Edison Patents Kinetoscope in the US
August 31, 2008
Edison helped design the kinetoscope, a precursor to the modern motion picture projector. It worked through a phenomenon known as “persistence of vision,” in which a sequence of images is blended by the eye to create the illusion of motion. Because the work of so many others had gone into its invention, Edison never bothered to apply for an international copyright on the device, believing that it would not stand up in European courts. What effect did this have on the development of cinema?
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Edison Patents Kinetoscope in the US
Wilhelmina I of the Netherlands
August 31, 2008
Strong-willed and astute, Wilhelmina I enjoyed great popularity as queen of the Netherlands. She reigned for 50 years and guided her country through two world wars. Wilhelmina also had a keen understanding of business matters, and her investments made …
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Wilhelmina I of the Netherlands
Etiquette in the Middle East
August 31, 2008
Travelers who fail to familiarize themselves with a region’s customs before visiting that area risk inadvertently offending or insulting their hosts. For example, in Iraq and Iran, the “thumbs up” gesture—a Western expression of approval—is considered an offensive insult. In the Middle East, where Islam is the predominant religion, modesty and hospitality are strongly valued traits, but their practice varies across ethnic groups. How do Middle Easterners show their respect for the elderly?
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Etiquette in the Middle East
polarity
August 31, 2008
DEFINITION: (noun) The possession or manifestation of two opposing attributes, tendencies, or principles.
SYNONYMS: mutual opposition.
USAGE: The women did not allow their political polarity to damage their lifelong friendship.
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polarity
Share and Share Alike
August 31, 2008
Researchers studying sharing behaviors in children have concluded that a sense of fairness and equality may be somewhat hardwired in people. While experts have long debated the roles of nature and nurture in the development of generosity and selfishness, the results of this new study seem to indicate that it is a combination of the two. When children were presented with small sweets and jelly beans and given two options for dividing them with another child, seven- and …
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Share and Share Alike
Socialist Revolutionary Attempts to Assassinate Lenin
August 30, 2008
Fanny Kaplan was a political revolutionary who was executed for attempting to assassinate Vladimir Lenin. She became disillusioned with Lenin as a result of the conflict between the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Bolshevik party and decided to take action, shooting Lenin three times as he exited a Moscow factory. Though she confessed to the shooting, it has been suggested that Kaplan could not have been responsible for the assassination attempt. Why not?
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Socialist Revolutionary Attempts to Assassinate Lenin
Warren Buffett
August 30, 2008
Ranked the second richest man in the world, with an estimated net worth of about US $52 billion, this “Oracle of Omaha” has amassed a fortune from astute investments through his company, Berkshire Hathaway. In June 2006, he made the commitment to give away his fortune, with more than 80% of it going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffett’s donation represents the largest act of charitable giving in US history. What is his annual salary from Berkshire Hathaway?
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Warren Buffett
Intellectual Property
August 30, 2008
Intellectual property is an umbrella term for the various legal entitlements associated with certain names, literary works, recorded media, and inventions. The holders of such entitlements may exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the use of their intellectual property. The concept is controversial because it implies that intellectual works—so-called products of the mind—are analogous to physical property. What is the difference between a copyright, a trademark, and a patent?
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Intellectual Property
prerogative
August 30, 2008
DEFINITION: (noun) A right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right).
SYNONYMS: exclusive right, perquisite, privilege.
USAGE: The whole substance of human authority was centered in the simple doctrine of royal prerogative, the origin of which was always traced in theory to divine institution.
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prerogative
Hurricane Katrina Devastates US Gulf Coast
August 29, 2008
Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Central Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm. Its storm surge breached the levee system that protected New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, flooding the city. The damage in Louisiana and along the coastal regions of Mississippi and Alabama is estimated at $81 billion, making Katrina the most destructive and costliest natural disaster in US history. How many people died during the hurricane and subsequent flooding?
