Month: March 2024

Patrick Henry: "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" (1775)

Henry was an American Revolutionary leader who gained a reputation as a skillful orator. A member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, he delivered his famous speech in defense of liberty to the Virginia Convention in 1775, concluding with the words “Give me liberty or give me death!” The speech is credited with having swung the balance in convincing the assembly to pass a resolution to send Virginia troops to the Revolutionary War. Which future presidents were in the audience during the speech? Discuss

Akira Kurosawa (1910)

Regarded as one of the world’s greatest directors for his ability to combine Japanese aesthetic and cultural elements with a Western sense of action and drama, Kurosawa became an assistant director and scenarist at PCL movie studio in 1936. He wrote and directed his first feature film in 1943 and earned international acclaim for Rashomon in 1950. His later classic films include Seven Samurai and Yojimbo. In 1990, Kurosawa won an Academy Award for what? Discuss

The Boomerang

The boomerang is a sickle-shaped throwing stick used mainly by the Aborigines of Australia. Its arms are slightly curved, and when it is thrown, the boomerang generally follows an arc-shaped trajectory. Recreational boomerangs often travel along a circular path and return to the thrower, but other, larger versions do not return and are used in hunting and warfare. What famous king owned a collection of boomerangs more than 3,000 years ago? Discuss

Clint Malarchuk's Carotid Artery Slashed during Ice Hockey Game (1989)

Malarchuk is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League from 1981 to 1992. He is perhaps best known for sustaining a life-threatening injury during a 1989 game, when two players collided in front of his goal, and one of the players’ skate blades slashed Malarchuk’s internal carotid artery. Remarkably, Malarchuk was able to skate off the ice despite bleeding heavily. He survived because his team’s athletic trainer, a former army medic, did what? Discuss

Marcel Marceau (1923)

Marceau was a French actor and mime who gained renown in 1947 with the creation of Bip, a sad, white-faced clown with a tall, battered hat—reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp. Noted for his eloquent, deceptively simple portrayals, he earned worldwide acclaim in the 1950s with his production of the “mimodrama” of Nikolai Gogol’s Overcoat. In 1978, he founded a school of mimodrama in Paris. How did Marceau’s miming help save children from the Nazis during World War II? Discuss

Moss Piglets and Water Bears

Tardigrades, commonly known as moss piglets or water bears, can be found living in water, damp moss, flower petals, and sand all around the world. The minute invertebrates are usually 1 mm (0.04 inches) or smaller in size and have a head, four fused body segments, and eight claw-ended legs. Tardigrades are able to resist extremely low temperature, pressure, and humidity, and go into dormant states for months or even years. How many years can a moss piglet survive without water? Discuss