Quarantine 2020

We’re all spending a lot more time at home in an effort to keep the impact of COVID-19 down. Need to keep your older kids – or yourself, for that matter – mentally occupied and on a schedule until schools and work go back to something resembling normalcy? I’ve contributed to the effort by providing weeks’ worth of one-page briefs. Each focuses on a historical person or event and includes some discussion questions, online resources and a link to the relevant Drinks With Dead People blog post. A few FAQ’s appear below the worksheet links.

Please subscribe to the blog for updates! And wash your hands.


Week 1:

March 16, 2020: The Electoral College (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

March 18, 2020: The Zoo Hoax (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

March 19, 2020: The Republican Congressional Cookbook (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

March 20, 2020: Joseph Priestley (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

 

Week 2:

March 23, 2020: Victorian Cough Syrup (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

March 24, 2020: Madame Tussaud (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

March 25, 2020: The Pony Express (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

March 26, 2020: Ian Fleming (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

March 27, 2020: Captain Kidd (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

 

Week 3:

March 30, 2020: Harold Lloyd (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

March 31, 2020: Maria Altmann (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 1, 2020: Jumbo the Elephant (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 2, 2020: James Barry (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 3, 2020: John Tyler (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

 

Week 4: Holidays!

April 6, 2020: White House Easter Egg Roll (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 7, 2020: La Befana (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 8, 2020: Halloween Superstitions (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 9, 2020: Thanksgiving Turkey (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 10, 2020: Vinegar Valentines (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

 

Week 5: Connecticut History

April 13, 2020: The Proprietors (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 14, 2020: The Stomach Rebellion (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 15, 2020: Henry Opukaha’ia (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 16, 2020: The Dissection Riots (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 17, 2020: Elias Howe (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

 

Week 6:

April 20, 2020: Spirit Photography (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 21, 2020: Harry Hill (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 22, 2020: Jenny Lind (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 23, 2020: The Speed Limit (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

April 24, 2020: Abercrombie & Fitch (PDF worksheet / original blog post)

 


What’s this site?
Drinks With Dead People™ is a history blog that tries to answer that old party question: if you could have a drink with anyone in history, who would it be?

Think history is all about dates? Stuffy? Irrelevant? WRONG. We’re talking about discoveries, fights, booze, severed heads, cults of personality, art, sex, death, toilet humor, religion, politics and sports. And best of all: it’s all true. History is full of people you’d love to have a drink with. Let me introduce you to a few.

Who are you?
Hi, I’m Betz. I’m an attorney and historian and I founded Drinks With Dead People in 2014 to give some of history’s most interesting, weird, wonderful figures their due. My writing has been featured in outlets including the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Smithsonian, Slate and Atlas Obscura, and I’ve taught classes for students at Yale University and the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Parental advisory?
The site and its essays are probably best for kids middle-school age and up. There’s some mildly salty language here and there. Mostly we’re just trying to learn some history and have fun. I hope you enjoy.

Stay healthy, everyone!

© 2020 Betsy Golden Kellem