Month: April 2024

Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856)

Born into slavery, Washington was freed following the US Civil War and went on to become one of the nation’s most prominent leaders and educators. He built Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute into a leading African-American educational institution, with programs emphasizing vocational training. His teaching, writing, and lecturing—particularly a famous address in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1895—established him as America’s foremost black leader. Washington was the first African American to be invited where? Discuss

The Global Conveyor Belt

Thermohaline circulation refers to the deepwater circulation of the oceans and is primarily caused by differences in density between the waters of different regions. It is mainly a convection process in which cold, dense water formed in the polar regions sinks and flows slowly toward the equator. The circulation of ocean waters is vitally important in dispersing heat energy around the globe. Two factors determine the density of ocean water; one is temperature, what is the other? Discuss

Susanna M. Salter, First Female US Mayor, Elected (1887)

After attending Kansas State Agricultural College, Salter moved with her husband to the town of Argonia, Kansas, and became the first woman to have a baby there. Following the city’s incorporation in 1885, her father was elected to be its first mayor. Two years later, while serving as an officer in the local Women’s Christian Temperance Union and caring for her family, she was placed on the ballot as a mayoral candidate and became the first female mayor elected in the US. How long was her term? Discuss

Bettina von Arnim (1785)

A German writer, von Arnim also spent time as a composer, singer, visual artist, patron of young talent, and social activist. However, she is perhaps best known for the company she kept. She formed friendships with Goethe and Beethoven, among other artists of the day, and tried to foster an artistic union between them. Many leading composers of the time, such as Franz Liszt, admired her for her spirit and her talents. On what currency was von Arnim’s likeness once featured? Discuss

Nori: Vegetable of the Sea

Nori is the Japanese name for an edible, dried preparation of red algae of the genus Porphyra. It is farmed in the sea, where Porphyra plants grow attached to nets suspended at the sea’s surface. Farmers operate from boats and use mechanical harvesters to collect their crops. The nori sheets are then produced in a process that is quite similar to papermaking and involves a shredding and rack-drying process. This “sea vegetable” is commonly used in the preparation of what foods? Discuss