Month: February 2024

The Armory Show Opens in New York City (1913)

The Armory Show was an international exhibition of modern art held in 1913 at the 69th-regiment armory in New York City. Representing a range of avant-garde movements in Europe, the show was one of the most important art exhibitions ever held in the US. The Armory Show aroused the curiosity of the public and helped to change the direction of American painting. What painting at the exhibition was singled out by hostile critics as emblematic of the so-called insanity and degeneracy of modern art? Discuss

Thomas John Watson, Sr. (1874)

After rising from clerk to sales executive in the National Cash Register Co., Watson became president of the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co., which made scales, time clocks, and tabulators that sorted information using punched cards—all forerunners of mainframe computers. Watson renamed the company International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) in 1924 and became its chairman in 1949, widening IBM’s line to include electronic computers. What one-word motto did Watson promote at IBM? Discuss

Bricks of Tea

Dried, compressed blocks of tea leaves have been used in Asia as a source of food, component of beverages, and form of currency for centuries. In Ancient China, tea was often mixed with binding agents—including flour, blood, and manure—to increase its durability, thus fortifying the tea brick against the physical demands of its use as currency. Siberian nomads preferred tea-brick currency over metal coins and continued to use the edible money until what period? Discuss

Ash Wednesday Fires (1983)

In 1983, extreme weather and years of severe drought combined to create one of Australia’s worst fire days in a century. Within 12 hours, more than 180 fires—fanned by high winds—were burning, causing widespread destruction across the states of Victoria and South Australia. The fires killed 75 people and left thousands of others injured and homeless. They obliterated entire townships in just minutes. This series of fires was the deadliest bushfire event in Australian history until what disaster? Discuss

Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (1935)

Bono was an American record producer, singer, actor, and politician. He began his music career working with legendary producer Phil Spector in the early 1960s and went on to write, arrange, and produce a number of hit singles like “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On,” which he performed with his then-wife Cher. The duo also hosted a popular television variety show in the 1970s. Later, Bono became involved in politics and served as a member of the US House of Representatives. How did he die? Discuss

Goethe's Theory of Colours

In 1810, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published his observations of color. Most physicists dispute the validity of his work because of his reification of darkness and explanation of color as the interplay between darkness and light. Goethe considered this work his magnum opus and it remains a remarkable catalogue of observations on color perception and color phenomena. What inspired Goethe to pursue his own study of color and challenge the widely accepted theories posited by Newton? Discuss