Château Mouton Rothschild

Château Mouton Rothschild is an estate in southwestern France that is regarded as one of the producers of the world’s greatest wines. In the mid-20th century, Baron Rothschild decided to have each year’s label designed by a famous artist of the day, and since then the wine’s labels have become collectibles. Twice in the history of the special labels, two designs have been used in the same year. The first time, the Baron liked two submissions equally and used both. What happened the second time? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Radar Is Demonstrated (1935)

Radar is a means for detecting the position, movement, and nature of a remote object through radio waves reflected from its surface. During the 1930s, several countries independently developed the technology for military use, exploiting radar’s capacity to detect aircrafts and ships. One of the earliest practical radar systems was devised by Sir Robert Watson-Watt, a Scottish physicist and descendent of the inventor of the steam engine, James Watt. What was the “Battle of the Beams”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Kuwait Liberation Day

After Iraqi President Saddam Hussein‘s troops invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, several countries in the United Nations formed a military coalition—including troops and equipment from the US, France, and Britain—to force them out. Operation Desert Storm began on January 17, 1991, and, for five weeks, US and British air forces relentlessly bombed Baghdad. This was followed by four days of a ground war, which resulted in Hussein’s troops leaving Kuwait. February 26 is a national holiday in Kuwait celebrating the end of Iraq’s military presence in Kuwait. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya (1869)

Krupskaya was a Russian revolutionary and educator who was a Marxist agitator in the years leading up to the Russian Revolution. She married Bolshevik founder Vladimir Lenin in 1898, while both were serving terms in exile. After the Revolution, she joined the People’s Commissariat of Education and helped develop educational systems that offered both academic and professional training to women and workers. Her biography is known as the most detailed account of Lenin’s life but omits what events? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Papiamento

Papiamento is a Spanish-based creole language with Portuguese, Dutch, and English influences that is now primarily used in the Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao. It developed in the Netherlands’ possessions in the West Indies and possibly arrived there with African slaves, who used it to communicate with Portuguese slave traders. Its name is thought to come from papear, the Portuguese word for “chatter.” Approximately how many people speak Papiamento today? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Passion of the Christ Is Released in the US (2004)

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, which depicts the last hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, is the highest-grossing R-rated film ever made and was nominated for three Academy Awards. Several Jewish groups have expressed concern that the film blames the death of Jesus on the Jews as a collective group and could encourage anti-Semitism. The movie has also sparked debate about whether its depictions of violence are too graphic. In what languages is the film’s dialogue spoken? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary