Word: worldly
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...exact origin of Devil's Night is unclear. People who grew up in Detroit following World War II recall kids plastering cars with toilet paper, and tossing onto porches fiery paper bags filled with feces. Huge swaths of this city burned during the 1967 riots, leaving the kind of blighted property that experts say lures prospective arsonists. John Hall, a researcher at the National Fire Prevention Association, said the presence of so many vacant properties presented the ingredients for what's known as "the broken windows syndrome." He says "when people see a collection of abandoned properties in one location...
Legend holds that the world's first marathon was run - unintentionally - in 490 B.C. by a Greek soldier, Pheidippides, who ran the 25 miles to Athens from the town of Marathon to announce a battleground victory over the Persians. "Greetings, we win!" he shouted - and then fell to the ground, dead. It would be more than 2,000 years before the marathon would make its return, at the revival of the modern Olympic Games in Greece in 1896. In that event, 17 runners ran 40 km, or 24.8 miles, with Greek runner Spyridon Louis taking the gold medal with...
...estimated 800 marathons are now held around the world each year; 20 of them with 10,000 or more finishers. They include such punishing races as the Great Tibetan Marathon, held at 12,500 ft. above sea level; the Polar Circle Marathon, held on Greenland's ice cap; and the Pikes Peak marathon, which includes a 6,000-ft. climb to the summit of the Colorado mountain. Record times have fallen from close to three hours a century ago to close to two hours today, with Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie setting the current record in Berlin last year with a time...
...Africa, hundreds of streets, squares and schools bore his name, as did many more pop songs, books and movies. Not hard to understand. After all, Mandela, who endured 27 years of incarceration under apartheid only to emerge with forgiveness for his racist jailers and become an icon to the world, is an inspiring figure. But what about unauthorized books that bear Mandela's name? Or charities that use his name to boost their profile? What about, God forbid, a Mandela Burger...
...asked the other 44 charities of which Mandela is a patron to sign on as well. Other charitable causes must get the foundation's consent before using Mandela's name. This week, the foundation reprimanded actress Charlize Theron for auctioning off a package of gifts related to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which included a 20-second kiss from her and a meeting with Mandela. "Not even the charity foundations Mandela himself established are allowed to auction off time with him," the foundation said in a statement. (See pictures of Johannesburg preparing for soccer's World...