Month: April 2024

George Frideric Handel's Oratorio Messiah Debuts (1742)

Composed by Handel, the great master of baroque music, Messiah is one of the most popular choral works in the Western world. Its immense popularity has resulted in the erroneous conception of Handel as primarily a church composer. In truth, the contemplative, English-language oratorio stands apart from the rest of his 32 oratorios, which are dramatically conceived. How did it become tradition for audiences to stand during the performance of Messiah‘s “Hallelujah” chorus? Discuss

Alfred Mosher Butts (1899)

In the 1930s, Butts, an unemployed architect, invented a game called Lexiko, in which players drew lettered tiles from a pool and then attempted to form words. After unsuccessful attempts to sell the game to board-game makers, Butts sold the rights to entrepreneur James Brunot, who made a few minor adjustments and renamed the game Scrabble. More than 150 million sets have been sold in multiple languages since. How did Butts determine how many tiles of each letter should be included in the game? Discuss

Honor Among Thieves: The Pirate Code

In the second half of the 17th century, buccaneers began operating under a set of rules that eventually became known as Articles of Agreement, or the Pirate’s Code. While the rules generally varied from one captain to another, most contained provisions for discipline, specifications for each crewmate’s share of treasure, and rules regarding compensation for injury. According to records of the code, what was the punishment for striking another man while in the service of Captain John Phillips? Discuss

Euro Disney Resort, Now Disneyland Paris, Opens (1992)

Disneyland Paris is a resort complex located in the suburbs of Paris, France. Opened in 1992 as Euro Disney Resort, it features two theme parks, an entertainment district, and seven hotels. Initially, park attendance, hotel occupancy, and revenues fell below projections, but things began to turn around in 1995, with Euro Disney S.C.A. reporting its first quarterly profit. Today, the resort is one of Europe’s leading tourist destinations. What were some of the objections to building this resort? Discuss

Antoine Laurent de Jussieu (1748)

A member of the French de Jussieu family of distinguished botanists, Antoine Laurent de Jussieu categorized plants into families and developed a system of plant classification. He elaborated on the system of classification of his uncle, Bernard de Jussieu, in Genera plantarum, a work which influenced later systems of classification. He was professor at the Museum of Natural History, Paris, and organized its botanical collection. What other members of the de Jussieu family were botanists? Discuss

Karaoke

Karaoke, a form of entertainment in which amateur performers sing songs using pre-recorded music, was popularized by Japanese musician Daisuke Inoue in the 1970s. Inoue invented a coin-operated music player in 1971 after fans requested recordings of his performances—they wanted to sing along with the music on a company retreat. He never patented the karaoke technology and thus forfeited a potential fortune. What song has been banned at many bars in the Philippines for causing too many fights? Discuss