Quotation: Gilbert Chesterton about hummillity

Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.

Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) Discuss

Today Birthday: JANE STANFORD (1828)

Jane Stanford (1828)

Jane Stanford was the wife of a prominent American railroad builder and politician. After the death of the couple’s only child in 1884, they began looking for ways to honor his memory. The next year, they founded Leland Stanford Junior University, popularly known as Stanford University. When her husband passed away in 1893, Jane stepped in to run the university and saw it through a difficult financial period, at times using her personal finances to fund the school. Who poisoned her in 1905?More… Discuss

 

This Day in the Yesteryear: R&B ARTIST AALIYAH KILLED IN AIRPLANE CRASH (2001)

R&B Artist Aaliyah Killed in Airplane Crash (2001)

Signed to a record deal at age 12, Aaliyah became a popular R&B singer with hits such as “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But a Number” and “Are You That Somebody.” She went on to appear in films, but her skyrocketing career came to a halt when she and eight others were killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas in 2001 after filming a music video. Aaliyah was only 22 years old. Though the pilot was unlicensed and had traces of alcohol and cocaine in his system, the crash was primarily blamed on what other issue?More… Discuss

 

EYAM, ENGLAND

The village of Eyam in Derbyshire, England, is best known for its decision to voluntarily quarantine itself when the Great Plague of London spread there in 1665. Villagers further tried to contain the disease by burying their own relatives and by leaving money disinfected in vinegar on a stone outside the village to pay for goods being delivered. The plague raged for 14 months and devastated Eyam, wiping out between 50 and 75 percent of its population. How was the plague brought to the village? More… Discuss

 

HIGH-ALTITUDE PILOTS SUBJECT TO BRAIN LESIONS

Decompression sickness, or “the bends,” is typically seen in scuba divers, but high-altitude pilots, who regularly fly at 64,000 feet and higher in planes that maintain a lower cabin pressure than typical commercial flights, are also at risk. Even those that escape decompression sickness are not unaffected by the repeated and prolonged exposure to a low-pressure environment. Researchers have found that high-altitude pilots have a higher incidence of brain lesions calledwhite matter hyperintensities than other military personnel. The pilots show no discernible cognitive impairments, but further study is needed to ascertain whether these lesions are harmful. More… Discuss

 

A Word Each Day: VEXATIOUS

vexatious 

Definition:	(adjective) Causing irritation or annoyance.
Synonyms:	annoying, bothersome, galling, irritating, nettlesome, pesky,pestering, plaguey, teasing, pestiferous
Usage:	Our new acquaintance had become involved in a vexatious difficulty with his pipe which had suddenly betrayed his trust and disappointed his anticipation of self-indulgence. Discuss.