Month: June 2022

Inti Raymi Fiesta

The Inti Raymi Festival is an ancient Winter Solstice festival celebrated by the Incas in Peru on June 24. The original Inti Raymi involved animal sacrifices performed at the top of La Marca when the sun reached its zenith. Today the main celebration takes place in Cuzco, where there is a special procession and mock sacrifice to the sun, followed by a week-long celebration involving folkloric dances and regional arts and crafts displays. Bonfires are still lit in the Andes Mountains to celebrate the rebirth of the sun, and people burn their old clothes as a way of marking the end of the harvest cycle. Discuss

Jack Dempsey (1895)

Born in Manassa, Colorado, Dempsey was an American boxer and world heavyweight champion. Nicknamed the “Manassa Mauler,” he emerged from fights on saloon floors to seal his slugging reputation in his first title fight by knocking down the gigantic champion, Jess Willard, seven times in the first three minutes. He successfully defended his title five times before losing to Gene Tunney in an upset. What happened during the rematch, and why did it come to be called the “Long Count” bout? Discuss

Rasputin

Rasputin was a notorious figure in the court of Czar Nicholas II due to his magnetic personality and relative success in treating the czarevitch’s hemophilia. His appointees filled high positions, and those who opposed him were dismissed. A semiliterate peasant, Rasputin gained a reputation as a holy man, preaching a doctrine of salvation that mixed religious fervor with sexual indulgence. In 1916, a group of right-wing patriots plotted to kill him. What happened when they tried to poison him? Discuss

wonder

admire – Can mean “to wonder at, to be slightly surprised.” More…

marvel – Traces to Latin mirabilia, from mirari, “wonder at.” More…

nine days’ wonder – An old term (c. 1325) for an event or phenomenon that attracts enthusiastic interest for a short while, but is then ignored or forgotten. More…

Wonder Bread – Got its name from a vice president who watched a hot-air balloon race shortly before the bread needed a name—”wonder” is how he described the event and then the bread. More…

The International Olympic Committee Is Founded (1894)

Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded following efforts by Pierre de Coubertin to reinstate the ancient Olympic Games that were first held in Greece in 776 BCE. Today, the IOC constitutes a single legal entity that organizes the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and owns copyrights, trademarks, and other intangible properties associated with the Games, such as the Olympic logos. What is the maximum number of members the IOC can have? Discuss

Estonia Victory Day

This date commemorates the Battle of Vönnu in 1919, in which a joint force of Estonians and Latvians claimed a decisive victory and marked the end of 700 years of German control. Today, the president and other dignitaries attend the official Victory Day ceremonies in the capital city, Tallinn. The holiday transitions from the political to the traditional when the president orders citizens to take torches from the official bonfire held in honor of Victory Day to light the hundreds of bonfires in the country that initiate Midsummer and St. John’s Eve celebrations. Discuss

Alfred Kinsey (1894)

Kinsey was an American biologist noted for his 1948 study Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and its 1953 follow-up, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. Based upon thousands of interviews, the Kinsey Reports generated much controversy because they discussed taboo subjects, challenged conventional beliefs about sexuality, and approached sexual variation in a nonjudgmental, value-neutral fashion. Though he is best remembered for this research, Kinsey actually was a teacher of what? Discuss