Historic Encounters! A Knowledge Cards Quiz Deck on World-Changing Events

An astronomer and a physicist fall into each other's orbit and a theory of gravitation is born. A financier becomes entranced with an inventor's idea and the resulting technological innovation sparks a meteoric rise in literacy. Two teenage musicians create a group whose magic will generate international headlines. From the performing arts to politics, science to literature, boxing to baseball, from battlefield clashes and voyages of exploration to pivotal meetings for suffrage and civil rights, this intriguing quiz deck explores 48 historic--often serendipitous--encounters. The front of each card gives a place, a time, and an intriguing clue; on the back, a brief, captivating essay reveals what plot was hatched, what partnership was begun, what enterprise was launched that helped shape our world.

By Anjelina Keating, Library of Congress. With 48 fact-filled cards per package, Knowledge Cards are a great source of condensed information--all in a deck the size of a pack of playing cards. Size: 3 1/4 x 4 inches.

Sample Card Text: In this secret meeting in Brooklyn, New York, on August 28, 1945, two sports figures craft an agreement that will challenge injustice and prejudice in the American sports arena. Who were the two figures, and what was the agreement?

Answer: Branch Rickey, general manager for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, meets 26-year-old Jackie Robinson, ballplayer for the Kansas City Monarchs, a powerhouse team in the Negro Leagues.

No written rules excluded African American players from white major-league teams, but they were understood to be unwelcome. Rickey wanted that to change. In a meeting lasting more than three hours, he unleashed a barrage of racist insults at Robinson to determine whether the player could hold his temper and be the man to successfully break the sport's color barrier. Robinson passed the test, and Rickey secretly signed him to the Dodgers. On October 23, 1945, the public learned that Robinson would play for the Montreal Royals, a minor-league team associated with the Dodgers. Robinson played in his first major-league contest on April 15, 1947, covering first base when Brooklyn faced the Boston Braves. He was named Rookie of the Year and remained on the team until 1957, paving the way for other African American players to join him in the major leagues.