This national holiday commemorates the establishment of the Portuguese Republic on this day in 1910, which ended over two centuries of the monarchical rule of the Portuguese royal family, the House of Braganca. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
This national holiday commemorates the establishment of the Portuguese Republic on this day in 1910, which ended over two centuries of the monarchical rule of the Portuguese royal family, the House of Braganca. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Logan was an American stage and film director and writer. He studied in Moscow under Constantin Stanislavsky and began to direct and act on Broadway and work on Hollywood films in the 1930s. He served as an intelligence officer in WWII, after which he directed a series of hit plays and musicals, including South Pacific, which he cowrote with Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Why, when it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1950, were only Rodgers and Hammerstein initially listed as awardees? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Often regarded as one of the most influential American writers of the early 20th century, H.L. Mencken was a journalist, satirist, social critic, and cynic known as the “Sage of Baltimore,” for the city where he lived his entire life. Perhaps best remembered for his satirical reporting on the Scopes evolution trial, which he dubbed the “Monkey trial,” Mencken was frequently critical of myriad groups. Why did the Arkansas legislature pass a motion in 1931 to pray for Mencken’s soul? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) An aromatic gum resin obtained from various Arabian or East African trees; formerly valued for worship and for embalming and fumigation.
Synonyms: gum olibanum, olibanum, thus.
Usage: A crow caught in a snare prayed to Apollo to release him, making a vow to offer some frankincense at his shrine.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Most forearms look the same. Whether the animal is a human, a cat, or even a Tyrannosaurus rex, the same bones attach in about the same places to form roughly the same shaped limb. But not in the Triassic reptile Drepanosaurus. The strange Drepanosaurus … Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
The first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, was launched by the USSR in 1957 and spurred the dormant US space program into action, leading to an international competition popularly known as the “space race.” Explorer I, the first American satellite, was launched just months later, in January 1958. In the decade that followed, the US and the USSR launched approximately 50 space probes between them to explore the Moon. What project is said to have marked the end of the space race? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In Quibdó, Colombia, the Fiesta of San Francisco is one of the biggest celebrations of the year. The procession on October 4 is the highlight of the festival, but several days of sports—including boxing, horse racing, cycling, and pig-catching contests—precede this. The streets are filled with people dressed up as devils, savages, and various animals, and there are dancing and fireworks every night. On the final day, there is an afternoon procession, in which everyone accompanies the statue of St. Francis as it is carried through the streets of Quibdó. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
After fighting in the Union army in the American Civil War, Hayes served in the US House of Representatives and then as governor of Ohio. In 1876, he won the Republican nomination for president. His opponent, Samuel Tilden, won a larger popular vote, but the election was so close that a special commission had to decide the issue. It eventually ruled in Hayes’s favor. What concessions did Hayes make as part of a secret compromise reached with Southerners during the electoral dispute? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Producing images of specimens magnified to about 2 million times their natural size—compared to just 2,000 for common light microscopes—electron microscopes use electron beams to resolve the minute structural details present in samples. An integral part of many laboratories, electron microscopes are used by researchers to examine biological materials, such as microorganisms, cells, and medical biopsy samples. Why are samples sometimes coated with gold before they are magnified? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) A translucent quartz spangled with bits of mica or other minerals.
Synonyms: aventurine.
Usage: He loved the red gold of the sunstone, and the moonstone's pearly whiteness, and the broken rainbow of the milky opal.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary