George decided that the summerhouse, open to the sights, smells, and sounds of the garden that Anna adored, would be the perfect place to ask for her hand in marriage.
Broadly defined as the pursuit of any severe weather condition, storm chasing is an endeavor with motives ranging from thrill-seeking to serious scientific research. Although witnessing a tornado is the primary goal for most storm chasers, many enjoy watching thunderstorms, hail, lightning, and other meteorological events as well. Storm chasers are most active in May and June in the American Great Plains region. Who is generally considered the first storm chaser?More...Discuss
Superlative adjectives are adjectives that describe the attribute of a person or thing that is the highest (or lowest) in degree compared to the members of the noun's group. Although superlative adjectives are similar to comparative adjectives, they differ in what two ways?More...Discuss
Charles de Gaulle Resigns as President of France (1969)
A celebrated general and statesman, de Gaulle was elected first president of France's Fifth Republic—a system of government with broad executive powers—in 1959. He helped write the constitution and pushed for direct popular election of the president. The mass civil unrest of May 1968 by students and workers almost toppled his government, and in 1969 de Gaulle was defeated in a referendum on constitutional amendments and resigned. He died just a year later. Whom did he bar from his funeral?More...Discuss
The daughter of an Alabama lawyer, Lee studied law before publishing her first novel in 1960. To Kill a Mockingbird, the story of a white lawyer who defends a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl, immediately found national acclaim. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was adapted for film the next year, but Lee largely stayed out of the spotlight. What did she once write in response to a school board's decision to ban her novel?More...Discuss
An ancient Roman festival held in honor of Flora, the goddess of flowers and gardens, the Floralia was first instituted in 238 BCE. In 173 BCE, the Roman Senate made it an annual festival extending for six days—starting on the anniversary of the founding of Flora's temple. Traditionally, the first person to lay a garland on the temple's statue of Flora was destined to have good fortune. The Floralia, which featured small statues of Flora that children would decorate with flowers, is believed to have been the precedent for Christian-oriented May Day celebrations.More...Discuss
store - A shortened version of the obsolete astor, "stock of provisions, supplies." More...
alligator - From Spanish el lagarto, "the lizard," which may have come from Latin lacerta; the alligator has a shorter, blunter snout than a crocodile. More...
dog watch - A two-hour watch on board a ship, it is based on dog sleep, the light or fitful sleep typical of dogs (a catnap being even shorter). More...
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