by Diana Filer
1. A gizzard is an organ found in the digestive tract of some animals like the crocodile and alligator. It has thick muscular walls for grinding up food, often helped by grit or stones. All birds have gizzards.
2. Beginning on Easter Sunday, Eastertide lasts until Pentecost seven weeks later.
3. The Drinking Gourd, a term for the Big Dipper, was first used by enslaved Americans as a reference for them in case they lost their way.
4. The world’s first empire was the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia, ruled by King Sargon the Great, and founded in 2334 BC. It united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule.
5. Raku ware is Japanese pottery traditionally used in the tea ceremony. It is hand-shaped rather than thrown.

