In 1939, American educator Frank Cyr organized the first national standards conference for school transportation. One of the most memorable accomplishments of the conference was the selection of a highly visible, standardized color for school buses that would allow them to be easily identified by other motorists. The hue became known as “National School Bus Chrome,” and Cyr was hailed as the “Father of the Yellow School Bus.” According to Cyr, what was the main priority of conference attendees? Discuss
Month: February 2025
First Issue of The New Yorker Is Published (1925)
The New Yorker is an American magazine known for its sophisticated tone, liberal political perspective, varied literary fare, and witty single-panel cartoons. It was founded by journalist Harold Ross, who aimed to create a sophisticated, metropolitan magazine—in contrast to publications such as Life, which he saw as unrefined. Now one of the most respected publications in the US, The New Yorker is recognized for its strict style and high-quality content. Who is its mascot? Discuss
Anaïs Nin (1903)
Born in France to a Spanish father and French-Dutch mother, Nin began her literary career in Paris in the 1930s but did not receive widespread recognition until the 60s. Frequently moving between France and the US, Nin was influenced by psychoanalysis and Surrealism. Her intensely personal diaries were the basis for many of her novels and stories, which are noted for their poetic style and searching portraits of women. She was also known for her relationship with which well-known author? Discuss
Breaking the Ice
An icebreaker is a ship specially designed to force its way through ice-covered waters. Whether powered by gas turbines, diesel-electric power, or nuclear energy, icebreakers are expensive to build, very expensive to run, and uncomfortable to travel in on the open sea because they roll easily. Nevertheless, icebreakers are needed to keep trade routes open where there exist seasonal or permanent ice conditions. What three features must a ship possess in order to be considered an icebreaker? Discuss
Metropolitan Museum of Art Opens in New York City (1872)
“The Met” is the foremost repository of art in the US, with a collection of more than two million works of art. Established for the purpose of encouraging the study of fine art, the museum opened in 1872 with just one stone sarcophagus and 174 paintings. However, the collection quickly outgrew its gallery space and in 1880 was moved to its iconic present-day location on the eastern edge of Central Park. In recent decades, the Met has used what controversial practice to acquire high-quality art? Discuss
Ansel Adams (1902)
Adams was an American photographer famous for his black-and-white landscape photographs and for his many books about photography, including a series of technical instruction manuals: The Camera, The Negative, and The Print. He invented the “zone system,” a technique for determining optimal film exposure and development, and advocated a more sharply focused and composed style of photography than was in vogue at the time. What initially spurred his interest in photography? Discuss
Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore was a Bengali poet, philosopher, artist, writer, and composer whose works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His writings, which often exhibit rhythmic lyricism, colloquial language, and philosophical contemplation, received worldwide acclaim, and he became Asia’s first Nobel laureate in 1913, when he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Knighted by the British government in 1915, Tagore resigned the honor 4 years later in protest of what? Discuss
Thomas Edison Patents the Phonograph (1878)
Though his formal schooling was limited to just three months of instruction before he was ten years old, Edison was one of the most prolific inventors of his time. His work in improving telegraph technology—particularly his discovery of a method for recording telegraph messages—led Edison to suspect he could do similar things with sound. Within months, the first working model of his phonograph was ready. Why, according to Edison, was he “taken aback” when his invention worked on the first try? Discuss
Amy Tan (1952)
Born in Oakland, California, to Chinese immigrants, Tan is an award-winning author whose novels focus on the lives of Asian-Americans and the complexities of intergenerational relationships, particularly those of mothers and daughters. Her best-selling novel The Joy Luck Club was based on the tragic experiences of her mother, who had years earlier fled an abusive marriage, though it meant leaving her three daughters behind in Shanghai. When did Tan finally meet her half-sisters? Discuss
Star Clusters
A star cluster is a group of related stars usually held together by gravity. Globular clusters are densely packed groups of hundreds of thousands of very old stars. Open clusters are smaller, scattered groups of younger stars. Until recently, astronomers wrestled with a great cosmological mystery: according to theories of stellar evolution, it appeared that some globular clusters were actually older than the universe itself. How was this paradox resolved? Discuss