Month: July 2023

SPAM Introduced into the Market (1937)

Introduced in 1937 by the Hormel Foods Corporation as “Hormel Spiced Ham,” the precooked, canned-meat product was renamed “SPAM” when it began to lose market share. SPAM is now popular worldwide and is sold in more than 40 countries, including South Korea, where it is said to be so popular that it is sometimes given as a gift. The product has become a part of pop culture as the butt of many jokes and urban legends about mystery meat. What ingredients are used to make SPAM? Discuss

Algeria Independence Day

On this day in 1962, more than 100 years of French rule in Algeria came to an end as France officially recognized a referendum for independence that was passed by a vote of the Algerian people on July 1. Algerians had struggled for independence, or at least equality with the French occupants of their land, with organized movements for revolution since the end of World War I. Independence Day is a legal holiday in Algeria. Another important celebration takes place on Algeria National Day, which commemorates the day the successful revolution against the French began. Discuss

Cecil Rhodes (1853)

Rhodes left England at 18 for South Africa, where he later founded De Beers Consolidated Mines. By 1891, his company was mining 90% of the world’s diamonds. He extended the company’s control to two northern provinces, which were eventually named for him as Southern Rhodesia—now Zimbabwe—and Northern Rhodesia—now Zambia. He is perhaps best known for the eponymous scholarship established by his final will. In his original will, he proposed the establishment of a secret society that would do what? Discuss

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and extremely poisonous gas. It is present in the exhaust of internal-combustion engines, such as in automobiles, and is generated in coal stoves, furnaces, and gas appliances that do not get enough air. Breathing air that contains as little as 0.1% carbon monoxide by volume can be fatal; a concentration of about 1% can cause death within a few minutes. What are the early symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning? Discuss

Henry David Thoreau Begins Two Years of Simple Living (1845)

In 1845, Thoreau, an American author and naturalist, built himself a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond in Massachusetts. He spent the next two years, two months, and two days there, observing nature, reading, and writing. He also kept a journal that he later used to write his masterpiece, Walden, or Life in the Woods, which compresses his time there into a single calendar year and uses the passage of the seasons to symbolize human development. What were Thoreau’s enigmatic last words? Discuss

Fourth of July (Aalborg, Denmark)

The Fourth of July celebration held in Aalborg, Denmark, each year since 1912 was started by Dr. Max Henius of Chicago. He bought 200 acres of land in Rebild and deeded the land to King Christian X, with the stipulation that his fellow Danish Americans be allowed to celebrate the Fourth of July there every year. The area is now a national park, and about 35,000 people come to observe America’s Independence Day. A replica of the Liberty Bell is rung, the national anthems of both countries are sung, and there are bilingual readings of the Declaration of Independence. Discuss

Meyer Lansky (1902)

Lansky was a Russian-born US gangster. After partnering with Bugsy Siegel as a young man, he joined Lucky Luciano in forming a national crime syndicate. By 1936, he ran gambling operations in Cuba and the US, and by 1970, he had amassed a fortune estimated at $300 million. In 1979, a government investigation linked Lansky with Jack Ruby, the nightclub owner who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy. In what wartime effort did Lansky partner with the US government? Discuss