The 1980 season finale of the popular prime-time soap opera Dallas ended with the show’s central character—J.R. Ewing, a greedy, scheming oil baron—being shot by an unknown assailant. The cliffhanger left viewers wondering for months whether he would survive and which of his many enemies had pulled the trigger. The episode that revealed the culprit became one of the highest rated television shows in history, drawing an estimated 83 million viewers. So, who shot J.R.? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
On March 20, 1995, members of the Japanese religious sect Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas, a nerve agent, on several lines of the Tokyo Metro system in five coordinated attacks, killing 12 and injuring thousands. Carrying homemade liquid sarin packaged in plastic bags, the perpetrators boarded the trains, punctured the packets, and left them to vaporize on the car floors. More than 10 Aum members were sentenced to death for their involvement in the incident. What was the group’s motive? 
The Tuskegee Airmen, trained at Alabama’s Tuskegee Army Air Field during WWII, made up the US military’s first African-American flying unit. In 1941, congressional legislation forced the Army Air Corps to create an all-black combat unit, and though the War Department aimed to block its formation by instituting a number of restrictive guidelines for applicants, many qualified for service. In all, these airmen flew 1,578 missions, destroyed 261 enemy aircraft, and were awarded how many medals? 
On March 18, 1990, thieves disguised as police officers broke into Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and stole 13 works of art, including paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Manet, and Degas. The crime, considered the largest art theft in US history, remains unsolved. Due to the strict provisions of Gardner’s will, which stipulate that the collection remain unchanged, the paintings’ empty frames remain on display in their original locations. What group is suspected of carrying out the heist? 
In 1845, Stephen Perry, a British inventor and businessman, patented what is now a staple office supply—the rubber band. While their intended function is to hold items together, rubber bands have been used in a number of other capacities; they can be wrapped around one another to form a bouncy ball or used as “ammunition” in rubber band guns. Though many modern rubber products are commonly made with synthetic rubber, rubber bands are still primarily manufactured using natural rubber. Why? 
In 1985, members of the US National Security Council (NSC) secretly authorized weapons sales to Iran in an attempt to secure the release of US hostages held in Lebanon by pro-Iranian militias. Part of the $48 million profit was then diverted to Nicaraguan Contra rebels, in violation of a 1984 law banning such assistance. After a Senate investigation, NSC members Oliver North and John M. Poindexter were indicted and convicted of various offenses. Why were their convictions later overturned? 
Now used as a metaphor for impending doom, the “Ides of March” was originally simply a name for March 15th. In the ancient Roman calendar, the term “ides” referred to the 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October and the 13th of all other months. The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god of Mars and often marked with a military parade. However, when Julius Caesar was assassinated on that day in 44 BCE, the phrase took on an entirely new meaning. Who killed Caesar? 
Penicillin was the first antibiotic agent successfully used to treat bacterial infections in humans. Penicillin’s effect on bacteria was first observed by biologist Alexander Fleming in 1928, but it was not until 1941 that scientists purified the substance and established that it was both effective in fighting infectious organisms and not toxic to humans. The first successful treatment occurred the next year. Where did scientists find the mold that allowed them to mass produce the drug? 
Operation Northwoods was a plan proposed by the US Department of Defense to generate public support for military action against the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. To this end, it recommended staging acts of simulated or real terrorism and violence on US soil or against US interests and then placing the blame on Cuba. The plan, which was not implemented, was drafted by senior US defense leaders and signed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Who made the secret document public? 
In the early stages of the Cold War, US President Harry Truman sought to protect Turkey and Greece from falling under Soviet influence when the UK announced that it could no longer provide them with aid. The Truman Doctrine, which called for the US to “support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures,” shifted US foreign policy to a strategy of Soviet containment. How much money did Congress appropriate in response to Truman’s message?