Social Science Questions & Answers

A spring chicken is a young bird bred for the table. Earlier, chicks would not survive the cold winter months, so a chicken in spring was prized for its flavour. New England chicken farmers discovered that chickens born in spring fetched a better price than the old ones who had weathered the winters. When farmers tried selling the older ones …

‘Ceteris paribus’ is a Latin phrase literally translated as “with other things the same”. Ceteris paribus clauses are most widely used in economics to simplify the formulation and description of economic outcomes. When using ceteris paribus in economics, assume all other variables, except those under immediate consideration, are held constant. Sir Alfred Marshall characterized this phrase. It is mainly used …

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday of Holy Week. It represents the day that the Jewish Passover was celebrated in the Bible Story of Easter. On that day, Jesus had his last meal with his friends and followers before he was killed. This meal is now know as ‘The Last Supper’. At the meal, Jesus and his friends would have followed …

Eid-e-Milad is also called Maulid, since it is Prophet Muhammed’s Eid and the song sung in praise of the Prophet’s birth is called a Maulud. From the Middle Ages, it was believed that, listening to the recitation of Maulud has not only worldly but heavenly rewards too. Maulid or Meelad is the expression of individual gratitude, collective awareness and communal …

Maniole is a place in Zaire, currently called the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The average annual temperature here is about 250 degrees Celsius. From 1967, its currency is Zaore.

Whenever an individual or a group of individuals overtly convey to another individual or group their affection frequently, consistently and profusely, then the former is said to be love bombing the latter. There is a controversy on whether this indicates real affection. It is said to be practised by members of many religious organisations. Critics of the cults feel that …

In 1933, a couple claimed they saw a dinosaur-like monster in Loch Ness, a lake in Scotland. Three thousand sighting of ‘This Monster’ have occurred since, but nobody has proven the existence of the creature’s for sure!

Llanfair PG or Llanfairpwll is the short form and commonly used name of a village located on the island of Anglesey in Wales. The long form of the village’s name is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, which is Welsh for ‘St Mary’s church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of the red …

Lent is the period of 40 days before Easter. It starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Eve (sometimes called Easter Saturday). But if you look in a calendar or diary and count the days they come to more than 40! This is because you don’t count the Sundays in Lent! For Christians, Lent is a time to prepare …

The Legend of Lubdhaka The legend of Lubdhaka is deeply related to Mahashivaratri and explains the popular custom of all-night worship of Lord Shiva on the festival. As a tradition devotees recite the legend of Lubdhaka while they observe fast in worship of Lord Shiva on Mahashivaratri. And, it is only after observing an all night fast that devotees eat …