Daily Quote
"The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice."
George Eliot
Writing Prompt
What Would You Invent to Make the World a Better Place?
Conversation Starter
If you could only store one type of food in your pocket, what would you carry?
Joke of the Day
A backwards poet writes inverse.
Fun Fact
Bananas are curved because they grow towards the sun.
Bananas go through a process called “negative geotropism.” Instead of growing towards the ground, they start growing towards the sun.
The fruit grows against gravity, which gives the banana its familiar curved shape.
History Fact
When Marcus Crassus died, molten gold was poured down his throat.
Marcus Licinius Crassus was known as the wealthiest man in Rome during his life.
The son of a Consul of Rome, Crassus fought in Sulla’s Civil War, played a key part in defeating Spartacus and ending the Third Servile War, and formed the first Triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great.
A shrewd man, throughout all he did Crassus accumulated more and more wealth – and it was his thirst for wealth that would eventually lead to his downfall.
Leading his troops in an ill-fated conquest of Parthia (modern-day Iran), Crassus and his forces were brutalized and bested by the Parthians time and time again.
After an unsuccessful parley for peace with the Parthian leaders, Crassus was killed. The Parthians poured molten gold down his throat, as a symbol of his thirst for wealth.
Some even say that his gilded head and hands were sent to the Parthian King to keep as trophies of his victory against Crassus and Rome.
Weird Laws
PENNSYLVANIA
Human trafficking, in general, violates too many international laws to count. Pennsylvania felt the need to specify under the law that you can't barter a baby.
Food Thing
Khachapuri at Laguna Grill in Batumi, Georgia
This specialty from the country of Georgia seems simple at first: a combination of dough and cheese. But at Laguna Grill, the dish is taken to the next level with the indulgent addition of butter and egg. The restaurant also boasts a few intriguing plays on the classic, including a version made with smoked cheese.
Movie/TV Trivia
Avatar
Director James Cameron, known for being tough on set, allegedly kept a nail-gun on set that he would use to nail cell phones, that had the misfortune of ringing, to a wall above the exit sign.
Movie/TV Quote
"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."
Gladiator, 2000