The old English custom of “clipping the church” entails embracing the church by joining hands around it and performing a simple dance step, advancing and retreating three times. In Guiseley, Yorkshire, the custom traditionally was observed on St. Oswald‘s Day, August 5, but now takes place in July, during the Festival of Guiseley. There is a special service followed by a procession outside the church where all sing “St. Oswald’s Ballad.” Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Rhodes left England at 18 for South Africa, where he later founded De Beers Consolidated Mines. By 1891, his company was mining 90% of the world’s diamonds. He extended the company’s control to two northern provinces, which were eventually named for him as Southern Rhodesia—now Zimbabwe—and Northern Rhodesia—now Zambia. He is perhaps best known for the eponymous scholarship established by his final will. In his original will, he proposed the establishment of a secret society that would do what? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In Greek mythology, Medusa was the most famous of the three monstrous Gorgon sisters. She was once a beautiful woman, but she offended Athena, who changed her hair into snakes and made her face so hideous that all who looked at her were turned to stone. When Medusa was with child by Poseidon, Perseus beheaded her. What creatures sprang from her blood? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) A humorous play on words.
Synonyms: pun, punning, wordplay.
Usage: His attempts at comedy usually flopped, especially when he recited his favorite paronomasia, "I do it for the pun of it."
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In 1845, Thoreau, an American author and naturalist, built himself a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond in Massachusetts. He spent the next two years, two months, and two days there, observing nature, reading, and writing. He also kept a journal that he later used to write his masterpiece, Walden, or Life in the Woods, which compresses his time there into a single calendar year and uses the passage of the seasons to symbolize human development. What were Thoreau’s enigmatic last words? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Since 1989, the Mauna Lani Resort in Hawaii has taken in baby Hawaiian green sea turtles from the Sea Life Park in Oahu, Hawaii. Staffers raise the turtles in salt water ponds located on the resort hotel’s grounds until they reach maturity and can be released into the wild. Every Fourth of July, a Turtle Independence Day is held in which turtles are brought down to the hotel’s beach and let go. In addition to the release of the mature turtles, which is open to the public, the hotel also has entertainment, games, canoe rides, and educational displays for children. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Lansky was a Russian-born US gangster. After partnering with Bugsy Siegel as a young man, he joined Lucky Luciano in forming a national crime syndicate. By 1936, he ran gambling operations in Cuba and the US, and by 1970, he had amassed a fortune estimated at $300 million. In 1979, a government investigation linked Lansky with Jack Ruby, the nightclub owner who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy. In what wartime effort did Lansky partner with the US government? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and extremely poisonous gas. It is present in the exhaust of internal-combustion engines, such as in automobiles, and is generated in coal stoves, furnaces, and gas appliances that do not get enough air. Breathing air that contains as little as 0.1% carbon monoxide by volume can be fatal; a concentration of about 1% can cause death within a few minutes. What are the early symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) An official emissary, especially an official representative of the pope.
Synonyms: official emissary.
Usage: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Caprara was the legate of Pope Pius VII in France.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Extinct since 1844, the great auk was a flightless seabird once found in great numbers on rocky islands off eastern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Ireland, and Britain. The bird was hunted on a significant scale by humans for food, eggs, and down since at least the 8th century, but massive exploitation for its down and the collecting of its eggs eventually contributed to the demise of the species. Specimens are now exhibited in many museums. Where was the last pair of great auks killed? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary