Did You Know?

In lieu of a word of the week this week, I’ll be sharing some fun bird facts in honor of our bird-focused events this Thursday! 

Did you know? In the 1800s the snowy egret’s wispy plumes were literally worth their weight in gold. 

Did you know? Spotted sandpipers constantly bob their tails; people call them teeter-peeps and tip-tails. 

Did you know? The red-bellied woodpecker’s tongue reaches out 2 inches for insects, but seeds are half of their diet. 

All of these bird facts came from the game Wingspan, which is a MUST HAVE for any table-top game lovers out there. 

This Week at Falvey  

Monday, Nov. 1

Mindfulness Mondays / 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. / ZOOM / https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849 

Wednesday, Nov. 3  

Fall 2021 Falvey Forum Workshop Series – Policy Map: Selecting, Mapping and Downloading 21st Century Policy Data / 12:30–1:30 p.m. / ZOOM / Register Here 

The Interfaith Human Library: Where Books Talk and We All Learn About Life in a Multi-Faith World / 4-5:30 p.m. / Speakers’ Corner / Register Here  

Thursday, Nov. 4

“A Bird, Came Down the Walk”: A Creative Writing Workshop Celebrating Birds as Familiar and Unfamiliar Presences Through Poetry / 4-5 p.m. / DeLeon Room (SAC 300) 

Birds of North America: A Reading and Artist’s Talk / 6-7:30 p.m. / Room 205 

Friday, Nov. 5

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting / 2:30-4:30 p.m. / Speakers’ Corner / Free & Open to the Public 

This Week in History 

November 4, 1922 – Entrance to King Tut’s tomb is discovered 

British archaeologist Howard Carter and his workmen discover a step leading to the tomb of King Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. 

When Carter first arrived in Egypt in 1891, most of the ancient Egyptian tombs had been discovered, though King Tutankhamen, who had died when he was 18, was still unaccounted for. The most splendid architectural find inside the newly discovered tomb was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins nested within each other. Inside the final coffin, which was made of solid gold, was the mummy of the boy-king Tutankhamen, preserved for more than 3,000 years. Most of these treasures are now housed in the Cairo Museum. 

History.com Editors. (2010, March 04). Entrance to King Tut’s tomb discovered. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/entrance-to-king-tuts-tomb-discovered

Want to read more about Carter’s journey? Read this book from Falvey’s collection! 

Jenna Renaud is a graduate student in the Communication Department and graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library.

Word of the Week: Friluftsliv (pronounced free-loofts-liv) 

The expression literally translates as “open-air living” and was popularized in the 1850s by the Norwegian playwright and poet, Henrik Ibsen, who used the term to describe the value of spending time in remote locations for spiritual and physical well being. 

Today, the phrase is used more broadly by Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes to explain anything from lunchtime runs, to commuting by bike, to getting away for a weekend in the woods. 

This Week at Falvey  

Monday, Oct. 4

Mindfulness Mondays / 1– 1:30 p.m. / ZOOM / https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849 

Tuesday, Oct. 5

Midterms Stress Buster Pop-Up / 12-2 p.m. / Old Falvey Patio

Wednesday, Oct. 6

Fall 2021 Falvey Forum Workshop Series: Citation Management Using Zotero / 12:30-1:30 p.m. / ZOOM / Register Here 

Friday, Oct. 8

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting / 2:30-4:30 p.m. / Speakers’ Corner / Free & Open to the Public 

This Week in History 

Oct. 4, 1957 – Sputnik launched 

The Soviet Union inaugurates the “Space Age” with its launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. The spacecraft, named Sputnik after the Russian word for “satellite,” was launched at 10:29 p.m. Moscow time from the Tyuratam launch base in the Kazakh Republic. 

The first U.S. satellite, Explorer, was launched on January 31, 1958. By then, the Soviets had already achieved another ideological victory when they launched a dog into orbit aboard Sputnik 2. The Soviet space program went on to achieve a series of other space firsts in the late 1950s and early 1960s: first man in space, first woman, first three men, first space walk, first spacecraft to impact the moon, first to orbit the moon, first to impact Venus, and first craft to soft-land on the moon. 

Jenna Renaud is a graduate student in the Communication Department and graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library.

Word of the Week: Resplendent / adj. 

“Brightly colored in an impressive way” 

It’s officially fall! Although fall technically started on Sept. 22, the weather is starting to catch up with crisper mornings and bright fall foliage or – should I say – resplendent fall foliage. My favorite time of year is when we start to see the leaves change color and sweatshirts become a wardrobe staple!

Check out this fall foliage map to see when the leaves are predicted to be at their peak. 

This Week at Falvey  

Monday, Sept. 27

Mindfulness Mondays / 1–1:30 p.m. / ZOOM / https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849 

Wednesday, Sept. 29

Fall 2021 Falvey Forum Workshop Series: Storytelling with GIS / 12:30–1:30 p.m. / ZOOM / Register Here 

Friday, Oct. 1

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting / 2:30–4:30 p.m. / Speakers’ Corner / Free & Open to the Public 

This Week in History 

September 29, 1982 – Cyanide-laced Tylenol kills seven 

Flight attendant Paula Prince buys a bottle of cyanide-laced Tylenol. Prince was found dead on Oct. 1, becoming the final victim of a mysterious ailment in Chicago. Over the previous few days, six other people had died of unknown causes in northwest Chicago. After Prince’s death, Richard Keyworth, and Philip Cappitelli, firefighters in the Windy City, realized that all seven victims had ingested Extra-Strength Tylenol prior to becoming ill. Further investigation revealed that several bottles of the Tylenol capsules had been poisoned with cyanide. 

While bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol were recalled nationwide, the only contaminated capsules were found in the Chicago area. The culprit was never caught, but the mass murder led to new tamper-proof medicine containers, as well as a string of copycat crimes. 

If you want to read more about how the crisis was handled from a public relations perspective, read this case study. 

Jenna Renaud is a graduate student in the Communication Department and graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library.

Word of the Week: Bibliosmia 

“The smell and aroma of a good book.” 

Bibliosmia, or book-smell, is caused by the chemical breakdown of compounds within the paper. When you smell a book, you are essentially smelling the book’s slow death, which explains why the older the book is, the better it smells! 

This Week at Falvey  

Monday, Sept. 20

Mindfulness Mondays / 1–1:30 p.m. / ZOOM / https://villanova.zoom.us/j/98337578849 

Tuesday, Sept 21

1842 Day is Villanova’s annual day of giving, a 24-hour event for the entire Villanova community to come TOGETHER to make a gift of any size to the designation of their choice. Tuesday, September 21 marks the University’s fifth annual 1842 Day. This is our opportunity to show pride and gratitude for the impact Villanova has on each of us, in our communities and around the world.

Wednesday, Sept. 22

Fall 2021 Falvey Forum Workshop Series: ArcGIS Online Field Apps / 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. / ZOOM / Register Here 

Friday, September 24th 

Villanova Gaming Society Meeting / 2:30-4:30 p.m. / Speakers’ Corner / Free & Open to the Public 

This Week in History 

September 24, 1789 – The first Supreme Court is established  

The Judiciary Act of 1789 is passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington, establishing the Supreme Court of the United States as a tribunal made up of six justices who were to serve on the court until death or retirement. That day, President Washington nominated John Jay to preside as chief justice, and John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison and James Wilson to be associate justices. On September 26, all six appointments were confirmed by the U.S. Senate. 

The current members of the Supreme Court in 2021 are Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett.  

Jenna Renaud is a graduate student in the Communication Department and graduate assistant in Falvey Memorial Library.

By Kallie Stahl 

Members of the Villanova Gaming Society battle during a game of Super Smash Brothers in Falvey’s Speakers’ Corner. Photo courtesy of Shawn Proctor, Communication and Marketing Program Manager.

On February 15, 2008, the Falvey Gaming Commission held its first official game night in the library’s first floor lounge. Now in its 12th year, the student group, now named the Villanova Gaming Society, continues to meet in Falvey once a week to play video games in a safe and fun environment. A social club, the VGS also participates in local tournaments and expositions.

Interesting in joining? The club is always accepting new members. Contact Angelo Gilot (agilot@villanova.edu), VGS President, for additional information. Or, stop by the next gaming session in Falvey’s Speakers’ Corner on Friday, March 13 (2:30 — 4:30 p.m.)

Kallie Stahl ’17 MA is Communication and Marketing Specialist at Falvey Memorial Library.