This is the feast day of St. Brendan, who lived in the sixth century and is one of the most popular Irish saints and is alleged to be the author of Navigatio Brendani (the story of his journey to a land across the ocean). No one, including St. Brendan, knew where he had been, but a number of legends developed over the centuries. In 1977, Tim Severin built a boat out of leather as described in Navigatio and set out to follow St. Brendan’s instructions. He ended up in Newfoundland, giving credence to the theory that St. Brendan reached America 1,000 years before Columbus. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Henry Fonda was an American film actor who started out on Broadway. His role in the 1934 play The Farmer Takes a Wife led to a role in the film version, and more than 100 other films followed. He portrayed honest men in movies such as The Grapes of Wrath (1940) and won an Academy Award in 1982 for his last film, On Golden Pond, made with his daughter, Jane. Married five times, he was also the father of actor Peter Fonda. Whose murder did Fonda witness as a teen? 
The Nommo are ancestral spirits worshipped by the Dogon tribe of Mali. Recognized by the Dogon as the first living beings, they are usually described as amphibious, hermaphroditic, fish-like creatures. The Nommo bear resemblance to several mythical beings from other cultures, and there are parallels between their story and that of Jesus. What details about Nommo mythology—which have since led to controversy—were reportedly revealed to two French anthropologists by the Dogon in the 1940s? 
US President Abraham Lincoln created the Department of Agriculture, which he referred to as the “people’s department,” at a time when most Americans were farmers. It played a key role in the survival of many during the Depression, and today it continues to ensure that those in need receive food. It also aids farmers, inspects meat and dairy products, oversees food stamp and school lunch programs, and administers national forests. Before Lincoln, the Agricultural Division was part of what office? 
According to legend, 
A major figure in fashion photography, Avedon studied photography in the US Merchant Marine. He became a regular contributor to Harper’s Bazaar in the 1940s and was later was associated with Vogue. Known for his stark, black-and-white portraits of people in unusual poses, Avedon redefined fashion photography as an art form. However, many consider his magnum opus to be what 1985 book documenting something very different from fashion? 
Random processes are repeating processes whose outcomes follow no describable deterministic pattern. In mathematical, social, and religious settings, the term randomness refers to an innate “fairness” or lack of order or bias. Although randomness is an objective property, people often question whether a process is truly random. Many superstitions rest on the idea that seemingly random processes are actually governed by a hidden set of rules. How is randomness tied to the notion of free will?