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The Conversation: U.S. weekly news quiz
From the editors at The Conversation, an independent news organization based in Boston that publishes articles written by academic experts and edited by a team of journalists.
Monday, November 21, 2022
The Crossword Puzzle

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Friday, September 23, 2022
History

A brief history of presidential inaugural speeches, from George Washington to today

Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration on March 4, 1861.
Inaugural addresses that newly minted presidents have given over the past 250 years have aimed to do several key things, including unify the country and establish the speaker’s qualifications for the job.
Claire Jerry, Smithsonian Institution, The Conversation
Thursday, January 16
Very interesting

When presidents would send handwritten lists of their nominees to the Senate, things were a lot different

President George Washington, left, and his Cabinet: Henry Knox, secretary of war; Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the Treasury; Thomas Jefferson, secretary of state; and Edmund Randolph, attorney general.

The US now faces the likelihood of a bruising and raucous set of confirmation hearings − a clear break from the cooperative system the founders established.

Peter Kastor, Washington University in St. Louis, The Conversation
Monday, January 13

Righting a wrong, name by name − the Irei monument honors Japanese Americans imprisoned by the US government during World War II

The Aochi family in the Rohwer, Arkansas, detention camp. Photo courtesy of June Aochi Berk

The US government locked up nearly 126,000 Japanese Americans from 1942 to 1945, but never kept comprehensive records of all the people subjected to this unjustified incarceration.

Susan H. Kamei, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Duncan Williams, University of Southern California, The Conversation
Thursday, January 2

Pearl Young, the first woman to work in a technical role at NASA, overcame barriers and ‘raised hell’ − her legacy continues today

An avid traveler, Pearl Young – waving at the top of the stairs – traveled to Hawaii on a UND alumni trip in 1960.

Many of her male colleagues believed Pearl Young had an attitude problem based on her efforts to advocate for herself and her team.

Caitlin Milera, University of North Dakota, The Conversation
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
The National Cold War Center and Woodrow Wilson Center partner to elevate the story of the war that saved the world
(BPT) - In 1987, President Ronald Reagan boldly stood before one of the iconic symbols of the Cold War and, in words that shape his legacy, demanded from the Soviet leader, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down …
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Excavating the new trackway site, with footprints from hominins, birds and other animals visible in foreground. Neil Roach
Fossilized footprints reveal 2 extinct hominin species living side by side 1.5 million years ago
Ancient fossil footprints are the first evidence of two different hominin species − Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei − living in the same place at the same time.
Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Smithsonian Institution; Kevin Hatala, Chatham University, and Purity Kiura, National Museums of Kenya, The Conversation
Monday, December 2, 2024
The 10 biggest tournament cash prizes recorded in poker history
Clubs Casino compiled a ranking of the 10 biggest tournament cash prizes in poker history (adjusted for inflation) using data from The Hendon Mob.
Mike Taylor
Monday, December 2, 2024
15 of the biggest sports gambling scandals
OLBG compiled a list of 15 gambling scandals from numerous sports around the world.
Dan Tracey
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
The election is over − but what is a ‘lame duck’ anyway?
The lame-duck period in the US is longer than in other Western democracies, which tend to make the transition over a period of just days.
Jordan Cash, Michigan State University, The Conversation
Friday, November 8, 2024
Remembering the veterans who marched on DC to demand bonuses during the Depression, only to be violently driven out by active-duty soldiers
Thousands of volunteers joined the military during World War I. But when the war ended and the Great Depression began, the volunteers wanted a bonus to be paid in 1932, not in 1945 as planned.
Shannon Bow O'Brien, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts, The Conversation
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
High scores: Replaying the 10 most popular arcade games
OLBG shares the most popular and best-selling arcade games over the past 40-plus years.
Dan Tracey
Monday, October 21, 2024
A video game based on the Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’ is the most recent example of innovative retelling of this popular story
The recent launch of the video game “Black Myth: Wukong” has broken numerous records around the world for the number of users. The game is set in the world of the famous Chinese novel “Journey to the West,” where players battle gods and demons of traditional popular Chinese religion.
Michael Naparstek, University of Tennessee, The Conversation
Monday, September 23, 2024
How the Gaza humanitarian aid pier traces its origins to discarded cigar boxes before World War II
Palestinians in Gaza have begun receiving humanitarian aid delivered through a newly completed floating pier off the coast of the besieged territory. Built by the U.S. military and operated in coordination with the United Nations, …
Frank A. Blazich Jr., Smithsonian Institution, The Conversation
Monday, May 20, 2024
Mary McLeod Bethune, known as the ‘First Lady of Negro America,’ also sought to unify the African diaspora
When I first landed an internship as an archives technician at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House-National Historic Site – the D.C. home of the woman who founded Bethune-Cookman University – …
Ashley Robertson Preston, Howard University, The Conversation
Monday, May 13, 2024