs and dances are performed in hopes of a plentiful grape harvest. In some areas, a “Vine King” is crowned with a wreath of twigs from the vineyards. Everyone treats him with great respect, for it is believed that fertility depends on the King’s happiness. Visits to well-known Bulgarian vineyards are organized, the vines are pruned, and guests are given an opportunity to sample the local wine and foods. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Anna Howard Shaw (1847)

Some feminists observe Shaw’s birthday in place of Valentine’s Day, celebrating her legacy as a leading American suffragist, doctor, and lecturer. During World War I, she coordinated women’s activities in the war effort, becoming the first woman to earn the Distinguished Service Medal. After becoming a close confidante of Susan B. Anthony, Shaw worked as one of the most effective speakers of the suffrage movement. She was also a minister who became the first woman to be ordained by what church? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Brú na Bóinne

Brú na Bóinne is a complex of Neolithic chamber tombs, standing stones, henges, and prehistoric enclosures located at a wide bend in the River Boyne in Ireland. Among its most well-known sections are the passage graves of Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth, which possess significant collections of megalithic art. A World Heritage site, it was also used for Iron Age burials and was eventually settled by the Normans in the Middle Ages. How old are some of the tombs? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary