Month: June 2024

Alcoholics Anonymous Founded (1935)

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international organization dedicated to helping alcoholics stop drinking and maintain their sobriety. It functions through local groups that meet regularly and emphasizes a 12-step recovery program that includes acknowledgment of the problem, faith in a “higher power,” and a desire to change for the better and to help others recover. The organization was founded in 1935 by two alcoholics, who were known by what names within the group? Discuss

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921)

Philip is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. The son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice, who was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, he was raised in Britain and served in combat with the Royal Navy in World War II. In 1947, he became a British subject and renounced his right to the Greek and Danish thrones. He married Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and continued on active service in the navy until her accession to the throne in 1952. Who is their son? Discuss

The Human Botfly

Also known as the torsalo, the human botfly is the only botfly known to attack humans. Its lifecycle begins when a female torsalo captures a mosquito and deposits her eggs on its body. The mosquito then conveys the eggs to a human host, where they burrow beneath the host’s skin and develop. After 8 weeks, the creatures drop out to pupate in the soil. While rare, wound infections can occur if the larvae are killed without being fully removed from the skin. The species is native to what region? Discuss

Bhumibol Adulyadej Becomes King of Thailand (1946)

A member of Thailand’s Chakri dynasty, Bhumibol began his reign when his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, died in 1946 under mysterious circumstances. Bhumibol ruled with a regent until 1950, when he was formally crowned Rama IX. The longest-ruling monarch in Thailand’s history, he also became the longest-reigning ruler in the world in 2000. Although his power is largely ceremonial, he has enjoyed great popular support and serves as a focus of national unity. Who is Bhumibol’s heir apparent? Discuss

Les Paul (1915)

Paul began playing country music at 14, later switched to jazz, and started his own trio in 1936. Considered one of the finest jazz guitarists, he was famous for his amazing versatility. Dissatisfied with the sound of available instruments, Paul invented a solid-body electric guitar in 1941 that was marketed by Gibson and became extremely important in the development of rock music. Several versions of his prized guitars are still manufactured. What else did he invent? Discuss

The Praetorian Guard

Initially used for the protection of Roman generals, the Praetorian Guard became the emperor’s personal guard during the rule of Augustus, first leader of the Roman Empire. Upon his death in 14 CE, however, the Guard began to use its military strength to enforce its own political agenda. Soon, it moved into Rome, where it assassinated emperors, bullied its own prefects, and fought vicious street battles against Roman citizens. Which emperor finally succeeded in fully disbanding the Guard? Discuss

US Postal Service's First and Only Delivery of "Missile Mail" (1959)

In 1959, the US Navy assisted the US Post Office Department—predecessor of today’s US Postal Service—in its search for a faster form of mail transportation. The USPS tried its first and only delivery of “missile mail” when a Navy submarine fired a guided cruise missile containing 3,000 pieces of mail off the Florida coast. Twenty-two minutes later, the missile landed at a naval station in Mayport, Florida. What bold claims did the postmaster general make about missile mail at the time? Discuss

Lena Baker (1901)

Baker was an African-American maid who was executed for murder by the State of Georgia in 1945 for killing her employer, Ernest Knight. The only woman ever executed by electrocution in Georgia, Baker was fully pardoned 60 years after her death. At her trial, she claimed that Knight had imprisoned her and threatened to shoot her if she attempted to leave, so she had taken his gun and shot him in self defense. Her trial was presided over by Judge William “Two Gun” Worrill and lasted how long? Discuss