🕯️December Week 1🕯️

🏅Nobel Prize Winners🏅

100

This well known physicist received a Nobel Prize in 1922 for "his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect."

Albert Einstein

The fact that Einstein did not receive the Nobel Prize for the theory of relativity, which revolutionized theoretical and experimental physics, is perceived by many as the greatest disgrace of the Nobel Prize per se. It is often compared to the way Gandhi did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Unfortunately many members of the Nobel Committee simply refused to understand the theory of relativity so they did not award a prize for it. 

200

At age 35, he was the youngest man to have ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded "for his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population".

Martin Luther King Jr.

On the morning of 14 October 1964, Martin Luther King, sleeping in an Atlanta hospital room after checking in for a rest, was awakened by a phone call from his wife, Coretta Scott King, telling him that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. When notified of his selection, King announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.

300

What did Marie Curie win a Nobel Prize for?

Marie Curie got a Nobel Prize in 1911 in Chemistry for her work in radioactivity. 

She also received half of a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 together with her husband, as they had studied spontaneous radiation discovered by Becquerel who was awarded the other half of the Prize. She also received, jointly with her husband, the Davy Medal of the Royal Society in 1903 and, in 1921, President Harding of the United States, on behalf of the women of America, presented her with one gram of radium in recognition of her service to science. 

400

Nobel Prize winners James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were awarded in the field of Physiology for their discovery that what was shaped like a double helix?

DNA

In the mid-to-late 1940s, scientists began to suspect that the molecules that are responsible for heredity were not proteins, but in fact DNA, short for deoxyribonucleic acid. But how could a molecule long considered to be simple and inert hold the secret of life? The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 was awarded to Watson, Crick and Wilkins for their discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, which helped solve one of the most important of all biological riddles.

500

This International Committee has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in both 1917 and 1944 for their efforts during both World Wars. 

Red Cross

In 1963, it was 100 years since the Peace Prize Laureate in 1901, Henri Dunant, founded the Red Cross. On the occasion of the centenary, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wished to call attention to the importance of the organization in the global community. It also wished to reward the organization's work since World War II, but this time the Swiss Red Cross Committee shared the honor with the League of Red Cross Societies. Together, the two organizations made up what is now known as the International Red Cross. 

🥧Popular Pastries🥐

100

This buttery, flaky pastry is traditionally associated with France and named for it's historical crescent shape. 

Croissant 

Crescent-shaped breads have been made since the Renaissance, and crescent-shaped cakes possibly since antiquity. Kipferls have long been a staple of Austrian cuisine, and are often found in French bakeries and pâtisseries. The modern croissant was developed in the early 20th century when French bakers replaced the brioche dough of the kipferl with a yeast-leavened laminated dough. In the late 1970s, the development of factory-made, frozen, preformed but unbaked dough made them into a fast food that could be freshly baked by unskilled labor.

 

200

These sweet meringue-based confections are made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar and almond meal on a special baking sheet.

Macarons

Not to be confused with macaroons (totally different ballgame). According to legend, the macaron was introduced in France during the Renaissance by the Italian chef of queen Catherine de Medici, but a confection by the general description appears in the 8th century in the Cormery Abbey. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron is a sandwich cookie filled with a ganache, buttercream or jam. 

300

These Sicilian tube shaped pastries are made with fried dough that is filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta, sometimes sprinkled with powdered sugar and chocolate chips. 

Cannolis

Holy Cannoli! Some food historians place the origins of cannoli in 827–1091 in Caltanissetta in Sicily, by the concubines of princes looking to capture their attention. This period marks the Arab rule of the island, known then as the Emirate of Sicily, giving rise to the theory that the etymology stemmed from the Arabic word qanawāt meaning 'tubes' in reference to their tube-shaped shells. During this time, the Arabs influenced Sicilian baking with the introduction of candied fruits, pistachios, and cinnamon.

400

This pastry is made with choux dough, filled with cream using a piping bag and topped with a flavored icing (typically a chocolate ganache).

Éclairs 

The word comes from the French éclair, meaning 'flash of lightning', so named because it is eaten quickly (in a flash); however some believe that the name is due to the glistening of the frosting resembling lightning.

500

This is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the viennoiserie tradition, made with a variant of a puff pastry with a filling such as jam or a cheesy custard added to the middle. 

Danish

The origin of the Danish pastry is often ascribed to a strike amongst bakery workers in Denmark in 1850. The strike caused bakery owners to hire workers from abroad, among them several Austrian bakers, who brought along new baking traditions and pastry recipes. The Austrian pastry of Plundergebäck soon became popular in Denmark and after the labour disputes ended, Danish bakers adopted the Austrian recipes, adjusting them to their own liking and traditions by increasing the amount of egg and fat for example. This development resulted in what is now known as the Danish pastry. 

📣Human Rights Movements✊

100

This movement came about in the pursuit of securing the right to vote for part of the population in many countries at the beginning of the 18th Century.

Women's Suffrage

Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. In the beginning of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vote, increasing the number of those parties' potential constituencies. National and international organizations formed to coordinate efforts towards women voting, especially the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (founded in 1904 in Berlin, Germany).

200

What was the Civil Rights Movement?

A nonviolent social movement and campaign in the USA to abolish racial segregation, discrimination and disenfranchisement in the country.

The movement had its origins in the Reconstruction era during the late 19th century and had its modern roots in the 1940s, although the movement made its largest legislative gains in the 1960s after years of direct actions and grassroots protests. The social movement's major nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience campaigns eventually secured new protections in federal law for the civil rights of all Americans. 

300

Through the movement of United States laborers, this act sought to secure safeguards for workers like a minimum wage, overtime pay for more than 40 hour work weeks and prohibited "oppressive child labor". 

Fair Labor Standards Act

According to the act, workers must be paid minimum wage and overtime pay must be one-and-a-half times regular pay. Children under eighteen cannot do certain dangerous jobs, and children under sixteen cannot work in manufacturing or mining or during school hours. Though it did not cover executives, seasonal employees, and some other groups, the Fair Labor Standards Act gave raises to 700,000 workers, and US President Franklin Roosevelt called it the most important piece of New Deal legislation since the Social Security Act of 1935.

400

This decentralized political and social movement seeks to highlight racism, discrimination and racial inequality experienced by black people, as well as promoting anti-racism.

Black Lives Matter

On July 24, 2015, the movement initially convened at Cleveland State University where between 1,500 and 2,000 activists gathered to participate in open discussions and demonstrations. The conference in Cleveland, Ohio initially attempted to "strategize ways for the Movement for Black Lives to hold law enforcement accountable for their actions on a national level". However, the conference resulted in the formation of a much more significant social movement. At the end of the three-day conference, on July 26, the Movement for Black Lives initiated a yearlong "process of convening local and national groups to create a United Front". This year long process ultimately resulted in the establishment of an organizational platform that articulates the goals, demands, and policies which the Movement for Black Lives supports in order to achieve the "liberation" of black communities across America. 

500

This movement has been ongoing for decades, with many significant events including the Stonewall Riots, the election of Harvey Milk, Pride rallies and talks about the government's handling of the AIDS crisis. 

Gay Rights Movement

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other identities (LGBTQ+) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBT people and their interests, numerous LGBT rights organizations are active worldwide. The first organization to promote LGBT rights was the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, founded in 1897 in Berlin.

⚪Let It Snow!❄️

100

This snowy sculpture is made to look just like a person (more or less) complete with a corncob pipe, a carrot nose and two eyes made out of coal!

A Snowman

In North America, snowmen are generally built with three spheres representing the head, torso, and lower body. In the United Kingdom, two spheres are used, one sphere representing the body and one representing the head. The usual practice is to then decorate and optionally dress the snowman. Sticks can be used for arms, and a face is traditionally made with stones or coal for eyes and a carrot for a nose. Some like to dress their snowmen in clothing such as a scarf or hat, while others prefer not to risk leaving supplies outdoors where they could easily be stolen or become stuck under melting ice.

200

This snowy activity involves sitting on a small vehicle sliding either downhill or cross-country being pulled by animals like dogs or horses.

Sledding!

The practical use of sleds is ancient and widespread. They were developed in areas with consistent winter snow cover, as vehicles to transport materials and/or people, far more efficiently than wheeled vehicles could in icy and snowy conditions. Early designs included hand-pulled sizes as well as larger dog, horse, or ox drawn versions. Early examples of sleds and sledges were found in the Oseberg Viking ship excavation. The Toboggan sled is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada and the people of Ancient Egypt are thought to have used sledges (on the desert sand and on ramps) extensively for construction.

300

This spherical object is crafted from snow by scooping it into a specific shape with your hands, often used in winter fights with friends.

Snowballs 

Temperature is important for snowball formation. It is hard to make a good snowball if the snow is too cold. In addition, snowballs are difficult to form with a dry powdery snow. In temperatures below 32 °F, there is little free water in the snow, which leads to crumbly snowballs. At 32 °F or above, melted water in the snow results in a better cohesion. Above a certain temperature, however, the snowball too easily becomes slush, which lacks mechanical strength and no longer sticks together. This effect is used in the rule that, in skiing areas, there is a high risk of avalanche if it is possible to squeeze water out of a snowball.

400

This wintertime activity is done by riding a motorized vehicle through the snow either on trails or off the beaten path.

Snowmobiling

In 1915 Ray H. Muscott of Waters, Michigan, received the Canadian patent for his motor sleigh, or "traineau automobile", and on June 27, 1916, he received the first United States patent for a snow-vehicle using the now recognized format of rear track(s) and front skis. Many individuals later modified Ford Model Ts with the undercarriage replaced by tracks and skis following this design. They were popular for rural mail delivery for a time. The common name for these conversion of cars and small trucks was Snowflyers.

500

This icy activity is the practice of catching a certain undersea creature with hooks or spears through an open in the ice.

Ice Fishing

In North America, ice fishing is often a social activity. Some resorts have fish houses that are rented out by the day; often, shuttle service by Snow Track or other vehicles modified to drive on ice is provided. Portable houses appear to create a city at locations where fishing is done.

🕎Hanukkah Traditions🕎

100

How long is Hanukkah typically observed?

Eight days and nights.

Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a candelabrum with nine branches, commonly called a menorah or hanukkiah. One branch is typically placed above or below the others and its candle is used to light the other eight candles. This unique candle is called the shammash ("attendant"). Each night, one additional candle is lit by the shammash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival.

200

What is the nine branched candelabrum which is lit during each day of Hanukkah called?

Menorah or Hanukkiah

The menorah is a seven-branched candelabrum that is described in the Hebrew Bible and in later ancient sources as having been used in the Tabernacle and in the Temple in Jerusalem. Into prehistory, its iconography can be traced to representations of the sacred tree. Since ancient times, it has served as a symbol representing the Jewish people and Judaism in both the Land of Israel and the Diaspora. It eventually became the State of Israel's official emblem after its founding in 1948.

300

What are some of the foods typically eaten for Hanukkah? 

a. Latkes

b. Challah

c. Matzo Ball Soup

d. All of the above

d. All of the above

Throughout the eight days of Hanukkah, Jewish families typically celebrate by eating latkes (fried potato pancakes) with applesauce and sour cream, sufganiyot (fried jelly doughnuts) and other fried foods. Notice a theme? Traditional Hanukkah foods are often fried because they’re reminders of the oil in the legendary Hanukkah story.

400

What is the name of the four sided spinning top with several letters from the Hebrew alphabet which is used to play games during Hanukkah?

A Dreidel

The dreidel developed from an Irish or English top introduced into Germany known as a teetotum, which was popular around Christmas time and dates back to ancient Greek and Roman times.

500

Hanukkah Gelt is given as presents to children and sometimes teachers during the festival, but it is filled with something more precious than gold. What is it?

Chocolate!

Hanukkah gelt (meaning literally "Hanukkah money") refers to money given as presents during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. It is typically given to children and sometimes teachers, often in conjunction with the game of Dreidel. In the 20th century, candy manufacturers started selling Hanukkah-themed chocolate coins wrapped in gold or silver foil, as a substitute or supplement to real money gifts.