South Africa Wins the Rugby World Cup (1995)

In 1995, the recently unified nation of South Africa hosted the third Rugby World Cup. The first major event to be held in what had been dubbed “the Rainbow Nation,” it is now remembered as one of the greatest moments in the country’s sporting history. The dramatic victory of the South African team, supported by President Nelson Mandela, is seen as a major step in the reconciliation of white and black South Africans in the post-Apartheid era. What team did South Africa defeat in the final match? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Inti Raymi Fiesta

The Inti Raymi Festival is an ancient Winter Solstice festival celebrated by the Incas in Peru on June 24. The original Inti Raymi involved animal sacrifices performed at the top of La Marca when the sun reached its zenith. Today the main celebration takes place in Cuzco, where there is a special procession and mock sacrifice to the sun, followed by a week-long celebration involving folkloric dances and regional arts and crafts displays. Bonfires are still lit in the Andes Mountains to celebrate the rebirth of the sun, and people burn their old clothes as a way of marking the end of the harvest cycle. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Ambrose Bierce (1842)

Author of humorous sketches, horror stories, and tales of the supernatural, Bierce was an American journalist, satirist, and short story writer. Among his best known works are the short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and The Devil’s Dictionary, a volume of ironic definitions that showcase his sardonic outlook. In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico for a firsthand perspective on its ongoing revolution and disappeared without a trace. What are some theories about how he died? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Horus

In Egyptian religion, Horus was the falcon-headed sky god whose eyes were the Sun and the Moon. One of the most important of the Egyptian deities, he was the son of Osiris, ruler of the underworld, and Isis, the principal goddess. In a famous myth, Horus avenged the murder of his father by defeating Set, the god of evil and darkness. According to the myth, what injury did Horus sustain in the fight? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Christopher Latham Sholes Granted Typewriter Patent (1868)

As a teen, American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes apprenticed with a printer and later became a newspaper publisher. In 1868, he, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel W. Soulé were granted a patent for their design for the first practical typewriter. Five years later, he sold his rights for $12,000 to the Remington Arms Co., which developed the Remington Typewriter. Sholes went on to invent the so-called QWERTY keyboard that is still in use today. Why did he arrange the letters in this unusual order? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Estonia Victory Day

This date commemorates the Battle of Vönnu in 1919, in which a joint force of Estonians and Latvians claimed a decisive victory and marked the end of 700 years of German control. Today, the president and other dignitaries attend the official Victory Day ceremonies in the capital city, Tallinn. The holiday transitions from the political to the traditional when the president orders citizens to take torches from the official bonfire held in honor of Victory Day to light the hundreds of bonfires in the country that initiate Midsummer and St. John’s Eve celebrations. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Oda Nobunaga (1534)

Nobunaga—son of a daimyo, or feudal lord—was a Japanese military commander and one of the three unifiers of premodern Japan, along with his general Toyotomi Hideyoshi and ally Tokugawa Ieyasu. One of the first Japanese generals to arm his foot soldiers with muskets, Nobunaga destroyed the armies of powerful Buddhist sects and greatly expanded his father’s holdings. He also stimulated the economy through the use of the free market system. Nobunaga supported missionaries from what religion? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Rostov-on-Don

Rostov-on-Don is situated along the Don River near its entrance into the Sea of Azov, which has been an area of great commercial and cultural importance since ancient times. It was in essence established in 1749, when a customs house was built on the Don, a major shipping lane connecting northern Russia to the Caucasus. As the most heavily industrialized city of South Russia during the Russian Civil War, it became a bone of contention between what groups? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary