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From New World Encyclopedia
Mohawk
As original members of the Iroquois League, or Haudenosaunee, the Mohawk were known as the "Keepers of the Eastern Door" who guarded the Iroquois Confederation against invasion from that directionIgbo People
In the 1960s the Igbo attempted to secede from Nigeria and form the independent Republic of BiafraBaekdu Mountain
Baekdu (Changbai) Mountain, a dormant volcano between China and North Korea, has one of the highest crater lakes in the world, called "Heaven Lake"Pierre Curie
Pierre Curie's work was not recognized in France until he received the Nobel Prize for his work on radiation, together with his wife Marie Curie and Henri Becquerel, at which point he was given a professorship at the SorbonneStructural engineering
Structural engineering has advanced significantly through the study of structural failuresIndus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization had an advanced urban culture, with streets laid out in a grid pattern, advanced architecture and impressive sewage and drainage systemsSeminole
The Florida Seminoles are the only American Indian tribe never to sign a formal peace treaty with the United StatesParis, France
The name "Paris" is derived from its early inhabitants, the [[CeltsGiraffe
There nine generally accepted subspecies of giraffeGreenhouse gas
Without "greenhouse gases" the Earth would be so cold as to be uninhabitableJohn Locke
John Locke believed human beings start life "from scratch," with the mind at birth a "tabula rasa" or blank slate, which is then filled with knowledge through experiencePropaganda
The original meaning of the term "propaganda" was not negative, simply "that which ought to be spread"Exercise
Physical exercise is beneficial to both physical and mental healthRay Bradbury
Ray Bradbury, author of 'Fahrenheit 451', envisioned many technological innovations in his writingsVictor Turner
Victor Turner coined the term "communitas," referring to an unstructured state in which all members of a community are equal allowing them to share a common experience, usually through a rite of passageFidel Castro
Castro's dying wish was to avoid a cult of personality developing by banning statues and naming of streets in his honorCrucifixion
The goal of Roman crucifixion was not just death, but also dishonorGas chamber
The gas chamber was originally introduced to provide a more humane method of execution than hanging.Andre Malraux
André Malraux won the Goncourt Prize for French literature for his novel "La Condition humaine" ("Man's Fate")David Glasgow Farragut
David Glasgow Farragut was the first full admiral in the United States NavySpace exploration
The first human being in space was Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961 and the first person to set foot on the moon was American astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969Johnny Appleseed
The legendary Johnny Appleseed was actually John Chapman, an evangelist for a Swedenborgian sect, who planted apple orchards along America's frontierKyoto University
Kyoto University was founded to train scientists to support the rapid industrialization of Japan during the Meiji periodEggplant
The eggplant or aubergine is widely used in Indian cuisine where it is called brinjal, and is considered the "King of Vegetables"Flag of India
The Flag of India has at its center the Ashoka Chakra, taken from the Lion Capital of Asoka sculptureJames Watt
James Watt's improvements to the Newcomen steam engine provided much of the impetus for the Industrial RevolutionSergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff had piano roll recordings made of many of his performancesMary I of England
The execution of Protestants during the reign of Queen Mary Tudor earned her the nickname "Bloody Mary"Imre Kertesz
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002, Imre Kertesz, was a Holocaust concentration camp survivorWillie Mays
Willie Mays is the only Major League player to have hit a home run in every inning from the first through the sixteenth. He finished his career with a record 22 extra-inning home runs.Trimurti
The Trimurti is the Hindu representation of God as Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (destroyer)Samaritan Pentateuch
The Samaritan Pentateuch claims that only Mount Gerizim was authorized to be the sacred altar and temple, not JerusalemMiskito
The Miskitos are indigenous people of Central America living along the Mosquito Coast in Honduras and NicaraguaPaul Revere
Paul Revere became a patriotic icon due to the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Paul Revere's Ride," which described Revere's midnight ride from Boston to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the movements of the BritChristmas Island
Christmas Island was uninhabited until the late nineteenth century and so has many unique species of fauna and flora that evolved independently of human interferenceMass
The British Empire was known as "the empire on which the sun never sets"Alfred L. Kroeber
Science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin's father is anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber who studied "Ishi," the last of the Yahi tribeEmma of Normandy
The name "Emma" was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife of King Ethelred the Unready of England and then of King Canute the Great of DenmarkBogota, Colombia
The city of Bogota, Colombia has been called the "Athens of South America"Dario Fo
The 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Italian playwright Dario FoAxial Age
Many of the great philosophers and religious leaders including Confucius, Buddha, Lao Tzu, and Zarathustra flourished at roughly the same time, a period called the Axial Age by Karl JaspersEucharist
The Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion, is a sacramental reenactment of the Last Supper between Jesus and his disciples, in which Christians partake in the "body" and "blood" of ChristAsbestos
Litigation related to asbestos is the longest-running mass tort in U.S. history
