In 1910, the British colonies of Cape Colony, Transvaal, Natal, and Orange River were unified into the new Union of South Africa. Under the Union's constitution, power was centralized. Elections were held, and Louis Botha became the first prime minister. The Dutch language was given equal status with English, and each province retained its existing franchise qualifications. The Union became independent and withdrew from the Commonwealth exactly how many years after its founding? Discussfrom This Day in History http://ift.tt/1qYYDmk
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Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a therapeutic treatment in which an electric current is passed through the brain, inducing seizures and alterations in the brain's electrical activity. It is used to treat certain mental disorders and is generally employed only after other therapies have proven ineffective. ECT can cause memory loss and bone fractures, and there is much controversy surrounding its use and effectiveness. Who are some of the noted actors and writers who have undergone ECT? 
On this day, Christian churches in the West commemorate the 
Sidgwick was a British philosopher whose Methods of Ethics is considered by some to be the most significant 19th-century ethical work in English. Drawing on the utilitarianism of John Stuart Mill and the categorical imperative of Immanuel Kant, he proposed a system of "universalistic hedonism" that would reconcile the conflict between the pleasure of self and the pleasure of others. He promoted higher education for women and cofounded what society devoted to studying paranormal events? 
Barrientos was elected vice president of Bolivia in 1964, but he soon broke with the president and joined other army officers in a coup. He was installed as head of a military junta and became the sole president after winning the 1966 elections. He launched a moderate—albeit military—administration, retaining the reforms instituted by his predecessors. Three years later, he died in a helicopter crash. Why did he once jump out of an airplane with a parachute that had earlier failed to open? 
In his observations of World War I veterans, Sigmund Freud noticed that the men had a strange proclivity toward reenacting traumatic experiences. He also observed this tendency in young children who often play games that simulate unpleasant situations. To explain this, he introduced and later developed the concept of the death drive: a primitive impulse for destruction, decay, and death, manifested by a turning away from pleasure. What Freudian principle does the death drive violate? 
The second patron saint of France and one of the best known of all the saints, 
Hart was an American outlaw whose notoriety stemmed primarily from the fact that she was female. Her early life was fairly ordinary. She grew up wealthy and eloped at 16. In 1893, after seeing Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, she left her abusive husband and went west, where she acquired a taste for cigars, liquor, and morphine. In 1899, she helped rob a stagecoach, making away with over $400. She was apprehended, escaped, was recaptured, and then tried for her crimes. Why was she later pardoned? 
In 1160, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa was excommunicated for his support of a series of antipopes against Pope Alexander III. In 1167, the communes of Lombardy in northern Italy formed an alliance to resist Frederick. The Lombard League soundly defeated Frederick's forces in the Battle of Legnano, after which Frederick reconciled with the pope and made peace with the Lombard cities. Why, if he survived, did Frederick's wife go into mourning for her husband following the battle? 
The use of the fork is a basic concern of Western table etiquette. The utensil's origin is disputed; certain passages in the book of I Samuel suggest that forks were used during priestly sacrifice, and it is commonly accepted that the Greeks used serving forks long before the Middle Ages. Before the fork made its 10th century debut at tables across Europe, people commonly used their hands to eat. Why did the Roman Catholic Church initially consider the use of a fork an insult to God? 
The Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race of the four big races of the 
A British man of letters, Chesterton was a journalist, scholar, novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He wrote essays on Christianity and works of social and literary criticism on subjects such as Charles Dickens. His fiction includes the popular allegorical novel The Man Who Was Thursday, and his most successful creation, the series of detective novels featuring the priest-sleuth Father Brown. Chesterton was also known for collaborating with what author? 
Music existed long before human cultures were literate or had developed a written system of record-keeping, perhaps originating as an attempt to echo the sounds and rhythms of nature. These sounds may have been used to lure prey while hunting or in recreational or shamanistic rituals. The oldest known bone flute is about 50,000 years old, but experts believe that humans may have used what to create a form of music that predates such instruments? 
By the 1970s, Leonardo da Vinci's 15th-century mural masterpiece, The Last Supper, was badly deteriorated. Italian officials then undertook a major restoration project to permanently stabilize the painting and reverse the damage. The painting's original form was determined using original sketches and scientific tests, including infrared reflectoscopy and microscopic core-samples. The restoration took 21 years, and the painting was put back on display in 1999. Where is it located? 
When news of the British 
Moore was an Irish poet who achieved prominence in his day not only for his poetry but also for his love of Ireland and personal charm. He is remembered today for Irish Melodies, a group of lyrics published between 1808 and 1834 and set to music by Sir John Stevenson and others. Moore was friends with Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, and his biography of Byron is among his best prose works. Byron left Moore his memoirs, but Moore later destroyed them. Who persuaded him to do it? 
The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman. 
Australia sets aside the week between May 27 and June 3 to honor the culture and history of its 
Hickok was an American frontier marshal, legendary marksman, and gambler. In 1861, while working as a stagecoach driver, he shot and killed outlaw Dave McCanles, earning a reputation as a gunfighter. After serving as a Union spy during the Civil War, he was appointed a US marshal and tamed two Kansas towns. He was shot dead by a drunken stranger while playing poker at a saloon in the town of Deadwood. At the time, he was holding what combination of cards, now known as "dead man's hand"? 
Fire-eaters are entertainers who extinguish flaming objects and transfer flames using their mouths and other body parts. The tradition of fire-eating was embedded in the spiritual performances of Hindu ascetics, and by the late 1880s, these daring acts had become a standard element in sideshow productions. Extinguishing tricks are the traditional hallmark of fire-eating, and performers often use their mouths to snuff out 1, 2, or even 3 flaming torches. What is the “secret” to fire-eating? 
The Le Paradis massacre was a WWII war crime committed by German soldiers under the command of officer Fritz Knöchlein. After becoming isolated from their regiment and running out of ammunition during the Battle of France, a group of British soldiers surrendered to German troops. They were then led across the road, lined up against a wall, and shot. Ninety-seven British troops died. Two survived and hid, but they were captured several days later. What happened to Knöchlein after the war? 
While the 1970 Bhola cyclone was not the strongest tropical cyclone to hit East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), it was the deadliest, claiming approximately half a million lives. It ranks among the most deadly natural disasters of modern times. The low-lying islands of the Ganges Delta were particularly susceptible to the storm surge's floodwaters, which reached 33 ft (10 m) when the cyclone made landfall. How did this tragic event help to bring about the establishment of Bangladesh? 
Lange was a profoundly influential American documentary photographer. During the Great Depression, her photos of stark poverty led to her employment by a federal agency to bring the plight of the poor to public attention. Her images were so effective that the government was compelled to establish camps for migrant laborers. Lange produced several other photo essays, including one documenting the WWII internment of Japanese-Americans. Who is the subject of her best-known photo, "Migrant Mother"? 
The name of this Jewish holiday means "thirty-three omer," an omer being a sheaf of barley or wheat. In the biblical book of 
Johnson became president following Abraham Lincoln's assassination. When he attempted to dismiss his Secretary of War without senatorial consent, congressional leaders—for the first time in US history—sought to remove the president from office. Their first attempt failed, but in 1868, the House passed a resolution of impeachment against him. During the trial, the charges proved weak, and the two-thirds vote needed for conviction failed by one vote. Which senators voted against their party? 
In 1979, Etan Patz left his apartment by himself, for the very first time, to walk the two blocks to his school bus stop. He never made it there. His disappearance was widely covered by the media and led to the implementation of new methods for tracking down missing children, such as the milk carton campaigns of the 1980s. In 2010, the Manhattan district attorney announced that he had reopened the case into Patz's disappearance. Who was found liable for Patz's death in a civil case in 2004? 
"Weasel words" are words that are intended to, or have the effect of, softening the force of a potentially loaded or controversial statement. The term was coined by Stewart Chaplin in a 1900 short story and invokes the image of a sneaky weasel wriggling its way out of tight spaces in the same way that these words subtly redirect attention. One example of weasel words is the phrase "headcount reduction," which is used in the corporate world as a euphemism for what distasteful course of action? 
The idea of packing up one's belongings and changing 
Robinson was an influential virtuoso tap dancer. An innovator, he was reputedly the first to dance on the balls of his feet instead of in the earlier flat-footed style. He began dancing professionally at the age of eight and became a popular nightclub and vaudeville performer. He first performed on Broadway in 1928 and was the first African American to star in a Ziegfield Follies. He appeared in 14 Hollywood features in the 1930s and 40s, including four that he made with which child actress? 
A zombie computer, or zombie, is a computer attached to the Internet that has been compromised by a hacker, computer virus, or trojan horse. Generally, a compromised machine is only one of many in a network of remotely controlled computers used to perform malicious tasks. Most owners of zombie computers are unaware that their systems are being used in this way, but the damage caused by such systems can be devastating. Approximately what percent of the world's spam is sent from zombie computers? 
"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is a 19th century American nursery rhyme. It was written by Sarah Josepha Hale, who turned to writing in 1822 as a widow trying to support her family and who eventually became an influential editor and arbiter of American taste. Thomas Edison recited part of the poem to test his invention of the phonograph, and a host of musicians have recorded versions of it. The nursery rhyme is said to have been based on an actual incident in which what happened? 
One of the first international female sports stars, Lenglen was a French tennis player and a prolific champion. She won 31 championship titles from 1914 to 1926, including the world hard-court singles and doubles titles (1914); French women's singles (1920–23, 1925–26); and British women's singles crowns and doubles (1919-1923, 1925). In 1920, she won a gold medal at the Olympic Games. The first female tennis celebrity and a flamboyant trendsetter, she was given what nickname by the press? 
Savonarola was an Italian preacher and religious reformer. After the overthrow of the Medici family, he became the ruler of Florence, setting up a democratic but severely puritanical government. He was opposed by the allies of the Medici and by Pope Alexander VI, who attempted to restrain Savonarola's unusual interpretations of scripture and his claim of prophecy. He was tried, convicted of heresy, and hanged. His government was known for its "bonfire of the vanities," which was what? 
The ritualistic killing of children was a common religious practice in some of the prominent pre-Colombian cultures. The Olmec civilization, which flourished in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico between 1200 and 400 BCE, may have been one such society. Evidence of the brutal practice was found in the El Manatí sacrificial bog, where the skeletons of an unknown number of infants were uncovered. How many times a year did the Aztecs celebrate religious festivals with child sacrifice? 
Considered one of swing's two great clarinetists—along with his rival, Benny Goodman—Shaw was a virtuoso at his instrument. He began playing professionally as a teen before becoming leader of one of the most popular big bands of the swing era. In 1935, he performed with a string quartet that he later expanded into a more conventional dance band. He led a US Navy band during World War II and various ensembles later on, retiring in 1954. How many times was Shaw married? 
Declaration of the Bab is a joyous 
Wagner was a German composer whose astonishing works made him one of the most influential figures in the history of Western music. He revolutionized the 19th-century idea of opera, seeing it as a wholly new art form in which musical, poetic, and scenic elements should come together through such devices as the leitmotif—a recurring melodic phrase used to illustrate a character or idea. His operas include Tristan and Isolde, as well as his masterpiece, a four-opera cycle known as what? 
The candirú is a parasitic freshwater catfish typically found in the Amazon River. The translucent, eel-shaped "toothpick fish" is reputed to be the most feared fish in the river and earned this distinction because of its proclivity for attacking and entering the human body via any available orifice, especially the urethra. The creature has protruding spines which make it nearly impossible to remove from the body without surgical intervention. How does the fish locate its human host? 
In November 1967, British soldiers evacuated 
First released in Japan in 1980, Pac-Man went on to become one of the most famous arcade games of all time. Developed by Namco video game designer Toru Iwatani, the game became an icon of 80s pop culture and is often credited with being a landmark in video game history. For the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man in 2010, Google turned its homepage logo into a fully playable version of the game. How much productivity did businesses reportedly lose from employees playing the game?