http://quezi.com "Now You Know" Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:50:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://quezi.com/11889 http://quezi.com/11889#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:47:02 +0000 eiffel http://quezi.com/?p=11889 The expression meander is used to describe something that winds around without crossing itself, be it it a creek or river, or a repeating decoration in art or architecture, or also the description of such a line in mathematics. The word dates back to classical Greece, the name then and now for a river in western [more...]]]> http://quezi.com/11889/feed 1 http://quezi.com/11877 http://quezi.com/11877#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:50:17 +0000 eiffel http://quezi.com/?p=11877 In recent decades our understanding of life has advanced rapidly. Scientists now know that life can exist under a much wider range of conditions than were previously thought possible, and are discovering life in the most extreme parts of the earth: in rocks a kilometer under the ground, in the antarctic ice, in the boiling [more...]]]> http://quezi.com/11877/feed 0 http://quezi.com/11865 http://quezi.com/11865#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:10:10 +0000 eiffel http://quezi.com/?p=11865 The green flash is a real optical phenomenon, but many have thought it was just a seaman’s yarn until they actually saw it themselves. Seamen were—and are—most likely to see it since they have a clear view of the horizon, but the phenomenon, which usually only lasts a second or two, seemed like a figment of [more...]]]> http://quezi.com/11865/feed 1 http://quezi.com/11864 http://quezi.com/11864#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:57:41 +0000 answerfinder http://quezi.com/?p=11864 As tourists clamber over the four lions at the base of Nelson’ Column in Trafalgar Square, London, few know that their creation was beset by delays and prevarication. When planning the design of Nelson’s Column, Nelson’s Testimonial Committee had included four lions at the corners of the plinth. It was intended that the lions were to [more...]]]> http://quezi.com/11864/feed 2 http://quezi.com/11858 http://quezi.com/11858#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:13:10 +0000 mvguy http://quezi.com/?p=11858 Christianity is by far the largest family of religions in the world, according to Adherents.com and various other sources. With about 2.1 billion (that is, 2,100 million) people belonging to some branch of Christianity, Christians make up about a third of the world’s population. Christianity is also the most widespread of the major religious groups, [more...]]]> http://quezi.com/11858/feed 4 http://quezi.com/11849 http://quezi.com/11849#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:26:12 +0000 eiffel http://quezi.com/?p=11849 Did you think it was Dr. Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825) who replaced the line “Out, damn’d spot” with the sanitized version “Out, crimson spot”? If so, you are in good company. Even Wikipedia and William Safire use it as a prime example of Bowdler’s expurgating Shakespeare’s plays of what he thought was offensive language, but it [more...]]]> http://quezi.com/11849/feed 1