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California's San Francisco Bay Area surrounded by the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, and their suburbs, is pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above the Golden State on Aug. 3, 2025.

The Demon Core was a plutonium core—used in nuclear testing at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico—so nicknamed because it resulted in the deaths of two scientists in separate accidents. In 1945, Harry Daghlian accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto the core, causing it to go "critical," or achieve a chain reaction of nuclear fission. Daghlian stopped the reaction, but died from radiation poisoning a month later. What happened to the second scientist nine months later? Discuss

Definition: (noun) (KNO3) Used especially as a fertilizer and explosive.
Synonyms: niter, potassium nitrate.
Usage: Gunpowder was not invented by any one; it was the lineal successor of the Greek fire, which, like itself, was composed of sulfur and saltpeter.
Discuss

The man who talks everlastingly and promiscuously, who seems to have an exhaustless magazine of sound, crowds so many words into his thoughts that he always obscures, and very frequently conceals them. Discuss

One of the greatest offensive players in the history of basketball, "Wilt the Stilt" set many records and led the National Basketball Association in scoring every season from 1959 to 1965. He played in his hometown of Philadelphia with the Warriors and 76ers, and later with California's Los Angeles Lakers. He holds the records for both most points in a single game—100—and most rebounds in a single game—55, which he achieved against his long-time rival Bill Russell. How tall was Chamberlain? Discuss