Wikipedia Trails: Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Charlie Parker

Tweedledum and Tweedledee:
These are characters from Through the Looking Glass, another adventure of Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. They are twins that are quite peculiar, often agreeing to fight but never following through. Their names come from John Byrom, and his epigram.

Epigram:

Epigrams are a literary device that are often sort of poetic. They are often satirical, but not always a poetic device. They've been used for a very long time and often by very famous writers, like Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum originally come from an epigram from John Byrom, which led me from one Wikipedia page to the next.

Graffiti:
Epigrams were made into graffiti, especially one of the the most famous pieces of graffiti from Pompeii.

Graffiti is something that is drawn or etched onto a wall, often in public view. In modern times, they are often spray painted on walls in public in bright colors. Often times, in the instances of Banksy, they can make a social statement.

Charlie Parker:
Shortly after Charlie Parker died, his name often was featured in pieces of graffiti. They would say, "Bird Lives," to immortalize him.

Charlie Parker was a jazz legend, and an extremely talented saxophone player. He was a leader in the rise of bebop and influential in the overall jazz movement. He was nicknamed "Yardbird" or "Bird," which explains the existence of graffiti saying "Bird Lives."

(Charlie Parker, web source: Wikimedia)

Wikipedia Trail: From King Arthur to the Curse of Tippecanoe

King Arthur:
King Arthur, as I read about in his tales for this week, was a legendary king that led the Knights of the Round Table. His story is a story about the average boy who is destined by some greater power to become the ultimate ruler. His most famous aspect is the story of the sword in the stone, which only he was able to remove, therefore making him king.

(King Arthur, web source: Wikimedia)

Cath Palug:
This is a mythical cat monster that King Arthur supposedly fights in one adaptation of his legend. It appears in many different King Arthur stories originating from across the world. It is said to be this enormous monster that kills warriors; legend says it killed nine score.

Curse:
This was a more general page than the previous two. A curse is something that has been used in many different kinds of cultures throughout history and around the world. The general definition is a wish for a wrongdoing to happen to someone else. Someone can put a curse on someone else, with the hope that danger or misfortune will befall them. Some legends of King Arthur and his fight agains the Cath Palug say that this monster was under a curse, which made his monstrous form. His fighting with Arthur eventually released him from the curse.

The Curse of Tippecanoe:
This is a curse on American Presidents. This curse says that presidents that are elected on a year ending in a "0" will be assassinated. It originated from President Harrison and his shady tactics against Tecumseh and other Native Americans. It is said that Tecumseh's brother, a prophet, placed a curse on presidents to come and it lasted all the way until President Reagan survived an assassination attempt.

Wikipedia Trails: From Antelope to the Old Testament

Antelope:
I chose this to be my starting point because of one of the stories I read in the Blackfoot unit within the Native American story collection we had to choose from. When I was reading the story originally, it wondered about the difference between antelopes and deer, because the story seems to link them so closely.
An antelope is a mammal that is native to regions in Eurasia and Africa. There are many different types of antelopes, but mostly all of them have a stature similar to that of a deer. They are long-legged, with antlers sprouting from their heads. Different shapes and lengths of antlers separate the different kinds of antelope.

Koppie/Inselberg:
When describing the different living habits of antelope, the previous article mentioned something about a kind of antelope that lives on a koppie. I had never heard this term before and was interested to see what in the world it could mean.
A inselberg, or koppie as it's referred to in regions of Africa, is a natural physical structure. It is a small mountain of sorts that is surrounded by mostly flat ground. It sort of sticks out and can look like a large boulder just sitting on flat land.

Hyrax:
There is a section in the previous article that describes some of the mammals that could be found living on an inselberg, or koppie. I saw that hyrax was listed and had no earthly idea what they could be talking about.
A hyrax is a small mammal, which looks to me to be a very round/large prairie dog, without the long and slender shape. It's a very peculiar animal indeed. What is even more peculiar is its apparent relation within the animal kingdom to elephants. I'd invite you to reread my description of this creature and then reread that it is indeed related to an elephant.

(Hyrax, web source: Wikimedia)

Old Testament:
Finally, I came upon the Old Testament. The history of the hyrax was being explained and it said that there were references to it even in the Old Testament. This animal has been around for a loooong time.
The Old Testament is the first half of the Christian Bible. It features the story of the creation of the Earth and speaks of God's love for his chosen people. It teaches Christians faithfulness, salvation, redemption, obedience, and above all others that God is the source of goodness in the world.

Wikipedia Trails: From Alice and Wonderland to Masculinity

Alice in Wonderland:

I started here because I did an extra credit reading for my Storybook over the first half of the Alice in Wonderland unit. This article gives a complete overview of the story of Alice, from her meager beginnings as a story to her massive success following the various adaptations of the original story. I was actually just looking to do a little research on the story on this site, but remember that I could be extra credit points for just a few more clicks!

Hookah:

I was looking through the previous page, Alice in Wonderland, for an interesting next step to take and saw the link to this page and wondered what kind of information it would have; it turns out it has a WHOLE BUNCH! I have seen many hookah places around the Oklahoma City area and have visited some on occasion, but this particular page gave a lot of insight to the international cultural phenomenon that is hookah. I particularly liked the country by country analysis of the place of hookah in their culture.

Tobacco:

Not a far step from hookah is tobacco, as tobacco is often used in hookahs. I knew that this was going to give a whole lot of information about all the different kinds of ways people use tobacco. This crop also has a very rich history in our country, with many colonies depending on it to sustain their wavering economies.

Masculinity:

This was an interesting leap from tobacco to masculinity, but not that surprising. Traditionally, smoking or chewing tobacco has been seen as a man's hobby in many societies. Often, it was seen as promiscuous if a woman were to smoke. As said in the article, since about the mid-1800s, smoking tobacco has been seen as a sign of "masculinity and power."

(Hookah in a restaurant in Nepal, web source: Wikimedia)

Wikipedia Trail: From Cistern to Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Cistern:

A cistern was used in ancient times as a place to store water. They're often used where there is little rain or where a well couldn't be dug properly. They often serve the same purpose today; yet, they must be kept away from algae and mosquitos.

Lava:

Lava is what erupts from a volcano. It's molten and liquid-like, but it dries into lava rock which some cisterns were made of. There are many famous volcano eruptions during which the lava wiped out entire civilizations.

Mount Vesuvius:

Mount Vesuvius is the volcano that destroyed the town of Pompeii. Arguably, this is one of the most famous volcano eruptions. This eruption released 100,000 times the thermal energy that was released with the atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:

These events were the only atomic bombings to date. They were released during World War II by the United States on Japan, their enemy during the war. Many people were killed by the initial blast of the bombs, but others succumbed to burns and more yet had children with birth defects.

(Portuguese Cistern, web source: Wikimedia)