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November 22
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In historical linguistics, Weise's law describes the loss of palatal quality some consonants undergo in specific contexts in the Proto-Indo-European language. In short, when the consonants represented by *ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ, called palatovelar consonants, are followed by *r, they lose their palatal quality, leading to a loss in distinction between them and the plain velar consonants *k *g *gʰ. Some exceptions exist, such as when the *r is followed by *i or when the palatal form is restored by analogy with related words. Although this sound change is most prominent in the satem languages, it is believed that the change must have occurred prior to the centum–satem division, based on an earlier sound change which affected the distribution of Proto-Indo-European *u and *r. The law is named after the German linguist Oskar Weise (epitaph pictured), who first postulated it in 1881 as the solution to reconciling cognates in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit. (Full article...)
April 22
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Robert Oppenheimer was an American physicist and the scientific director of the Manhattan Project, the World War II effort to develop the first nuclear weapons, at the secret Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico. Known colloquially as "the father of the atomic bomb", Oppenheimer lamented the weapon's killing power after it was used to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war, he was a chief advisor to the newly-created Atomic Energy Commission and used that position to lobby for international control of atomic energy and to avert the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. After invoking the ire of many politicians and scientists with his outspoken political opinions during the Red Scare, he had his security clearance revoked in a much-publicized and politicized hearing in 1954. Though stripped of his political influence, Oppenheimer continued to lecture, write, and work in physics. A decade later, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded him the Enrico Fermi Award as a gesture of rehabilitation. (more...)
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March 22
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The current design of the Flag of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994 after the end of apartheid made it necessary to replace the former national flag due to its racist connotations to most South Africans. There was a public phase of the design of the new flag when submissions for the new design were sent in by the public, however none of the submissions received enthusiastic support from the committee charged with selecting the final design. With the inauguration of Nelson Mandela looming, an interim flag was designed and released to the public just seven days before Mandela was sworn into office. It was so well received that the interim version was made the final, national flag in the South African Constitution. The flag can best be described as two equal width horizontal bands of red (top) and blue separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal Y, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side. The Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes. (more...)
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February 22
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Roe v. Wade was the landmark 1973 United States Supreme Court decision that recognized abortion as a constitutional right, overturning several state laws against abortion. It remains one of the most controversial decisions in Supreme Court history. The decision in Roe v. Wade has sparked a decades-long national debate over when abortion should be legal; the role of the Supreme Court in constitutional adjudication; and the role of religious views in the political sphere. Roe v. Wade became one of the most politically significant Supreme Court decisions in history, reshaping national politics, dividing the nation into "pro-choice" and "pro-life" camps, and inspiring grassroots activism. Roe sparked widespread opposition, from those who viewed the Court's decision as illegitimate for straying too far from the text and history of the Constitution, as well as from those motivated by religious and moral beliefs about the inviolability of fetal life. It also attracted widespread support, from those who view the decision as necessary to achieve women's equality and personal freedom. (more...)
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January 22
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The Baháʼí Faith is a monotheistic religion whose members follow the teachings of Baháʼu'lláh, their prophet founder. Bahá'u'lláh taught that there is one God who progressively reveals his will to humanity. In the Baháʼí view, each of the great religions brought by the Messengers of God—such as Moses, Krishna, the Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad and the Báb—represents a successive stage in the spiritual development of civilization. Baháʼís believe Bahá'u'lláh is the most recent Messenger in this line, and has brought teachings that address the moral and spiritual challenges of the modern world. As such, although the Baháʼí Faith is not traditionally included among the Abrahamic religions, it recognizes many of the same personages. (more...)
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December 22
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In the Holy Roman Empire, the prince-electors were the members of the electoral college, having the function of electing the king of Germany before his accession as the next emperor. During and after the fifteenth century they often merely made formal what was in fact a dynastic succession. Formally, they elected a King of the Romans, who became Holy Roman Emperor only when crowned by the pope. Charles V was the last to be actually crowned; all of his successors were merely "Emperors-Elect." Electors were among the princes of the Empire, but they had several privileges (in addition to electoral ones) which were disallowed to their non-electoral brethren. (more...)
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November 22
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The Indus Valley Civilization (fl. 2800 BCE–1800 BCE) was an ancient civilization that is so named because its first excavated sites, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, were on the Indus River in the northwest of the Indian sub-continent in present day Pakistan. At its height around 2200 BCE, the Indus Civilization covered an area larger than Europe, centered on Mohenjo Daro on the Indus River. The nomenclature Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilization was introduced into Indian textbooks in 2002, as a new designation for the well-known Indus Valley civilization. The addition of "Saraswati," an ancient river central to Hindu myth, is meant to show (or make believe) that Indus Valley civilization was actually part of Vedic civilization. Research which identifies the civilization's location with the Vedic Sarasvati river system mentioned in ancient literature is speculative. (more...)
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October 22
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Breastfeeding is the practice of a mother feeding a baby (and sometimes a toddler or a young child) with milk produced from her mammary glands, usually directly from the nipples. Babies have a sucking instinct allowing them to extract the milk. While many mothers choose to breastfeed their child there are some who do not, either for personal or medical reasons. Breast milk has been shown to be very beneficial for a child, though, as with other bodily fluid transfers, some conditions can be passed from the mother to the infant. Breastfeeding is also beneficial to the future health of the mother. As an alternative the baby may be fed infant formula until the time that the child may move on to baby food.
Breastfeeding is not confined to humans. Many species of animals also nourish their young this way (see mammals). (more...)
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September 22
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The history of Irish theatre begins with the rise of the English administration in Dublin at the start of the 17th century. In the early days of its history, theatrical productions in Ireland tended to serve the political purposes of the administration, but as more theatres opened and the popular audience grew, a more diverse range of entertainments were staged. Many Dublin-based theatres developed links with their London equivalents and performers and productions from the English capital frequently found their way to the Irish stage. However, most Irish playwrights from William Congreve to George Bernard Shaw found it necessary to go abroad to establish themselves. At the beginning of the 20th century, theatres and theatre companies dedicated to the staging of Irish plays and the development of indigenous writers, directors and performers began to emerge. This allowed many of the most significant Irish dramatists to learn their trade and establish their reputations at home rather than in Britain or the United States. (more...)
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September 6
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The Warsaw Uprising was an armed struggle during the Second World War by the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw from German occupation and Nazi rule. It started on August 1, 1944 as a part of a nationwide uprising, Operation Tempest. The Polish troops resisted the German-led forces until October 2. An estimated 85% of the city was destroyed during the urban guerrilla war and after the end of hostilities. The Uprising started at a crucial point in the war as the Soviet army was approaching Warsaw. Although the Soviet army was within a few hundred metres of the city from September 16 onward, the link between the uprising and the advancing army was never made. This failure and the reasons behind it have been a matter of controversy ever since. (more...)
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August 22
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Montparnasse is an area of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centered on the intersection of the Boulevard de Montparnasse and the Boulevard Raspail. It is part of the 14eme arrondissement, having been absorbed into Paris along with other districts and villages in 1860. Like its counterpart, Montmartre, the neighborhood of Montparnasse became famous at the beginning of the 20th century, referred to as the Années Folles (the Crazy Years), when it was the heart of intellectual and artistic life in Paris with its legendary cafés. (more...)
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July 22
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Rudyard Kipling was a British author and poet, born in India. He is best known for the children's story The Jungle Book (1894), the Indian spy novel Kim (1901), the poems "Gunga Din" (1892) and "If —" (1895), and his many short stories. He was also an outspoken defender of Western imperialism, and coined the phrase "The White Man's Burden." The height of his popularity was the first decade of the 20th century; in 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. In his own lifetime he was primarily considered a poet, and was even offered a knighthood and the post of British Poet Laureate — though he turned them both down. (more...)
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June 22
[edit]The White Rose was a group of students that formed a resistance movement in Nazi Germany from June 1942 to February 1943. Based in Munich, the group released six leaflets, calling on Germans to engage in passive resistance against the regime. The group consisted of five students: Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie Scholl, Christoph Probst, Alexander Schmorell, and Willi Graf, all in their early twenties. They were joined by a professor, Kurt Huber, who drafted the final two leaflets. Though the members of the White Rose were all students at Munich University, the men had also participated in the war on the French and Russian fronts, were witness to the atrocities being committed against Jews, and sensed that the reversal of fortunes that the Wehrmacht suffered at Stalingrad would eventually lead to Germany's defeat. They rejected the Prussian militarism of Adolf Hitler's Germany and believed in a federated Europe that adhered to Christian principles of tolerance and justice. (more...)
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May 22
[edit]Star Trek is a science fiction television franchise created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966 that tells the tale of the crew of the starship USS Enterprise and of their adventures "to boldly go where no man has gone before". The original show was cancelled in 1969 due to low ratings, but became phenomenally popular in syndication. To date, four additional TV series and ten motion pictures set within the Star Trek universe have been released. It is, along with Star Wars, the most popular science fiction franchise of the late 20th century. (more...)
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April 22
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The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan. (more...)
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March 22
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An electronic amplifier is a device for increasing the power of a signal. It does this by taking power from a power supply and shaping the output to match the input signal. This process invariably introduces some noise and distortion into the signal, and the process cannot be 100% efficient - amplifiers will always produce some waste heat. (more...)
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