The flags of both Australia and New Zealand feature stylized depictions of the Southern Cross. A 2016 referendum to change the New Zealand flag yielded a 56.7% majority vote to retain the current design.
Crux, the official name of the star constellation the Southern Cross, is four bright stars in the southern hemisphere (image, https://is.gd/AcWEDj) that is among the most easily distinguishable of constellations. Acrux (image, https://is.gd/eefiBF) is the brightest and southernmost of the stars. Clockwise from Acrux, and also in decreasing magnitude, are Mimosa to the west, Gacrux to the north, and Imai (Imai (Delta Crucis): Star Type, Name, Location, Constellation | Star Facts) to the east.
So that’s:
[ul]
[li]Acrux at the south — https://is.gd/eefiBF[/li][li]**Mimosa** to the west — https://www.star-facts.com/mimosa/[/li][li]**Gacrux** to the north — Gacrux (Gamma Crucis): Star Type, Name, Location, Constellation | Star Facts, and[/li][li]Imai to the east — https://www.star-facts.com/imai/[/li][/ul]
One of the unsettling ways that Doris Freeman, a character in Stephen King’s 1980 Lovecraftian short story “Crouch End,” knows she’s not on Earth anymore is that the stars overhead are not in any recognizable constellations.
Because the Earth’s axis wobbles, our perception of North gradually shifts to different stars over a 26,000-year cycle. Vega was the North Star several thousand years ago, followed by Thuban and Polaris, and it will regain that status in about 12,000 years.
Thuban, in Draco the dragon, is sometimes known as the Dragon’s Tail.
In the year 20346, Thuban will be the north star again.
The Komodo monitor, also known as the Komodo dragon, is the world’s largest extant species of lizard. The monitor is found on four islands of Indonesia, where their diet consists mainly of birds and mammals, especially Timor deer.
Per Wiki, mating among Komodo dragons occurs between May and August, with the eggs laid in September. During this period, males fight over females and territory by grappling with one another upon their hind legs, with the loser eventually being pinned to the ground. These males may vomit or defecate when preparing for the fight. The winner of the fight will then flick his long tongue at the female to gain information about her receptivity. Females are antagonistic and resist with their claws and teeth during the early phases of courtship. Therefore, the male must fully restrain the female during coitus to avoid being hurt.
Gotta say, I’ve been in bars like that.
When mating, up to 100 male red garter snakes all will circle a single female. That female ends up in the middle of a hoard of males who ready to mate.
Sounds like some parties I’ve been to.
Those who can speak to snakes in the Wizarding World tales of best-selling British fantasy author J.K. Rowling are said to be Parselmouths. Both Lord Voldemort and Harry Potter, whom he tried to kill in infancy, were Parselmouths.
Lord Voldemort, the villain in the Harry Potter book and film series, was primarily portrayed by actor Ralph Fiennes in the films. However, several other actors also played Voldemort (or his younger self, Tom Riddle):
- Ian Hart provided the voice and facial features for the CGI version of Voldemort, who was grafted to the back of the head of Professor Quirrell (also played by Hart), in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
- In that same film, Richard Bremmer played Voldemort in a flashback to the night when Harry’s parents were killed, though his face was never seen.
- Christian Coulson played the adolescent Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
- Hero Fiennes-Tiffin (Ralph Fiennes’ nephew) and Frank Dillane played young versions of Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
A statue of King Richard I Lionheart stands just outside the Palace of Westminster in London, where the British Parliament meets.
The basic difference betweeen a parliament and a republic, is that in a parliament, the chief executive is chosen from among the elected legislators. Or, to make a US analogy, the presedent would be elected from within the electoral college, the rest of whom would sit as the House of representatives.
The Parliament brand of cigarettes was launched in 1931, and is distinctive for its recessed paper filters. This was originally an advertising gimmick when cigarettes did not have filters. The first commercial cigarette filters came into use in 1935.
A character’s decision to stop smoking in 1954, in light of growing evidence of cigarettes’ unhealthiness, is a minor plot point in Irish author Alan Glynn’s 2019 novel Receptor. The novel is a sequel to Glynn’s The Dark Fields, adapted for the screen as Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.
In 1964, Luther Terry, the Surgeon General of the United States, released the now-famous first report on cigarette smoking and health. Among others, these conclusions were contained in the report:
Cigarette smoking is a cause of lung cancer and laryngeal cancer in men.
Cigarette smoking is a probable cause of lung cancer in women.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of chronic bronchitis.
A “cigarette boat,” also known as a “go-fast boat” or a “rum-runner”, is a small, fast motorboat, featuring a long, narrow platform and a planing hull.
While the original boats were often used for smuggling, particularly during Prohibition (and some still are used in smuggling operations), many are now used for recreation and racing. The term “cigarette boat” comes from a racing boat which was designed and built for Don Aronow in the 1960s, which he named “The Cigarette” – the design of that boat became influential in later boat designs.
The late President George H.W. Bush owned a cigarette boat which had been seized by the DEA in Florida, civilly forfeited and then purchased at public auction. Bush often sailed the boat off the coast of Kennebunkport, Maine.
The city of Le Mans dates back to Roman times; in the Middle ages it was the principal city of the province of Maine and controlled by the Normans. The “Palais des Comtes du Maine”, the Medieval home of the Counts of Maine, still stands. It was the birthplace of Henry II of England but is now part of the Town Hall and not open to the public.
Peter O’Toole played King Henry II of England twice, in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968).
There have been eight Kings of England named Henry. Henry I, who reigned from 1100 through 1135, was the fourth son of William the Conqueror. He seized the throne after his brother, William II, died in a mysterious hunting accident.