MEDICAL HISTORY
Daniel Fahrenheit invented an alcohol one of these in 1709 & the mercury one 5 years later
a thermometer
The last time it was used for its original purpose was to celebrate George Washington's birthday in 1846
the Liberty Bell
Stop by the salad bar for this, from "kool", the Dutch word for cabbage
coleslaw
Current events:
Bloody Sunday just broke out in this country, outside the Winter Palace, no less!
Russia
Another word for prison
penitentiary
It took a while for people to become "stuck on" this brand introduced in 1921, because initially they were 18" long
Band-Aid
Idiomatically, "whistling past" this place means putting on a brave face when one is scared
the graveyard
This fruit's name comes from the Latin "praecoquum", meaning "early to ripen"
apricot
Geography:
It's the largest state in the union by area
Texas
In the 1960s feminists defined this as a system designed to keep women down, hence the need to smash it
the patriarchy
In 1928 Alexander Fleming found that mold in a Petri dish had inhibited bacterial growth, leading to this antibiotic
penicillin
In politics of days past, it was a fast-moving tour that kept the candidate on a train
a whistle stop tour
In England, it's a cookie & in the U.S. it's a roll, but either way, it's from Old French for "twice baked"
a biscuit
Social studies:
It first appeared in "The Youth's Companion" only 13 years ago in 1892 & we say it in class every day
the Pledge of Allegiance
It's the pseudoscience of examining the shape of the head to determine intelligence & character
phrenology
An 1880s medical publication talked about Louis Pasteur's treatment for this
rabies
You'll get some applause if you know that this is the name for the tongue inside a bell that makes it ring
a clapper
Denoting its traditional preparation, gravlax is from Swedish words meaning "trench" & this fish
salmon
World Powers:
This empire stretches from North Africa to southeastern Europe & well into the Middle East
the Ottoman Empire
Another word for treachery
perfidy
Ernst Gräfenberg developed this birth control device that's inserted into the uterus
an IUD
Orchestral chimes are also called these shapely bells
tubular bells
The name of this style of slow-roasted, seasoned chicken of Jamaica comes from the Quechua for "dried meat"
jerk chicken
Reading:
This O. Henry story about a poor couple at Christmastime makes a good read in the New York Sunday World
"The Gift of the Magi"
This fancy word meaning invested with full authority is included in the title "ambassador extraordinary &..."
plenipotentiary