The Wright Brothers Make Their Famous Flight (1903)

Both excellent mechanics, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright built and repaired bicycles before turning their attention to flying machines. They spent years designing and testing gliders and also built a powerful four-cylinder engine and an efficient propeller. In 1903, after several failed attempts, the brothers succeeded in making the first controlled, sustained flights in a power-driven airplane. How long did the first, history-making flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, last? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Wright Brothers Day

It was on the morning of December 17, 1903, that Wilbur and Orville Wright became the first men to fly and control a powered heavier-than-air machine. Events on December 17 traditionally include a “flyover” by military aircraft and a special ceremony held at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, a 425-acre area that features a 60-foot granite pylon on top of Kill Devil Hill, where the Wright Brothers’ camp was located. The flyover takes place at precisely 10:35 AM, the time of the original flight in 1903. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Sir Humphry Davy (1778)

Davy was an English chemist and one of the greatest exponents of the scientific method. His discovery of the anesthetic effect of nitrous oxide was a major contribution to surgery. He did early research on voltaic cells and batteries, tanning, electrolysis, and mineral analysis, and was the first to systematically apply chemical principles to farming. His research on mine explosions and his invention of the safety lamp brought him great prestige. Davy also proved that diamond is a form of what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The First Opium War

Often seen as the beginning of European imperial hegemony over China, the First Opium War was fought between the British East India Company and the Qing Dynasty from 1839 to 1842. Widespread opium addiction had led to a Chinese ban on imports of the drug in 1729, and the British aimed to reverse this policy. Easily overpowered, China agreed to the Treaty of Nanjing, which fixed tariffs on British goods, opened several Chinese ports to British merchants, and ceded what island to Queen Victoria? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Gross Ingredient that Glowworms Use to Make Sticky Snares

Survival is a sticky situation for many in the animal world. The glowworm is no exception. These fly larvae, native to Australia and New Zealand, catch dinner by using their bioluminescent blue “butts” to lure insects into a hammock of sticky threads. Now, biologists … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Massachusetts Colonists Protest Tax with the Boston Tea Party (1773)

In 1773, American colonists led by Samuel Adams dressed as Native Americans and threw hundreds of chests of tea from three British ships into Boston Harbor. The action was taken to prevent the payment of a British tax on tea and to protest the British monopoly of the colonial tea trade authorized by the Tea Act. In retaliation, Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, which further united the colonies against the British. What American founding father called for the cost of the tea to be repaid? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770)

One of the greatest composers of Western classical music, Beethoven was born to a musical family and was a precociously gifted pianist and violist. After nine years as a court musician, he moved to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn. There, he quickly won fame and renown as both a virtuoso and a composer. He went on to become the first major composer to be able to earn a living independently, without support from the church or court. Beethoven’s deafness resulted in what unique historical record? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary