Alger Hiss Is Released from Prison (1954)

Though Hiss maintained his innocence until his death in 1996, the controversy surrounding his case persists today. Once a US government official, Hiss was accused before the House Un-American Activities Committee of spying for Russia. Though he could not be tried for espionage under the statute of limitations, he was convicted of perjury and served 44 months in prison. Many believed he had been wrongly convicted. However, Soviet files released in 1996 seem to implicate him. Who was his accuser? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Anders Celsius (1701)

Celsius was a Swedish astronomer who published observations of the aurora borealis and supervised the building of an observatory at Uppsala, Sweden, where he pioneered the measurement of the brightness of stars. Today, however, he is better known for an invention that has been adopted by almost the entire world—the centigrade, or Celsius, thermometer. Originally, his temperature scale had 0 as its boiling point and 100 as its freezing point. Who reversed the numbers after Celsius died? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Amish Woodworking

In Amish culture, furniture making is a skill passed down from generation to generation, and many families are known for their distinct detail work. Made primarily by the Amish of Ohio and Indiana, the all-wood furniture is recognized for its quality and workmanship. Amish woodworkers, who view their products as both functional objects and works of art, hand-pick each piece of wood to match the specific item being crafted. What alternative energy sources are sometimes used by the woodworkers? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Opens in Wales (1805)

It took 10 years to build the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, which towers over the River Dee valley in Wrexham, Wales. A feat of civil engineering, it is still in use more than two centuries later, allowing boats to cross the Llangollen Canal about 120 feet (35 m) above the valley. The aqueduct consists of a narrow cast iron trough supported by stone columns and bordered by a railed path that was built so horses could tow canal boats. The span occasionally closes for maintenance. How is it emptied? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Umoja Karamu

The African-American holiday of Umoja Karamu, which means “unity feast” in Kiswahili, celebrates family members’ commitment to one another. Five periods of African-American life, each symbolized by a color, provide the framework for the ceremony: 1) the family in Africa, before slavery in America (black); 2) the enslaved family in America (white); 3) the family freed from slavery (red); 4) the family struggling for true liberation (green); 5) the family anticipating the future (orange or gold). Narratives, music, and foods relating to each period are part of the ceremony. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Saint Katharine Drexel (1858)

The niece of a wealthy Philadelphia banker, Drexel inherited a vast fortune and used it to address racial injustice and educational inequality in the US. She established mission schools across the American West and founded Xavier University, the only historically black, Catholic university in the US. In 1891, after becoming a Roman Catholic nun, she founded a society of nuns to aid Native Americans and African Americans. The second US-born saint, Drexel is known as the patron saint of what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Dark Figure of Crime

Criminologists and sociologists use the term “dark figure of crime” to describe the number of crimes that go unreported or undiscovered. Researchers agree that official crime statistics have certain limitations: they can be influenced by police discretion and manpower as well as changes in legislation, technology, the economy, and social values. In addition, some crimes are simply not reported to police. Consequently, researchers have turned to alternative measures of criminality, such as what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary