Month: May 2024

Dorothea Lange (1895)

Lange was a profoundly influential American documentary photographer. During the Great Depression, her photos of stark poverty led to her employment by a federal agency to bring the plight of the poor to public attention. Her images were so effective that the government was compelled to establish camps for migrant laborers. Lange produced several other photo essays, including one documenting the WWII internment of Japanese-Americans. Who is the subject of her best-known photo, “Migrant Mother”? Discuss

Weasel Words

“Weasel words” are words that are intended to, or have the effect of, softening the force of a potentially loaded or controversial statement. The term was coined by Stewart Chaplin in a 1900 short story and invokes the image of a sneaky weasel wriggling its way out of tight spaces in the same way that these words subtly redirect attention. One example of weasel words is the phrase “headcount reduction,” which is used in the corporate world as a euphemism for what distasteful course of action? Discuss

Six-Year-Old Etan Patz Abducted in New York (1979)

In 1979, Etan Patz left his apartment by himself, for the very first time, to walk the two blocks to his school bus stop. He never made it there. His disappearance was widely covered by the media and led to the implementation of new methods for tracking down missing children, such as the milk carton campaigns of the 1980s. In 2010, the Manhattan district attorney announced that he had reopened the case into Patz’s disappearance. Who was found liable for Patz’s death in a civil case in 2004? Discuss

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (1878)

Robinson was an influential virtuoso tap dancer. An innovator, he was reputedly the first to dance on the balls of his feet instead of in the earlier flat-footed style. He began dancing professionally at the age of eight and became a popular nightclub and vaudeville performer. He first performed on Broadway in 1928 and was the first African American to star in a Ziegfield Follies. He appeared in 14 Hollywood features in the 1930s and 40s, including four that he made with which child actress? Discuss

Zombie Computers

A zombie computer, or zombie, is a computer attached to the Internet that has been compromised by a hacker, computer virus, or trojan horse. Generally, a compromised machine is only one of many in a network of remotely controlled computers used to perform malicious tasks. Most owners of zombie computers are unaware that their systems are being used in this way, but the damage caused by such systems can be devastating. Approximately what percent of the world’s spam is sent from zombie computers? Discuss

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" Published (1830)

“Mary Had a Little Lamb” is a 19th century American nursery rhyme. It was written by Sarah Josepha Hale, who turned to writing in 1822 as a widow trying to support her family and who eventually became an influential editor and arbiter of American taste. Thomas Edison recited part of the poem to test his invention of the phonograph, and a host of musicians have recorded versions of it. The nursery rhyme is said to have been based on an actual incident in which what happened? Discuss

Suzanne Lenglen (1899)

One of the first international female sports stars, Lenglen was a French tennis player and a prolific champion. She won 31 championship titles from 1914 to 1926, including the world hard-court singles and doubles titles (1914); French women’s singles (1920–23, 1925–26); and British women’s singles crowns and doubles (1919-1923, 1925). In 1920, she won a gold medal at the Olympic Games. The first female tennis celebrity and a flamboyant trendsetter, she was given what nickname by the press? Discuss