The first bicycle, probably created by the German Baron Karl de Drais de Sauerbrun in the early 1800s, was a form of hobby-horse that was propelled by the rider’s feet pushing against the ground. The first treadle-propelled cycle was designed by the Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan around 1839. By the end of the 19th century, bicycles had wire wheels, metal frames, and pneumatic tires. What did 19th-century suffragists and feminists call the bicycle? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
It is the nature of the artist to mind excessively what is said about him. Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (noun) Anything that precedes something similar in time.
Synonyms: forerunner.
Usage: This era is one of heedless consumption, but perhaps you can blame that on its antecedent.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
This island in the Pacific Ocean gained independence from Great Britain on January 31, 1968. It had been governed by Australia. Independence Day is a national holiday in Nauru. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
US Army private Eddie Slovik was executed for desertion in 1945. His was the first such execution after the Civil War and the only one of 49 World War II desertion death sentences to be carried out. Slovik was initially separated from his unit during an artillery attack. He rejoined them but deserted after being assigned to the front lines. He later confessed in writing that he would do it again and refused offers to destroy his note and return to battle. How old was Slovik when he died? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
American writer Norman Mailer was catapulted to fame at 25 with the publication of The Naked and the Dead, a partially autobiographical novel based on his World War II service. He pioneered the use of novelistic techniques in nonfiction works, a style known as New Journalism, and won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for The Armies of the Night. He won his second Pulitzer in 1980 with The Executioner’s Song, a novel depicting the events surrounding whose execution? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Jauhar refers to the ancient Hindu tradition of honorable self-immolation of women. It originally described the voluntary death on a funeral pyre of India’s queens and royal women, who would kill themselves to avoid capture when their castles were defeated. Jauhar also refers to the practice of mass suicide carried out in medieval times by besieged women and children, after which men would ride out to the battlefield to face certain death. What is the most famous historical example of Jauhar? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
In some ways, you know, people that don’t exist, are much nicer than people that do. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Definition: (adjective) Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered.
Synonyms: peevish, testy, cranky, fractious.
Usage: After their fight, her friend came to make amends, but she was feeling petulant and sulky and ignored him.
Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Charles I, crowned king of England in 1625, was illegally executed on January 30, 1649, primarily for defending the Anglican Church. His body was secretly buried in Windsor Castle, and he was widely acclaimed as a martyr. A royal decree ordered a special service on this day to be in the Book of Common Prayer from 1662 to 1859. It also ordered it to be a day of national fasting. The anniversary of this event is commemorated by the Society of Charles the Martyr with an annual service at the site of his execution in Whitehall, London.
Source: The Free Dictionary