Month: September 2022

Consuelo Vanderbilt

Consuelo Vanderbilt, a member of the prominent and wealthy Vanderbilt family, was seen as the ultimate marital prize of the Victorian age. Though she was in love with another man, Consuelo was pressured by her overbearing mother to marry Charles Spencer-Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. The couple subsequently divorced, and Consuelo went on to marry Jacques Balsan, a record-breaking balloon and hydroplane pilot. How much money did the Duke of Marlborough collect upon marrying Consuelo? Discuss

Devils Tower Named First US National Monument (1906)

Rising 1,267 feet (386 m) above the meandering Belle Fourche River, Devils Tower is a cluster of rock columns in the Black Hills of Wyoming formed by the cooling and crystallization of molten matter. The site, which many Native American Plains tribes consider sacred, was declared the first US National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. A popular rock-climbing site, the monument attracts some 400,000 visitors each year. Why do most climbers abstain from scaling the tower in June? Discuss

Jim Henson (1936)

Henson was an American filmmaker, television producer, and puppeteer who created the puppet group the Muppets. He was the leading force behind their long, creative run in films and in the television series Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. Henson crafted the prototype for his signature character, Kermit the Frog, from his mother’s green coat and two ping pong ball halves for eyes. What Henson screenplay, discovered in his archives, was recently published as a graphic novel? Discuss

Ben and Jerry's

In 1978, childhood friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield invested $12,000 to launch their ice cream company in a renovated gas station. The Vermont-based company drew national publicity when it filed a lawsuit to protest the blocking of its distribution by a rival ice cream company and went on to become famous for its creative flavor names, like Cherry Garcia and Phish Food, and socially conscious approach. Why are Ben and Jerry’s ice creams typically chock-full of chunky add-ins? Discuss

Planet Neptune Is Discovered (1846)

Neptune is notable for being the first planet to be discovered by way of mathematical prediction rather than standard observation. Galileo observed Neptune twice in the early 1600s, but he mistook the planet for a fixed star and is therefore not credited with its discovery. Centuries later, small changes in Uranus’s orbit led astronomers to seek out and discover the eighth and outermost planet of our solar system. Who predicted Neptune’s location in the 1840s within 1° of where it was found? Discuss

Augustus Caesar (63 BCE)

Augustus Caesar was the first emperor of Rome. Known as Octavian for the period of his life prior to 27 BCE, he came to power after defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra. He ended years of civil war and gave Rome an era of peace, prosperity, and imperial greatness. Although he preserved the outward form of the Roman Republic, he ruled with extraordinary powers for more than 40 years and filled the Senate with sympathizers who named him “Augustus.” What was the significance of this title? Discuss