Month: January 2023

Iran Releases 52 American Hostages (1981)

The overthrow of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlevi of Iran by an Islamic revolutionary government in February 1979 led to a steady deterioration in Iranian-American relations. In September of that year, the exiled shah was allowed into the US for medical treatment, prompting Iranian students called the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line to seize the US embassy in Tehran and take 66 Americans hostage. After 444 days, the last 52 hostages were released. What was the “Canadian Caper”? Discuss

St. Agnes's Eve

The eve of St. Agnes’s Day has long been associated with superstitions about how young girls might discover the identity of their future husbands. According to one such belief, a girl who went to bed without any supper on this night would dream of the man she was to marry. John Keats used this legend as the basis for his well-known poem, “The Eve of St. Agnes,” in which a maiden dreams of her lover and wakes to find him at her bedside. St. Agnes was martyred because she had consecrated herself to Christ and refused to marry. She was later named the patron saint of young virgins. Discuss

Johannes Vilhelm Jensen (1873)

In 1944, Danish novelist, poet, and essayist Johannes Vilhelm Jensen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He penned more than 60 volumes, including essays, travel books, and lyrical poems, and his interest in biology and anthropology—he had studied medicine before pursuing writing—is evident throughout. His best-known work is The Long Journey, a six-novel fantasy based on Darwinian theory that traces the story of humans from primitive times to the age of whom? Discuss

The Thylacine

The last captive thylacine—or Tasmanian wolf—died in Tasmania’s Hobart Zoo in 1936. Though the species is believed to have become extinct in the 20th century, sightings have persisted. The large carnivorous marsupial looks like a wolf or dog, but it evolved independently of those animals. About the size of a collie, the thylacine has a long tail, short ears, and a brownish coat with black stripes. Its extinction was caused largely by overhunting. Why were thylacines hunted so aggressively? Discuss

President Gerald Ford Pardons "Tokyo Rose" (1977)

During World War II, Allied forces in the South Pacific dubbed a group of English-speaking female radio broadcasters airing Japanese propaganda “Tokyo Rose.” After the war, the name became most closely associated with Japanese-American radio host Iva Toguri D’Aquino. She was convicted of treason in 1949. Decades later, investigative journalists found that key witnesses had lied during her trial, leading President Ford to pardon her. What stage name did D’Aquino often use in her broadcasts? Discuss

Paul Cézanne (1839)

Though early in his painting career Cézanne was closely associated with the Impressionists, even exhibiting with them, he soon began exploring ways to “recreate nature” by simplifying forms to their basic geometric equivalents, utilizing contrasts of color and distortion to express the essence of his subject. His radical new style profoundly affected the development of modern art, Cubism in particular. Who reportedly referred to Cézanne as “the father of us all”? Discuss

Woody Guthrie

Guthrie was an American folk musician best known for the song “This Land Is Your Land.” During the Great Depression of the 1930s, he lived a hobo’s life, traveling with his guitar and harmonica. Guthrie wrote or adapted more than 1,000 songs, often performing them at protest rallies, and became a successful radio personality and a hero to protest singers like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. After his death, his daughter approached what singer to record songs with lyrics that Guthrie had written? Discuss