February 28 - French Scientist Day

    Posted on February 28, 2022


This is an update of my post published on February 28, 2011:



Today is the birthday of these French scientists:


René-Antoine de Réaumur (born in1683) – entomology

Louis Godin (1704) – astronomy


René-Just Haüy (1743) – mineralogy


Edmond Frémy (1814) – chemistry


Henri Breuil (1877) – archeology


Pierre Fatou (1878) – mathematics


Which of these fine gentlemen from the 1600s to the 1800s, do you think, did each achievement? Hint: you can figure out who did what by noting their field...

  1. Who is most known for discovering a salt that acts to promote oxidation?

  2. Who went to Peru to help take measurements to determine the size and shape of the earth?


  3. Who studied the relationship between the growth of insects and temperature?


  4. Who is noted for his studies of cave art?


  5. Who accidentally discovered the geometrical law of crystallization when he dropped some calcite?


  6. Who studied iterative and recursive processes?







ANSWERS:
1. Edmond Frémy
2. Louis Godin
3. René-Antoine de Réaumur
4. Henri Breuil
5. Rene-Just Hauy
6. Pierre Fatou











(varies every year - Shrove Monday)




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February 27 - Happy Birthday, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Steinbeck

     Posted on February 27, 2022


This is an update of my post published on February 27, 2011:



A great day for American authors!





Separated by about a century, today marks the anniversary of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1807 birth and John Steinbeck's 1902 birth.

Can you pick out which of these fits Longfellow and which fits Steinbeck?

  1. Author of Grapes of Wrath
  2. Wrote The Song of Hiawatha
  3. Author of Paul Revere's Ride
  4. Wrote Of Mice and Men
  5. Won the Nobel Prize for Literature
  6. Was born in Portland, Maine
  7. Translated Dante's Divine Comedy
  8. Wrote long poems
  9. Wrote brilliant novels
  10. Was born in Salinas, California
  11. Won a Pulitzer Prize
  12. Was a professor at Harvard




ANSWERS: 
1. Steinbeck
2. Longfellow
3. Longfellow
4. Steinbeck
5. Steinbeck
6. Longfellow
7. Longfellow
8. Longfellow
9. Steinbeck
10. Steinbeck
11. Steinbeck
12. Longfellow



  • When Longfellow wrote "The Song of Hiawatha," he got criticized for writing about Native Americans in a sympathetic way. But nowadays, many folks rightfully point out how, even though Longfellow's poem demonstrates liking Native stories and culture, he also misrepresents those stories, misunderstands and mashes together stories from various different groups, and seems to shrug Natives off as people who only existed in the past. Sure, he makes Natives the heroes of the poem - but his romanticization furthers stereotypes and enables people to shirk their duty to dismantle white supremacy.   

    Check out     this video of someone singing an excerpt of the poem “The Song of Hiawatha.” But also check out this article about the racism inherent in this poem.


  • Read a short story by Steinbeck, or even one of his novels. Several of his books, including Cannery Row and East of Eden, have become movies.



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