SIRS Challenge Quests & Spotlights
Some American Boy Scout troops participate in the Mafeking Challenge, a game with events based on the actual siege. What skills do Boy Scouts practice during the Mafeking Challenge?
The principles behind the now-common self-service supermarket were patented in 1917. Who invented the model? Get the facts in this month's Challenge Quests.

Innovations of all shapes and sizes have influenced, and even changed, our daily lives in myriad ways, including how scientists predict natural hazards. Illuminate these themes in
our Spotlights.

World Conflicts Today: Justifying War
Since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the start of the campaigns against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq, many commentators have argued that although terrorists bear moral responsibility for their actions, governments sometimes do things that cause terrorists to act. Do you agree? When is war justified?

Explore this theme in detail inside our newest email newsletter, History Happenings. Our theme: Just War

CultureGrams: Our Global Environment
In the past, the United States has decided not to ratify environmental treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol, though other countries with high greenhouse emissions, such as Brazil, China, and India, have signed. As one of the largest and most industrialized nations in the world, the United States has a wide-reaching effect on the global environment. Can the U.S. ignore Kyoto?