Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856)

Known as the “Father of the Indian Unrest,” Tilak was an Indian nationalist, social reformer, and the first popular leader of the Indian independence movement. As a journalist, Tilak voiced his criticisms of British rule in India through two weekly newspapers. In response to the Partition of Bengal in 1905, he initiated a boycott of British goods and passive resistance—two forms of protest later adopted by Gandhi. He was one of the first and strongest proponents of swaraj, which is what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI), the use of computers to model the behavioral aspects of human reasoning and learning, has captured global interest for years. Cybernetics, one area of AI study, is the analysis of the communication and control processes of biological organisms and their relationship to mechanical and electrical systems; advances in this area could lead to “thinking” robots. In science fiction, AI is often portrayed attempting to overthrow human authority. What is “the Singularity”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

coppice

Definition: (noun) A thicket or grove of small trees or shrubs, especially one maintained by periodic cutting or pruning to encourage suckering, as in the cultivation of cinnamon trees for their bark.
Synonyms: thicket, brush, copse, brushwood.
Usage: They determined on walking round Beechen Cliff, that noble hill whose beautiful verdure and hanging coppice render it so striking an object from almost every opening in Bath.
Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Wiley Post Becomes First Pilot to Circumnavigate the Globe Solo (1933)

In 1931, American aviator Wiley Post flew around the world with navigator Harold Gatty in 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes, breaking the previous record of 21 days. They published an account of their trip in Around the World in Eight Days. Two years later, Post became the first person to fly around the world alone, a feat he completed in just 7 days and 19 hours. Post died in 1935 when his plane crashed in Alaska with what famous entertainer on board? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Golden Days

Golden Days is a celebration in Fairbanks, Alaska, of the discovery of gold there on July 22, 1902, and the Gold Rush days that followed. This is the largest summertime event in Alaska. The week of activities includes “Fairbanks in Bloom,” billed as the farthest-north flower show, a rubber ducky race, beard and hairy-leg contests, drag races, a golf tournament, concerts, and a grand parade. There’s also a Felix Pedro look-alike contest. Felix Pedrone (remembered as Felix Pedro) was the Italian immigrant who first found gold on a creek near what is now Fairbanks. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Selman Waksman (1888)

Waksman was a Russian-American biochemist and microbiologist whose study of organic substances and their decomposition led to the discovery of the antibiotic streptomycin. His four decades of research at Rutgers University in New Jersey led to the discovery of more than a dozen “antibiotics,” a term for antibacterial microbial metabolites he coined in 1941. In 1952, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of streptomycin and its value in treating what disease? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Dandelion

The dandelion is a perennial herb with a yellow flower head and notched leaves. The flower matures into a globe of fine filaments, called the “dandelion clock.” These downy seed carriers are often blown apart by children playing outdoors. Though many consider the dandelion a lawn pest, it is actually quite useful: its young leaves can be eaten as salad greens and the ground, roasted roots are often consumed as a coffee substitute. What beverage is made from the dandelion’s flowers? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Becomes World’s First Female Prime Minister (1960)

After her husband’s assassination in 1959, Bandaranaike became the first woman in the world to serve as a nation’s prime minister. She led two coalition governments, from 1960–65 and from 1970–77, and promoted a new constitution that proclaimed a republic and changed the country’s name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka. She was later stripped of her civil rights because of abuses as prime minister but reentered politics in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, she was again appointed prime minister by whom? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Swan Upping

The tradition of marking newborn swans goes back six centuries, when most of the swans on England’s public waters were owned by the Queen. Every year since 1363, the Queen’s swan master and the swan wardens of the two livery companies row up the Thames, starting at Blackfriars and continuing upstream to Abingdon, and “up” all the swan families into the boats, where they are marked with identification numbers. There are very specific rules governing how ownership is decided, and the six boats, each flying a large silk flag, form a procession that has changed little over the centuries. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary