Andrew Johnson Avoids Impeachment by One Vote (1868)

Johnson became president following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. When he attempted to dismiss his Secretary of War without senatorial consent, congressional leaders—for the first time in US history—sought to remove the president from office. Their first attempt failed, but in 1868, the House passed a resolution of impeachment against him. During the trial, the charges proved weak, and the two-thirds vote needed for conviction failed by one vote. Which senators voted against their party? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Lag B’Omer

The name of this Jewish holiday means “thirty-three omer,” an omer being a sheaf of barley or wheat. In the biblical book of Leviticus, the people were commanded by Jehovah to make an offering of a sheaf of barley on each of the 50 days between Passover and Shavuot. After the evening service, the number of the day was solemnly announced, and, in time, this ceremony came to be known as “the counting of the omer.” Lag ba-Omer represents a break in the otherwise solemn season between Passover and Shavuot. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Dorothea Lange (1895)

Lange was a profoundly influential American documentary photographer. During the Great Depression, her photos of stark poverty led to her employment by a federal agency to bring the plight of the poor to public attention. Her images were so effective that the government was compelled to establish camps for migrant laborers. Lange produced several other photo essays, including one documenting the WWII internment of Japanese-Americans. Who is the subject of her best-known photo, “Migrant Mother”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The 1970 Bhola Cyclone

While the 1970 Bhola cyclone was not the strongest tropical cyclone to hit East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), it was the deadliest, claiming approximately half a million lives. It ranks among the most deadly natural disasters of modern times. The low-lying islands of the Ganges Delta were particularly susceptible to the storm surge’s floodwaters, which reached 33 ft (10 m) when the cyclone made landfall. How did this tragic event help to bring about the establishment of Bangladesh? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Six-Year-Old Etan Patz Abducted in New York (1979)

In 1979, Etan Patz left his apartment by himself, for the very first time, to walk the two blocks to his school bus stop. He never made it there. His disappearance was widely covered by the media and led to the implementation of new methods for tracking down missing children, such as the milk carton campaigns of the 1980s. In 2010, the Manhattan district attorney announced that he had reopened the case into Patz’s disappearance. Who was found liable for Patz’s death in a civil case in 2004? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Moving Day (Scotland)

The idea of packing up one’s belongings and changing residences on a particular day has been a tradition in many countries. In Scotland, it was called Flitting Day and took place on May 25. The decision of whether to “sit or flit” was up to the tenant, but “flitting” seemed to be more common. On Flitting Day, they had to vacate their houses by noon, which often meant a great upheaval for the family during the preceding day or two. Apparently, the novelty value of flitting outweighed the boredom of sitting. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878)

Robinson was an influential virtuoso tap dancer. An innovator, he was reputedly the first to dance on the balls of his feet instead of in the earlier flat-footed style. He began dancing professionally at the age of eight and became a popular nightclub and vaudeville performer. He first performed on Broadway in 1928 and was the first African American to star in a Ziegfield Follies. He appeared in 14 Hollywood features in the 1930s and 40s, including four that he made with which child actress? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Weasel Words

“Weasel words” are words that are intended to, or have the effect of, softening the force of a potentially loaded or controversial statement. The term was coined by Stewart Chaplin in a 1900 short story and invokes the image of a sneaky weasel wriggling its way out of tight spaces in the same way that these words subtly redirect attention. One example of weasel words is the phrase “headcount reduction,” which is used in the corporate world as a euphemism for what distasteful course of action? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary