UT: The Arecibo Observatory Platform Has Collapsed

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The Arecibo Observatory Platform Has Collapsed
Universe Today | 2020 Dec 01

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<<Placebo is Latin for I shall be pleasing. It was used as a name for the Vespers in the Office of the Dead, taken from a phrase used in it, a quote from the Vulgate's Psalm 114:9. From that, a singer of placebo became associated with someone who falsely claimed a connection to the deceased to get a share of the funeral meal, and hence a flatterer, and so a deceptive act to please.>>

<<Aracibo (born c. 1480s) was a Taíno Cacique [i.e., king] in Puerto Rico who governed the area which is now named after him (now spelled Arecibo). Aracibo governed a tribe whose village was located by the shore of the river "Abacoa". Aracibo had been known to be a "just" and respected cacique and his tribe had led a peaceful existence before the arrival of the Spaniards. The rivers close to the village were full of fish and turtles and so it was only natural that the members of Aracibo's tribe were fishermen. Their land produced many fruits, such as papayas; the tribe were cultivators of corn. Aracibo loved to collect various animals and birds. He, like the rest of the other Caciques, reported only to the "Supreme Cacique" Agüeybaná.

The relationship between the Spaniards and the Taínos was peaceful at first, however, all that changed when the Conquistadores started to enslave the natives. In 1511, Agueybana's brother Güeybaná, better known as Agüeybaná II (The Brave), discovered that the Spaniards were not "gods" and this encouraged the Cacique to rebel against the invaders. The rebellion failed after Juan Ponce de León's troops confronted and killed Agüeybaná II.>>

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