Curio Cabinet
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July 26, 2024
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics are slated to get underway today in Paris. And while artificial intelligence isn’t competing (yet), it is playing...
The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics are slated to get underway today in Paris. And while artificial intelligence isn’t competing (yet), it is playing...
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: July 26, 2024\HAIR-uld\ verb
What It Means
Herald is a verb meaning "to give notice of"; it is synonymous with announce, pu...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: July 26, 2024\HAIR-uld\ verb
What It Means
Herald is a verb meaning "to give notice of"; it is synonymous with announce, pu...
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FREEMind + Body Daily CurioFree1 CQ
Fruit salad, bird beaks…the origins of pico de gallo are a lot more complicated than those of most salsas! This beloved dip is truly ancient, with roots in the Aztec Empire. It’s also surprisingly healthy and fairly simple to make.
Pico de gallo is a type of salsa, but unlike other salsas, which usually feature a liquid base made from blended vegetables, pico de gallo is “dry”, meaning that it has little to no liquid. Rather, it's simply a combination of finely chopped tomatoes, onions, and peppers (most often serrano peppers). It is seasoned with salt and cilantro, often with lime juice squeezed on top. Like other salsas, it can be used as a dip for chips or as a garnish on other dishes. It’s important to know what you’re ordering ahead of time though, as “pico de gallo” (which means “rooster’s beak”) can refer to a lot of different salads or salsas, including a popular type of fruit salad made with chopped fruit and red chili powder. As for how all these dishes got their name, it’s not about the flavor or the ingredients, but about how they were first eaten. It was once common to eat pico de gallo by pinching a bit of it between the thumb and index finger, making one’s hand look like the head and beak of a rooster.
Pico de gallo has been enjoyed in Mexico for a long time, starting with the Aztecs, whose empire flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries. Their version was a bit simpler, made with tomatoes and ground peppers, but over time it spread throughout the Yucatan Peninsula and throughout the rest of Mexico. Centuries later, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920, many Mexican civilians fled to the U.S. to escape the violence. During the 1920s, Mexican restaurants and cantinas began popping up in cities where Mexican refugees settled, and America’s love affair with Mexican food began in earnest. Today, Mexican restaurants can be found all over the world, and pico de gallo is a staple in just about all of them. You might not literally pinch it today, but a pinch of this salsa still adds a lot of flavor to a meal.
[Image description: A small bowl of pico de gallo garnished with a green vegetable leaf.] Credit & copyright: Shameel mukkath, PexelsFruit salad, bird beaks…the origins of pico de gallo are a lot more complicated than those of most salsas! This beloved dip is truly ancient, with roots in the Aztec Empire. It’s also surprisingly healthy and fairly simple to make.
Pico de gallo is a type of salsa, but unlike other salsas, which usually feature a liquid base made from blended vegetables, pico de gallo is “dry”, meaning that it has little to no liquid. Rather, it's simply a combination of finely chopped tomatoes, onions, and peppers (most often serrano peppers). It is seasoned with salt and cilantro, often with lime juice squeezed on top. Like other salsas, it can be used as a dip for chips or as a garnish on other dishes. It’s important to know what you’re ordering ahead of time though, as “pico de gallo” (which means “rooster’s beak”) can refer to a lot of different salads or salsas, including a popular type of fruit salad made with chopped fruit and red chili powder. As for how all these dishes got their name, it’s not about the flavor or the ingredients, but about how they were first eaten. It was once common to eat pico de gallo by pinching a bit of it between the thumb and index finger, making one’s hand look like the head and beak of a rooster.
Pico de gallo has been enjoyed in Mexico for a long time, starting with the Aztecs, whose empire flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries. Their version was a bit simpler, made with tomatoes and ground peppers, but over time it spread throughout the Yucatan Peninsula and throughout the rest of Mexico. Centuries later, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920, many Mexican civilians fled to the U.S. to escape the violence. During the 1920s, Mexican restaurants and cantinas began popping up in cities where Mexican refugees settled, and America’s love affair with Mexican food began in earnest. Today, Mexican restaurants can be found all over the world, and pico de gallo is a staple in just about all of them. You might not literally pinch it today, but a pinch of this salsa still adds a lot of flavor to a meal.
[Image description: A small bowl of pico de gallo garnished with a green vegetable leaf.] Credit & copyright: Shameel mukkath, Pexels
July 25, 2024
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: July 23, 2024\kuh-TASS-truh-fee\ noun
What It Means
A catastrophe is never a good thing. Catastrophe can refer to a momento...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: July 23, 2024\kuh-TASS-truh-fee\ noun
What It Means
A catastrophe is never a good thing. Catastrophe can refer to a momento...
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
On the heels of the President’s announcement that he won’t seek re-election, assessing how history will remember the Biden economy. Plus, continued fallout f...
On the heels of the President’s announcement that he won’t seek re-election, assessing how history will remember the Biden economy. Plus, continued fallout f...
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FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Even in an alien world, there are some discoveries that are too weird to be true. In the case of NASA’s Curiosity, it’s a deposit of pure sulfur, which the rover discovered after cracking open a rock. Sulfur is one of the most abundant elements in the universe, so finding it on the surface of Mars isn’t too much of a surprise on its own. However, sulfur is highly reactive, reacting with most metals except for gold and platinum. Therefore, it’s usually found as part of compounds called sulfides, and pure sulfur is relatively rare. As such, NASA considers this discovery to be one of the strangest in Curiosity’s 12 years of exploration. Mission project scientist Ashwin Vasavada said in a statement, "Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert. It shouldn't be there, so now we have to explain it." As mysterious as it is, the discovery could shed some light on the history of the Red Planet’s ancient past. Pure sulfur, which is yellow and odorless, requires very specific conditions to form naturally. In this case, it was found in Gediz Vallis, where the rover has been looking for signs of water and microbial life. Gediz Vallis is a channel that snakes down from Mount Sharp, and while scientists believed that it may have formed due to erosion from wind or flowing water, the presence of sulfur might help them narrow down the exact conditions that existed in the past. Whatever it is, it’s certainly a curious moment in Curiosity’s history.
Even in an alien world, there are some discoveries that are too weird to be true. In the case of NASA’s Curiosity, it’s a deposit of pure sulfur, which the rover discovered after cracking open a rock. Sulfur is one of the most abundant elements in the universe, so finding it on the surface of Mars isn’t too much of a surprise on its own. However, sulfur is highly reactive, reacting with most metals except for gold and platinum. Therefore, it’s usually found as part of compounds called sulfides, and pure sulfur is relatively rare. As such, NASA considers this discovery to be one of the strangest in Curiosity’s 12 years of exploration. Mission project scientist Ashwin Vasavada said in a statement, "Finding a field of stones made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert. It shouldn't be there, so now we have to explain it." As mysterious as it is, the discovery could shed some light on the history of the Red Planet’s ancient past. Pure sulfur, which is yellow and odorless, requires very specific conditions to form naturally. In this case, it was found in Gediz Vallis, where the rover has been looking for signs of water and microbial life. Gediz Vallis is a channel that snakes down from Mount Sharp, and while scientists believed that it may have formed due to erosion from wind or flowing water, the presence of sulfur might help them narrow down the exact conditions that existed in the past. Whatever it is, it’s certainly a curious moment in Curiosity’s history.
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FREEUS History Daily Curio #2914Free1 CQ
Talk about a blast from the past. Archaeologists just unearthed four musket balls in Concord, Massachusetts, where the first battle of the American Revolution took place. This centuries-old ammunition may look primitive by modern standards, but musket balls were state-of-the-art at the time. Firearms and specifically muskets have been around a long time. The first weapon that used gunpowder and could be considered a firearm was invented in the 14th century, although it resembled a small cannon more than a gun. Over the following centuries, firearms became increasingly complex, powerful, and, crucially, portable. By the 16th century, the musket was the weapon of choice for many militaries in the Western world. Muskets were smoothbored, muzzleloading rifles, meaning that the inside of the barrel didn’t have rifling grooves and had to be loaded from the firing end of the barrel. But the first muskets used a matchlock, which consisted of a piece of lit cord to ignite the gunpowder.
By the time of the Revolutionary War, matchlocks had been replaced by flintlocks, which used a piece of flint to create a spark. The “lock” in flintlock refers to the firing mechanism itself which was an incredibly complex piece of metalworking that not many gunsmiths could make. Basically, the lock included an L-shaped piece called the hammer, which held the flint. When the trigger was pulled, the flint struck another piece called the pan, which held gunpowder on an open surface leading into the barrel. The resulting ignition then fired a musket ball. To reload, the shooter would have to pour gunpowder into the barrel, pack another musket ball down the barrel with a ramrod, pull the hammer back, and pour more gunpowder on the pan. If that sounds like a lot just to fire one shot, that’s because it was. Experienced soldiers with a lot of practice could fire one shot every 15 seconds under ideal conditions, but most took 30 seconds or more between shots. Even then, muskets had an effective range of around 50 yards, after which they became increasingly inaccurate. If an enemy soldier got too close for comfort, the options were either to run or charge using the musket’s bayonet. All that technology and you could still essentially end up fighting with sharp sticks.
[Image description: A painting of a uniformed soldier of the American Continental Army in the Revolutionary War cleaning his musket.] Credit & copyright: Private, 1st Georgia Continental Infantry, Charles M. Lefferts (1873–1923), Wikimedia Commons. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.Talk about a blast from the past. Archaeologists just unearthed four musket balls in Concord, Massachusetts, where the first battle of the American Revolution took place. This centuries-old ammunition may look primitive by modern standards, but musket balls were state-of-the-art at the time. Firearms and specifically muskets have been around a long time. The first weapon that used gunpowder and could be considered a firearm was invented in the 14th century, although it resembled a small cannon more than a gun. Over the following centuries, firearms became increasingly complex, powerful, and, crucially, portable. By the 16th century, the musket was the weapon of choice for many militaries in the Western world. Muskets were smoothbored, muzzleloading rifles, meaning that the inside of the barrel didn’t have rifling grooves and had to be loaded from the firing end of the barrel. But the first muskets used a matchlock, which consisted of a piece of lit cord to ignite the gunpowder.
By the time of the Revolutionary War, matchlocks had been replaced by flintlocks, which used a piece of flint to create a spark. The “lock” in flintlock refers to the firing mechanism itself which was an incredibly complex piece of metalworking that not many gunsmiths could make. Basically, the lock included an L-shaped piece called the hammer, which held the flint. When the trigger was pulled, the flint struck another piece called the pan, which held gunpowder on an open surface leading into the barrel. The resulting ignition then fired a musket ball. To reload, the shooter would have to pour gunpowder into the barrel, pack another musket ball down the barrel with a ramrod, pull the hammer back, and pour more gunpowder on the pan. If that sounds like a lot just to fire one shot, that’s because it was. Experienced soldiers with a lot of practice could fire one shot every 15 seconds under ideal conditions, but most took 30 seconds or more between shots. Even then, muskets had an effective range of around 50 yards, after which they became increasingly inaccurate. If an enemy soldier got too close for comfort, the options were either to run or charge using the musket’s bayonet. All that technology and you could still essentially end up fighting with sharp sticks.
[Image description: A painting of a uniformed soldier of the American Continental Army in the Revolutionary War cleaning his musket.] Credit & copyright: Private, 1st Georgia Continental Infantry, Charles M. Lefferts (1873–1923), Wikimedia Commons. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.
July 24, 2024
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FREESTEM Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
The big news in business this week? IT issues. An incident that’s being called the biggest IT outage in history began late Thursday night (though it mostly wasn’t noticed on a large scale until Friday morning) and is still causing turmoil days later. Airline employees essentially woke up Friday to find that, not only could they check in their customers, they also couldn’t schedule their own crews to work flights. This immediately caused thousands of flights to be canceled with no immediate way to reschedule them. Thus, many customers were left trapped in airports all over the world, most without access to their luggage. The domino effect created by the cascade of cancellations means that even now, days after the initial IT incident, plenty of people are still stranded and many flights are still being canceled. In fact, Delta has canceled so many flights this week that they’re facing a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The only good news is that this massive IT outage wasn’t caused by a cyberattack or other, outside security threat. Rather, it was caused by a single, faulty piece of code. CrowdStrike, a large, popular U.S. cybersecurity company used by many airlines to protect data, attempted a routine update of one of their software products, called Falcon, on Thursday night. Unfortunately, faulty code in the update caused it to interact with Microsoft Windows in an unintended way. Windows crashed on every machine that received the update, leaving airlines scrambling to rid themselves of the so-called “blue screen of death.” The only blue passengers want to see right now is the open sky!
The big news in business this week? IT issues. An incident that’s being called the biggest IT outage in history began late Thursday night (though it mostly wasn’t noticed on a large scale until Friday morning) and is still causing turmoil days later. Airline employees essentially woke up Friday to find that, not only could they check in their customers, they also couldn’t schedule their own crews to work flights. This immediately caused thousands of flights to be canceled with no immediate way to reschedule them. Thus, many customers were left trapped in airports all over the world, most without access to their luggage. The domino effect created by the cascade of cancellations means that even now, days after the initial IT incident, plenty of people are still stranded and many flights are still being canceled. In fact, Delta has canceled so many flights this week that they’re facing a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The only good news is that this massive IT outage wasn’t caused by a cyberattack or other, outside security threat. Rather, it was caused by a single, faulty piece of code. CrowdStrike, a large, popular U.S. cybersecurity company used by many airlines to protect data, attempted a routine update of one of their software products, called Falcon, on Thursday night. Unfortunately, faulty code in the update caused it to interact with Microsoft Windows in an unintended way. Windows crashed on every machine that received the update, leaving airlines scrambling to rid themselves of the so-called “blue screen of death.” The only blue passengers want to see right now is the open sky!
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FREESports Daily Curio #2913Free1 CQ
They say tough times don’t last but tough people do. Well, these are some tough people! Two rowers from the U.K., Charlotte Harris and Jessica Oliver, have just completed the World’ Toughest Row – Pacific, a grueling race that took them 2,800 miles across the ocean. The World’s Toughest Row isn’t for the faint of heart. Taking competitors from Monterey, California, to Hanalei Bay on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the race can take a team months to complete, if they complete it at all. The voyage is so harrowing that before the race was established just last year, only 82 people between 33 boats managed the crossing. This year, competitors from around the world formed 12 crews consisting of pairs, trios, and teams of four, with the majority of them being women. Wild Waves, the pairs team of Harris and Oliver, came ahead of most of the pack, completing the voyage in 37 days, 11 hours, and 43 minutes. That made them the first pairs team to finish the race and therefore the fastest duo to ever row across the Pacific. They came in second overall, losing out to the Salty Slappers, a four-man team from Britain who finished in 36 days.
The name “Pacific,” might mean “peaceful,” but the voyage is anything but. Over the 2,800 miles, Wild Waves rowed over 40-foot waves and sometimes lost an entire day’s progress due to unfavorable conditions. Besides natural hazards, they also had to watch out for manmade threats, avoiding a head-on collision with a tanker by just 33 feet. Of course, the two were experienced rowers who had already completed the 3,000-mile race across the Atlantic Ocean called the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge back in 2021. On that voyage, they finished with a time of 45 days, 7 hours, and 25 minutes, which broke the previous women’s record by five days. They might be rowers, but they’re not exactly wet behind the ears.
[Image description: A close-up photo of the ocean’s surface with a sunset above.] Credit & copyright: Sebastian Voortman, PexelsThey say tough times don’t last but tough people do. Well, these are some tough people! Two rowers from the U.K., Charlotte Harris and Jessica Oliver, have just completed the World’ Toughest Row – Pacific, a grueling race that took them 2,800 miles across the ocean. The World’s Toughest Row isn’t for the faint of heart. Taking competitors from Monterey, California, to Hanalei Bay on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the race can take a team months to complete, if they complete it at all. The voyage is so harrowing that before the race was established just last year, only 82 people between 33 boats managed the crossing. This year, competitors from around the world formed 12 crews consisting of pairs, trios, and teams of four, with the majority of them being women. Wild Waves, the pairs team of Harris and Oliver, came ahead of most of the pack, completing the voyage in 37 days, 11 hours, and 43 minutes. That made them the first pairs team to finish the race and therefore the fastest duo to ever row across the Pacific. They came in second overall, losing out to the Salty Slappers, a four-man team from Britain who finished in 36 days.
The name “Pacific,” might mean “peaceful,” but the voyage is anything but. Over the 2,800 miles, Wild Waves rowed over 40-foot waves and sometimes lost an entire day’s progress due to unfavorable conditions. Besides natural hazards, they also had to watch out for manmade threats, avoiding a head-on collision with a tanker by just 33 feet. Of course, the two were experienced rowers who had already completed the 3,000-mile race across the Atlantic Ocean called the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge back in 2021. On that voyage, they finished with a time of 45 days, 7 hours, and 25 minutes, which broke the previous women’s record by five days. They might be rowers, but they’re not exactly wet behind the ears.
[Image description: A close-up photo of the ocean’s surface with a sunset above.] Credit & copyright: Sebastian Voortman, Pexels
July 23, 2024
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FREEPolitical Science Daily CurioFree1 CQ
Just when you thought this election couldn’t get any stranger! On July 21, President Biden announced that he was dropping out of the Presidential race, leaving just a few months for Vice President Kamala Harris to take over and campaign as the Democratic nominee. Yet, Biden isn’t the first U.S. President to step aside during or just before an election year. It’s actually happened a few times, first way back in 1844 and most recently (before Biden) in 1968.
The first President to actually drop out of an ongoing election was John Tyler, in 1844. Tyler had never been particularly popular. In fact, he’d only become President, in 1841, after President William Henry Harrison died unexpectedly. Tyler lost a lot of public support due to his belief that the U.S. should annex Texas, which at the time was part of Mexico. Both the Democratic party and the Whig party refused to nominate Tyler during the 1844 election, and he was forced to drop out. In 1852, Millard Fillmore, the 13th U.S. President, also failed to secure his party’s nomination due to a loss of political support. Like Tyler, he had taken over the Presidency after the death of his running mate, Zachary Taylor. In 1856, the Democratic party refused to re-nominate President Franklin Pierce, who had angered party leadership with his support for the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Democratic party of the time was pro-slavery, and they viewed the Act as an anti-salvery law. Thus, Pierce was effectively forced to drop his re-election bid. Even Andrew Johnson, Vice President to Abraham Lincoln himself, wasn’t immune from political hardship. In 1868, he was refused the Democratic nomination after being impeached for removing another political official from a position as Secretary of War. In 1884, Chester Arthur was similarly forced to drop his re-election bid after being denied the Republican nomination. The reason? Arthur opposed political kickbacks and had sought to ban them.
The first Presidential dropout of the 1900s was Harry S. Truman, whose popularity tanked due to a series of scandals and a contentious political agenda. Truman left partway through the 1952 election. Then, in 1968, Lyndon B Johnson announced that he wouldn’t seek re-election just a few months before said election was to take place. His policies regarding the Vietnam War had made him extremely unpopular. All that is to say…Biden’s not exactly alone. Rather, he’s in good (but odd) political company.
[Image description: The front of the White House in Washington, D.C.] Credit & copyright: Benoît Prieur (1975–), Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.Just when you thought this election couldn’t get any stranger! On July 21, President Biden announced that he was dropping out of the Presidential race, leaving just a few months for Vice President Kamala Harris to take over and campaign as the Democratic nominee. Yet, Biden isn’t the first U.S. President to step aside during or just before an election year. It’s actually happened a few times, first way back in 1844 and most recently (before Biden) in 1968.
The first President to actually drop out of an ongoing election was John Tyler, in 1844. Tyler had never been particularly popular. In fact, he’d only become President, in 1841, after President William Henry Harrison died unexpectedly. Tyler lost a lot of public support due to his belief that the U.S. should annex Texas, which at the time was part of Mexico. Both the Democratic party and the Whig party refused to nominate Tyler during the 1844 election, and he was forced to drop out. In 1852, Millard Fillmore, the 13th U.S. President, also failed to secure his party’s nomination due to a loss of political support. Like Tyler, he had taken over the Presidency after the death of his running mate, Zachary Taylor. In 1856, the Democratic party refused to re-nominate President Franklin Pierce, who had angered party leadership with his support for the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Democratic party of the time was pro-slavery, and they viewed the Act as an anti-salvery law. Thus, Pierce was effectively forced to drop his re-election bid. Even Andrew Johnson, Vice President to Abraham Lincoln himself, wasn’t immune from political hardship. In 1868, he was refused the Democratic nomination after being impeached for removing another political official from a position as Secretary of War. In 1884, Chester Arthur was similarly forced to drop his re-election bid after being denied the Republican nomination. The reason? Arthur opposed political kickbacks and had sought to ban them.
The first Presidential dropout of the 1900s was Harry S. Truman, whose popularity tanked due to a series of scandals and a contentious political agenda. Truman left partway through the 1952 election. Then, in 1968, Lyndon B Johnson announced that he wouldn’t seek re-election just a few months before said election was to take place. His policies regarding the Vietnam War had made him extremely unpopular. All that is to say…Biden’s not exactly alone. Rather, he’s in good (but odd) political company.
[Image description: The front of the White House in Washington, D.C.] Credit & copyright: Benoît Prieur (1975–), Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
July 22, 2024
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FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
This goddess doesn’t take bull from anyone. The drinking vessel pictured above originates from modern-day Iran or Afghanistan, and depicts the Hindu goddess Durga. It’s made of silver with glass inlays and gold details, and it depicts a woman’s head on top of a water buffalo’s head. The woman has a gold mark on her forehead and the buffalo has horns that curve backward. In Hinduism, Durga was created by the principal gods of Hinduism to defeat the demon Mahishasura, who had taken the form of a buffalo. The goddess is typically depicted with up to 10 arms, and is often seen riding atop a white lion, or slaying the buffalo demon. Her portrayal here contains elements of both Greek and Persian art, as well as art from the Indus River Valley and Hindu Kush regions. What can’t be seen is the filling hole on her head, though the vessel’s drinking spout is visible on the buffalo’s mouth. It’s wine from the divine.
Woman and Water Buffalo Rhyton, 500-700, silver with mercury gilding and glass inlays, 7.5 in. (19.1 cm.), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1964.96, Public Domain, Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation.This goddess doesn’t take bull from anyone. The drinking vessel pictured above originates from modern-day Iran or Afghanistan, and depicts the Hindu goddess Durga. It’s made of silver with glass inlays and gold details, and it depicts a woman’s head on top of a water buffalo’s head. The woman has a gold mark on her forehead and the buffalo has horns that curve backward. In Hinduism, Durga was created by the principal gods of Hinduism to defeat the demon Mahishasura, who had taken the form of a buffalo. The goddess is typically depicted with up to 10 arms, and is often seen riding atop a white lion, or slaying the buffalo demon. Her portrayal here contains elements of both Greek and Persian art, as well as art from the Indus River Valley and Hindu Kush regions. What can’t be seen is the filling hole on her head, though the vessel’s drinking spout is visible on the buffalo’s mouth. It’s wine from the divine.
Woman and Water Buffalo Rhyton, 500-700, silver with mercury gilding and glass inlays, 7.5 in. (19.1 cm.), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1964.96, Public Domain, Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation. -
FREEScience Daily Curio #2911Free1 CQ
Anyone worried about the ongoing helium shortage can breathe a sigh of relief…and sound like a chipmunk afterwards. Helium might be one of the most abundant elements in the universe, but it’s hard to come by on Earth. Thankfully, a massive, easy-to-access deposit of the gas has been discovered in Minnesota. Considering how common helium-filled balloons are at parties and outdoor events, it might seem strange to know that there’s a shortage of the stuff. The truth is, the lighter-than-air gas is in relatively limited supply but in high demand, and it’s not because of birthday decorations. Helium is actually a fantastic coolant and is used in everything from rockets to nuclear reactors. Super-cooled liquid helium is also a great superconductor, so it’s a vital component of MRI machines. Being so critical to a variety of industries, it would be a disaster if the existing supply of it were to run out. This has been a known issue for a long time, which is why the U.S. created the Federal Helium Reserve almost a hundred years ago to ensure a steady supply.
Once known sources of helium run out, it’s effectively gone, since it takes millions of years for the gas to be churned out by the nuclear reactions far under Earth’s surface. Manufacturing it, on the other hand, is costly and only produces small amounts. But now, just outside the small city of Babbitt, Minnesota, a company called Pulsar Helium discovered a huge reservoir of the gas that’s almost too good to be true. Trapped 1,750 to 2,200 feet underground, the deposit contains helium concentrations ranging between 8.7 percent and 14.5 percent. That might not seem like much, but even concentrations as low as 0.3 percent are considered profitable. Additionally, the gas naturally flows to the surface at a rate of 821,000 cubic feet per day, making extraction a breeze. Since the helium is contained in an underground pocket, there’s no need to build additional storage on the surface. The gas just needs to be pulled out as needed. So, don’t fret over helium—the party’s not over yet.
[Image description: A bundle of pastel balloons floating] Credit & copyright: Polina Tankilevitch, PexelsAnyone worried about the ongoing helium shortage can breathe a sigh of relief…and sound like a chipmunk afterwards. Helium might be one of the most abundant elements in the universe, but it’s hard to come by on Earth. Thankfully, a massive, easy-to-access deposit of the gas has been discovered in Minnesota. Considering how common helium-filled balloons are at parties and outdoor events, it might seem strange to know that there’s a shortage of the stuff. The truth is, the lighter-than-air gas is in relatively limited supply but in high demand, and it’s not because of birthday decorations. Helium is actually a fantastic coolant and is used in everything from rockets to nuclear reactors. Super-cooled liquid helium is also a great superconductor, so it’s a vital component of MRI machines. Being so critical to a variety of industries, it would be a disaster if the existing supply of it were to run out. This has been a known issue for a long time, which is why the U.S. created the Federal Helium Reserve almost a hundred years ago to ensure a steady supply.
Once known sources of helium run out, it’s effectively gone, since it takes millions of years for the gas to be churned out by the nuclear reactions far under Earth’s surface. Manufacturing it, on the other hand, is costly and only produces small amounts. But now, just outside the small city of Babbitt, Minnesota, a company called Pulsar Helium discovered a huge reservoir of the gas that’s almost too good to be true. Trapped 1,750 to 2,200 feet underground, the deposit contains helium concentrations ranging between 8.7 percent and 14.5 percent. That might not seem like much, but even concentrations as low as 0.3 percent are considered profitable. Additionally, the gas naturally flows to the surface at a rate of 821,000 cubic feet per day, making extraction a breeze. Since the helium is contained in an underground pocket, there’s no need to build additional storage on the surface. The gas just needs to be pulled out as needed. So, don’t fret over helium—the party’s not over yet.
[Image description: A bundle of pastel balloons floating] Credit & copyright: Polina Tankilevitch, Pexels -
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
As people process news of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, some of that processing may occur at work. And the workplace — like t...
As people process news of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, some of that processing may occur at work. And the workplace — like t...
July 21, 2024
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: July 21, 2024\VIZ-ij\ noun
What It Means
Visage is a formal word that refers to someone’s face or facial expression, or to ...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: July 21, 2024\VIZ-ij\ noun
What It Means
Visage is a formal word that refers to someone’s face or facial expression, or to ...
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FREEUS History PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
Was it the “trail of the century” or just a bunch of monkey business? The Scopes Monkey Trial, one of the most widely-publicized court cases in U.S. history, concluded on this day in 1925. Ostensibly, the case was a legal battle between the state of Tennessee and John T. Scopes, a teacher from the town of Dayton who defied the law and taught Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in his public school classroom. In reality, the trail was about America’s views on science and religion, not to mention public education.
At its core, Scopes v. State centered around the violation of the Butler Act. The act was passed in March of 1925 by Tennessee’s state legislature, and it prohibited schools from teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. At the time (as it is today) the theory of evolution was rejected by fundamentalist Christians who favored a biblical interpretation of natural history. Oddly enough, as part of the Butler Act, Tennessee’s public schools were required to use A Civic Biology (1914) by George W. Hunter’s in their classrooms, even though the textbook supported the theory. Nevertheless, soon after the act was passed, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) placed ads in the state’s newspapers offering to fund the criminal defense of any teacher willing to break the new law. The idea was to test the law in court and have it found to be unconstitutional. It wasn’t until a Dayton businessman named George W. Rappleyea saw economic potential in the case that anyone challenged the Butler Act. Rappleyea believed that such a controversial case would increase Dayton’s visibility, revitalizing the town. With Rappleyea’s support, several prominent residents of the town encouraged 24-year-old high school football coach and teacher John T. Scopes to place himself within the legal crosshairs of the state.
When Scopes was charged with violating the Butler Act soon thereafter, he was represented by famed criminal defense lawyer Clarence Darrow. On the prosecution’s side was prominent politician and attorney William Jennings Bryan, who also served as a Bible expert during the trial. The trial certainly did bring the sleepy town of Dayton into the national spotlight. The Scopes Trial was the first to be broadcast nationally, and was heard as far away as London and Hong Kong. Residents of Dayton were roused by the controversy and sensationalism on display, gathering at the courthouse in such numbers that the judge moved the trial out to the lawn for fear of the courthouse collapsing under the weight of the crowd. Regardless of where it took place, it was clear early on that Scopes and Darrow were fighting an uphill battle. The judge forbade any discussions regarding the scientific validity of evolution or the constitutionality of the Butler Act, stating that the court was only concerned with whether or not Scopes had violated the law. Still, Darrow took the opportunity to grill Bryan’s credibility as a Bible expert. A famous proponent of anticlericalism, Darrow was used to criticizing fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible. Bryan, a self-proclaimed expert on scripture, was cross-examined by Darrow, during which he was largely ridiculed for his inability to reconcile the contradictions in a literal reading of the Bible. Then, on the last day of the trial, the unthinkable happened: Darrow, the defense counsel, asked the jury to find Scopes guilty so that the case could be appealed by a higher court in his closing statement. In doing so, Bryan was denied the right to give his own closing statement by Tennessee state law.
In the end, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100. However, due to a procedural error in the way the fine was determined, the case was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court. In 1955, the sensational story of the case was adapted into a play, Inherit the Wind, which was itself adapted into a film. As for the Butler Act, it wasn’t repealed until 1967. Today, the theory of evolution still invites controversy in certain places. Maybe we’ll see a federal case about it someday.
[Image description: Description ] Credit & copyright: Tree of Life by Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), 1879. Wikimedia Commons, this media file is in the public domain in the United States.Was it the “trail of the century” or just a bunch of monkey business? The Scopes Monkey Trial, one of the most widely-publicized court cases in U.S. history, concluded on this day in 1925. Ostensibly, the case was a legal battle between the state of Tennessee and John T. Scopes, a teacher from the town of Dayton who defied the law and taught Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in his public school classroom. In reality, the trail was about America’s views on science and religion, not to mention public education.
At its core, Scopes v. State centered around the violation of the Butler Act. The act was passed in March of 1925 by Tennessee’s state legislature, and it prohibited schools from teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. At the time (as it is today) the theory of evolution was rejected by fundamentalist Christians who favored a biblical interpretation of natural history. Oddly enough, as part of the Butler Act, Tennessee’s public schools were required to use A Civic Biology (1914) by George W. Hunter’s in their classrooms, even though the textbook supported the theory. Nevertheless, soon after the act was passed, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) placed ads in the state’s newspapers offering to fund the criminal defense of any teacher willing to break the new law. The idea was to test the law in court and have it found to be unconstitutional. It wasn’t until a Dayton businessman named George W. Rappleyea saw economic potential in the case that anyone challenged the Butler Act. Rappleyea believed that such a controversial case would increase Dayton’s visibility, revitalizing the town. With Rappleyea’s support, several prominent residents of the town encouraged 24-year-old high school football coach and teacher John T. Scopes to place himself within the legal crosshairs of the state.
When Scopes was charged with violating the Butler Act soon thereafter, he was represented by famed criminal defense lawyer Clarence Darrow. On the prosecution’s side was prominent politician and attorney William Jennings Bryan, who also served as a Bible expert during the trial. The trial certainly did bring the sleepy town of Dayton into the national spotlight. The Scopes Trial was the first to be broadcast nationally, and was heard as far away as London and Hong Kong. Residents of Dayton were roused by the controversy and sensationalism on display, gathering at the courthouse in such numbers that the judge moved the trial out to the lawn for fear of the courthouse collapsing under the weight of the crowd. Regardless of where it took place, it was clear early on that Scopes and Darrow were fighting an uphill battle. The judge forbade any discussions regarding the scientific validity of evolution or the constitutionality of the Butler Act, stating that the court was only concerned with whether or not Scopes had violated the law. Still, Darrow took the opportunity to grill Bryan’s credibility as a Bible expert. A famous proponent of anticlericalism, Darrow was used to criticizing fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible. Bryan, a self-proclaimed expert on scripture, was cross-examined by Darrow, during which he was largely ridiculed for his inability to reconcile the contradictions in a literal reading of the Bible. Then, on the last day of the trial, the unthinkable happened: Darrow, the defense counsel, asked the jury to find Scopes guilty so that the case could be appealed by a higher court in his closing statement. In doing so, Bryan was denied the right to give his own closing statement by Tennessee state law.
In the end, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100. However, due to a procedural error in the way the fine was determined, the case was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court. In 1955, the sensational story of the case was adapted into a play, Inherit the Wind, which was itself adapted into a film. As for the Butler Act, it wasn’t repealed until 1967. Today, the theory of evolution still invites controversy in certain places. Maybe we’ll see a federal case about it someday.
[Image description: Description ] Credit & copyright: Tree of Life by Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919), 1879. Wikimedia Commons, this media file is in the public domain in the United States. -
9 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
First, semiconductor manufacturer TSMC has seen a surge in sales, yet its stock took a hit yesterday. That followed news the U.S. might further curb exports ...
First, semiconductor manufacturer TSMC has seen a surge in sales, yet its stock took a hit yesterday. That followed news the U.S. might further curb exports ...
July 20, 2024
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: July 20, 2024\AY-mee-uh-bul\ adjective
What It Means
Someone or something described as amiable is friendly and agreeable.
...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: July 20, 2024\AY-mee-uh-bul\ adjective
What It Means
Someone or something described as amiable is friendly and agreeable.
...
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6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
New data out this week on retail sales, shipping rates and more offer a snapshot of the economy’s overall health. Plus, the knock-on economic effects of tari...
New data out this week on retail sales, shipping rates and more offer a snapshot of the economy’s overall health. Plus, the knock-on economic effects of tari...
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FREESports Sporty CurioFree1 CQ
Part sport, part war, this game makes rugby look like a tea party. For centuries, the residents of Florence, Italy, have gathered to watch Calcio Storico, a unique game that is quite literally rooted in war. After witnessing a match of Calcio Storico in 1574, King Henry III of France is said to have described it as, “Too small to be a war, too cruel to be a game.” It was an apt description, considering that the game was developed during the Siege of Florence just decades earlier. Beset by enemies, the residents intimidated their foes from within the walls of Florence by staging a bout of the game to show off their physical prowess at Piazza Santa Croce, a square at the heart of the city. Today, the final match is preceded by a parade featuring historical costumes, including the players themselves who play in Renaissance garb. The rules are simple: each team must get a ball inside a net, the latter of which is the same width as the sand-covered playing field. Players can use any means necessary to stop their opponents, including punching and grappling. Bloody injuries are practically expected during any match. While it may seem “cruel,” the game is a matter of tradition and pride for the city. There are just four teams, each representing a district, and players can only represent the district they were born in. The game’s brutal nature isn’t just a dangerous quirk—it’s the point. By keeping the game as close to its original form as possible, the people of Florence honor the strength and defiant spirit of their forebears. Still, watching is probably a better experience than participating.
[Image description: A painting from between 1523 and 1605 showing a Calcio match in a town square in Florence, with a large crowd and horses surrounding the square.] Credit & copyright: Ball game on the Piazza Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy, Stradanus (1523–1605). Wikimedia Commons, this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.
Part sport, part war, this game makes rugby look like a tea party. For centuries, the residents of Florence, Italy, have gathered to watch Calcio Storico, a unique game that is quite literally rooted in war. After witnessing a match of Calcio Storico in 1574, King Henry III of France is said to have described it as, “Too small to be a war, too cruel to be a game.” It was an apt description, considering that the game was developed during the Siege of Florence just decades earlier. Beset by enemies, the residents intimidated their foes from within the walls of Florence by staging a bout of the game to show off their physical prowess at Piazza Santa Croce, a square at the heart of the city. Today, the final match is preceded by a parade featuring historical costumes, including the players themselves who play in Renaissance garb. The rules are simple: each team must get a ball inside a net, the latter of which is the same width as the sand-covered playing field. Players can use any means necessary to stop their opponents, including punching and grappling. Bloody injuries are practically expected during any match. While it may seem “cruel,” the game is a matter of tradition and pride for the city. There are just four teams, each representing a district, and players can only represent the district they were born in. The game’s brutal nature isn’t just a dangerous quirk—it’s the point. By keeping the game as close to its original form as possible, the people of Florence honor the strength and defiant spirit of their forebears. Still, watching is probably a better experience than participating.
[Image description: A painting from between 1523 and 1605 showing a Calcio match in a town square in Florence, with a large crowd and horses surrounding the square.] Credit & copyright: Ball game on the Piazza Santa Maria Novella in Florence, Italy, Stradanus (1523–1605). Wikimedia Commons, this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.