Stuff YOU Should Know
More Men Accused of Sexual Harassment
The list of well-known men accused of sexual harassment and/or assault continued to grow over the past few weeks.
Michigan Senator John Conyers, a Democrat and the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, will likely resign after facing sexual harassment charges from three different women. Last week, news sources revealed that Conyers had settled a sexual harassment claim for $27,000 in 2015. Though Conyers continues to deny the accusations against him, congressional leaders, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have called on him to step down. According to his lawyer, Conyers’ advanced age (the congressman is 88 years old) and poor health will determine his ultimate decision.
Meanwhile, Garrison Keillor, a well-known writer and humorist, was fired by Minnesota Public Radio last week for inappropriate sexual conduct. Keillor denies that he did anything wrong, and MPR has hired lawyers to carry out an independent investigation of the claims. Keillor is best known for his series of novels about a fictional town called Lake Wobegon, and for his beloved radio show, “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Perhaps the case that has received the most attention in the past few weeks is Matt Lauer, the “Today” show host who was also accused of inappropriate sexual conduct in the workplace. Lauer is one of the best-known and highest-paid TV news personalities.
Other high-profile sexual harassment cases that have come to light recently include CBS news anchor Charlie Rose; Democratic Senator Al Franken; actors Jeffrey Tambor, Kevin Spacey, and Dustin Hoffman; comedian Louis C.K.; and former president George H.W. Bush.
What Do You Think? While some of the charges brought against these men are based on recent events, others come from things that happened many years ago. Why do you think so many women are coming forward now? Remember to be sensitive with your answer.
Not Just A Pretty Face
You may never have heard of Hedy Lamarr, the Austrian-born movie star who acted in films during the 1930s and 1940s. She was best known for her good looks–in fact, she was once known as the “most beautiful woman in the world.” Now, a new documentary takes a closer look at the parts of Lamarr’s life that were largely overshadowed in Hollywood: most notably, that she was also an important inventor of the era.
The film, directed by Alexandra Dean, explores both Lamarr’s personal life and her career. Professionally, she acted in quite a few films (18 from 1940 to 1949 alone). Lamarr battled sexist typecasting, took on some good roles and some not-so-good ones, and eventually faded (like so many other aging actresses) into relative obscurity. Personally, she married six times, raised several children, and, in the early 1940s, invented a secret communications system. The system, called “frequency hopping,” was a way for Allied radio-controlled torpedoes to avoid being jammed by the Axis powers, by randomly switching frequencies. The mechanically-gifted Lamarr came up with just such a system, which became the basis for modern-day encryption. The principles behind it are embedded in today’s Bluetooth technology.
Lamarr also had other, less-successful inventions, such as an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that dissolved in water to make a carbonated drink. It is said that she took up inventing to relieve her boredom at being cast in unchallenging roles that only focused on her looks.
Dig Deeper Lamarr faced many difficulties in later life. Use internet resources to learn what happened to Lamarr after leaving Hollywood. Do you think her experiences in the movie industry affected her life choices? Explain.
Poland Celebrates Return of Looted Painting
It sounds like something from a movie: international art thieves, Nazis, and the FBI. But the story itself is real and much more tragic–though in this case, it does have a happy ending.
Stolen art from World War II is being returned to its rightful owner. Credit: National Archives and Records Administration (NWDNS-111-SC-204516)
Recently, an art owner in a small town outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a painting in an internet auction and learned that it had actually been stolen from Poland by the Nazis during World War II before eventually making its way to the United States. The painting, Street with Castle Ruins, was created by Polish artist Robert Sliwinski. The American who most recently owned the painting had no idea that it had been stolen by the Nazis and cooperated with authorities to have it returned to Poland. No charges are expected to be filed.
Sadly, this is not an unusual occurrence. Recently, a similar situation occurred when a painting called The Sword Dance, by Henryk Siemiradzki, went up for auction at Sotheby’s in London. The painting was removed from the auction after the Polish government discovered that this painting had also been looted by Nazis during World War II, and there was not enough evidence given by the owner of the art to dispute this claim.
More than pressing charges or assigning blame, Polish authorities are just grateful to be able to retrieve vital parts of their cultural heritage which have been missing for more than half a century.
Dig Deeper See if you can identify several other artworks that have been stolen throughout time. Take this Kahoot quiz, located at http://goo.gl/itPWRE.
Waffle House Customer “Has It His Way”
A South Carolina man has become an overnight celebrity after his Facebook post went viral last week. Better yet, his selfie even landed him a job offer.
Alex Bowen of West Columbia, South Carolina, went to a Waffle House around 3:00 am early on the morning of November 30. He was hungry, but he found the restaurant’s only employee asleep. Rather than go away hungry, Bowen took matters into his own hands: he went into the kitchen and made himself a Texas bacon cheesesteak melt (with extra pickles). He took a video and some selfies, posted them on Facebook, and even cleaned up after himself, scraping down the grill when he was finished. The Waffle House employee never woke up, and Bowen says that no one came into the restaurant the whole time he was cooking. He even returned later in the day to pay for his food.
After Bowen’s post went viral, Waffle House issued a statement that even though customers should never go behind the counter (for safety reasons), the company was grateful to Bowen for pointing out a flaw in their business. They even asked him to become a “secret shopper,” which is someone who visits restaurants and other businesses as an anonymous customer and then reports on the experience. They also offered Bowen a job as a cook, citing his now-famous cooking abilities.