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The Founding Father in Richard Munson’s “Ingenious: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist” isn’t simply a skilled diplomat, leader, and writer. Here, the 18th-century figurehead is a veritable poster child for irrepressible curiosity and joyful problem-solving. Whether observing the interaction of oil and water, inventing a musical instrument called the armonica, or conducting electricity experiments with that famous kite, Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Munson contends, “found a respite in science.” Mr. Munson chatted with the Monitor via video call; the conversation has been edited for length and clarity.The word “ingenious” had a rich meaning in Franklin’s day. How so?Generally today, we think of it as equivalent to intellect. But back then, it included things like curiosity, industriousness, and even cheerfulness. I took that as the title because it seemed as though it was Franklin’s favorite word. In his memoir, “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,” I think he used it 17, maybe 20 times to describe the mental and manual talents of his ancestors – candlemakers, blacksmiths, and others. He admired them and took some of their characteristics, but was consistently exhibiting his own curiosity, and always in search of other ingenious people. So it seemed as though it was rich and on target for who he was.How did curiosity fuel Franklin’s development as a scientist?Every encounter sparked his curiosity. One example was when he was on a horseback ride in Maryland with a bunch of other gentlemen and they spotted a whirlwind off in the distance. And he had this great little line: He said the rest of the party stayed up on the ridge looking at the development of this swirling debris, but “my curiosity being stronger,” he took off and went after it.He was not only being curious; he was testing the common thesis of the day, which was, you throw something through a developing whirlwind, and it’ll dissipate. So he gets close to it with his horse, poor horse, and whips [the whirlwind] with his whip numerous times and nothing happens. Here’s his chance to test the common theory. And then he writes an actual academic paper that gets picked up by the Royal Society of England and distributed widely. He was just willing to follow what he thought were interesting things and challenge conventional wisdom in the process. Franklin didn’t just experiment; he was an active – almost ebullient – inventor. Which of his creations struck you as particularly impressive?This isn’t answering your question directly, but one thing that surprised me about his creative process was how much joy he had in discovery. My image of him is this guy with a sly smile, a sort of creative, whimsical character [with] a wry sense of humor. But the amount of enthusiasm and, for lack of a better word, joy that he and his colleagues had when they were developing experiments … I just found that really refreshing. As busy as Franklin was with his political and diplomatic roles, his scientific mind never stopped whirring. Was his sense of curiosity an escape – or a balm?He was always sort of curious as to where things would lead. It even established his politics. He had this belief that Americans, the colonists, would be appreciated by the European elite only if they showed some technological or scientific prowess. So he created the American Philosophical Society, which still exists today. It was sort of the first effort to have representatives from throughout the 13 Colonies, who were fiercely independent of each other – they really didn’t like each other – and here was a united association of scientists, sort of the foundation, if you will, of the United States. He viewed his science as a way to advance his politics, which was bringing the Colonies together and advancing their standing … having the Colonies be better respected and not overly taxed and not restricted in their land acquisitions by the crown. He linked those two. That’s why I say, “Science was his through line” – that’s how he approached all aspects of his life.Did Franklin treat the U.S. and the Constitution as an experiment? He appreciated that the Constitution was a great document and the best that they could come up with, but he knew that it wasn’t perfect and that it had to change. It didn’t say anything about enslaved people, for instance. Again, it goes back to his mindset: Everything was an experiment, including politics, including the Constitution. This links to a point about his continued relevance. Unlike some people who claim that they are originalists, here is one of the originals who’s saying, “No, the document was going to evolve as observations and knowledge and other things evolve.”If Franklin were alive today, he wouldn’t be surprised that many of his then-revolutionary [scientific] findings were thrown out the door, because we have more sophisticated testing equipment now. But he’d appreciate that science evolves.
Franklin goes in and out of fashion as a historical figure. What can he offer us today?Many, I think, are troubled by what seems to be a growing distrust of science and a dismissal of facts. Here we have one of our founders, probably our most popular founder, who’s suggesting there’s something to be said for observation and experimentation, for observable facts and truths.
The number of tourist beds being used to house refugees from Ukraine as well as international protection applicants has fallen by 15 per cent in the past six months, according to official figures.New research carried out by Fáilte Ireland shows a total of 65,457 beds were occupied in November 2024 under contracts with the Government for housing refugees and asylum seekers – a decrease of almost 12,000 since May 2024.Advertisement
However, Fáilte Ireland estimates that the economic impact of the displaced bed stock in the tourism sector is still at least €400 million and could be as high as €670 million per annum.
The figures relate to the loss of potential tourism spending outside of the accommodation sector.
Fáilte Ireland claimed the unavailability of some tourism accommodation was limiting the industry’s ability to meet demand from domestic and overseas tourists, while also leading to higher prices due to a “supply-demand imbalance.”
“Inbound tour operators say it is very difficult to get suitable ‘bed blocks’ at internationally competitive rates, especially in mid-market hotels,” it added.Advertisement
The national tourism development authority expressed concern that the problem was also resulting in lower turnover for non-accommodation tourism businesses.
The latest figures show that the number of beds under contract in Fáilte Ireland-registered properties had fallen by 30 per cent over the past six months.
The change has resulted in around 7,500 beds potentially becoming available again to provide tourist accommodation over the past half year.
Fáilte Ireland said the total stock of registered tourist beds under contract was now just seven per cent compared to 12 per cent a year ago and 10 per cent last May based on data provided by the Department of Children and Integration.Advertisement
However, it acknowledged that the figure might understate the real impact of contracted beds on the availability of tourist accommodation.
“For every Fáilte Ireland-registered bed und contract there is up to one more bed in unregistered tourism relevant sites,” it added.
Fáilte Ireland said the issue highlighted again the importance of having a fully inclusive register of tourist accommodation.
The proposed Short-Term Tourist Letting Bill is due to require properties for short-term tourist lettings that are advertised on platforms like Airbnb to be registered with Fáilte Ireland.Advertisement
Such platforms will also be obliged to only advertise properties which have a valid registration number from Fáilte Ireland.
The latest figures show a total of 17,632 beds with Fáilte Ireland-registered accommodation providers remain under contract to house beneficiaries of temporary protection and international protection.
Another 47,285 beds in properties not registered with Fáilte Ireland were under contract in November 2024 – a decrease of eight per cent or approximately 4,400 beds over a six-month period.
Fáilte Ireland said it was likely that up to 24,000 of these beds were likely to have been trading in the tourism sector.Advertisement
The ongoing reduction in the number of tourist beds under contract is expected to be welcomed by tourism businesses which had expressed concern about the Government being over-reliant on the tourism sector for housing refugees and international protection applicants.
The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation warned in 2023 that a shortage of tourism beds due to Government contracts represented “a major handbrake on recovery” for the sector.
Ireland
Harris and Martin at odds over cannabis decriminal…
The latest figures also show that there continues to be a disproportionately high share of tourist beds in some counties under contract.
They reveal that 18 per cent of beds in tourism accommodation registered with Fáilte Ireland in Clare are out of use for tourism, although the figure is down from 25 per cent last May.
Other counties with above-average levels of tourist accommodation contracted to house refugees and asylum seekers are Meath (18 per cent), Wicklow (14 per cent); Mayo (12 per cent), Offaly (12 per cent) and Cork (10 per cent).
All other counties are below 10 per cent including just one per cent of tourism bed stock in Monaghan, Laois and Longford under contract.
Scientists on January 10 confirmed that 2024 marked the first full year in which global temperatures surpassed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This milestone, confirmed by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), highlights that climate change is driving temperatures to unprecedented levels for modern humans. According to C3S, the average global temperature in 2024 was 1.6°C higher than in the 1850-1900 period, commonly known as the pre-industrial era, before large-scale fossil fuel use. Last year’s temperatures surpassed the previous record set in 2023, continuing an upward trend. Related Articles
This increase crossed the critical 1.5°C threshold set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, as confirmed by the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Service, the UK’s Meteorological Office, and Japan’s weather agency.
Samantha Burgess, Copernicus’ strategic climate lead, attributed the record temperatures to the accumulation of greenhouse gases from burning coal, oil, and gas. She added that the past decade has seen the hottest temperatures on record, likely the warmest in the last 125,000 years.
The hottest day recorded in 2024 occurred on July 10, with a global average temperature of 17.16°C (62.89°F), according to Copernicus data.
Experts agree that the primary driver of these record temperatures is the burning of fossil fuels, although a temporary El Niño warming event in the central Pacific and an undersea volcanic eruption in 2022 also played a role. The volcanic eruption contributed to temporary cooling by releasing reflective particles and water vapor into the atmosphere.
‘Urgent need for action’
Marshall Shepherd, a meteorology professor at the University of Georgia, warned that these extreme temperatures are signaling an urgent need for action. “This is a warning light going off on the Earth’s dashboard,” Shepherd told Phys.org. “We still have a few gears to go,” he added, citing weather events like Hurricane Helene, flooding in Spain, and wildfires in California as clear signs of the climate shift.
According to a reports, climate-related disasters caused $140 billion in losses globally in 2024, making it the third-highest amount on record, with North America suffering significant damage.
The impacts of climate change are now visible on every continent, affecting people from the richest to the poorest countries on earth.
Wildfires raging in California this week have killed at least 10 people and destroyed thousands of homes. In 2024, Bolivia and Venezuela also suffered disastrous fires, while torrential floods hit Nepal, Sudan and Spain, and heatwaves in Mexico and Saudi Arabia killed thousands.
While 2023 had also briefly exceeded the 1.5°C threshold, scientists emphasised that the 1.5°C goal represents a long-term average over 20 years.
Currently, global warming since the pre-industrial era is at 1.3°C, making it clear that the world is edging dangerously close to breaching the limits set by the Paris Agreement. Victor Gensini, a climate scientist at Northern Illinois University, pointed out that surpassing the 1.5°C mark — even for a single year — signals how close we are to those critical limits.
A 2018 UN study showed that limiting warming to 1.5°C could prevent the extinction of coral reefs, mitigate massive ice sheet loss in Antarctica, and reduce human suffering.
Burgess noted that it is increasingly likely that Earth will exceed the 1.5°C threshold, but she stressed the importance of the Paris Agreement, urging countries to stay committed to it.
More warming likely
Looking ahead, climate models suggest that 2025 may not be as hot as 2024, partly due to a cooling La Niña phase following last year’s El Niño. However, the first six days of January 2025 were already the hottest start to a year on record, according to Copernicus data.
While scientists are divided on whether global warming is accelerating, Carlo Buontempo, director of Copernicus, observed that ocean heat content is rising at an increasing rate, which could indicate accelerating change.
Climate change is also worsening storms and torrential rainfall across the world, because a hotter atmosphere can hold more water, leading to intense downpours. The amount of water vapour in the planet’s atmosphere reached a record high in 2024.
As we wrap up the first full working week of 2025, it’s likely that families are casting their thoughts towards their holiday plans for the year, particularly as the dreary British weather has us all pining for sunnier climes. This upcoming Saturday has been christened ‘Sunshine Saturday’ by those in the travel sector. It’s the…
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She was allowed to board her flight after she agreed to pay S$62 for the sandwiches, without the cookies or drinks she had originally ordered.
January 10, 2025, 03:26 PM
A tourist took to TikTok on Jan. 8 to complain about how she was charged around £72 (S$122) for three Subway sandwiches at Phuket International Airport.
When she refused to pay for the sandwiches, a Subway staff called the police on her, resulting in a confrontation.
Eventually, she boarded her flight after she reached an agreement with the store to pay for the three sandwiches at £37 (S$62).
How did the tourist get charged S$122?
According to TikTok user @naynaysully, she had bought three footlong sandwiches, one of which had extra meat, along with three drinks and three cookies.
Her first TikTok video of the incident showed a Subway sandwich listed at the prices of either 341 baht (S$13.50) or 533 baht (S$21).
However, she was then told at the cashier that she would be charged 3,000 baht (S$120).
In exclaiming her disbelief at being charged the equivalent of £72 for three sandwiches, @naynaysully further alleged that the shop’s staff then called the police on her in response to her refusal to pay.
@naynaysully♬ original sound – 💫💋NayNay💋💫
She also said in her second TikTok video on the incident that she had told the shop’s staff to keep the food instead and that she had acceded to the staff calling the police on her.
“They didn’t come, for a good 10, 15 minutes and my flight was boarding,” she claimed.
The woman said she decided to leave the shop and the food behind, and head to the gate.
Police supposedly did not understand English
However, the staff then ran after her together with the police and she returned to the shop, only to find that the police apparently could not understand her.
“He stared at me like I was an alien,” she said, when she asked the policeman if he understood English.
The situation appeared to reach an impasse until an airport staff at the boarding gate came over to tell the police and the Subway staff that the tourist had to leave.
The Subway staff then agreed to charged the tourist £37 (S$62), which was the amount she said was purportedly left in her card.
However, the staff only wanted to give her two sandwiches at first.
After some additional negotiation, the staff agreed to give her all three sandwiches without the cookies and drinks.
The TikTok user said the incident left her extremely angry but she did not want to be arrested in Thailand while she was with her two children.
She then concluded her second TikTok video by saying that she would never go to Subway in Phuket “ever again” and added that apart from this incident, her experience in Thailand has been amazing.
@naynaysully♬ original sound – 💫💋NayNay💋💫
What did the store say?
Thai media Khaosod English reported that the Subway store defended its pricing and said they did not overcharge a foreign passenger who complained on social media.
The store added that the price of all items had been clearly stated and said she had ordered extra beef and cheese.
A photo of the receipt supposedly showed a breakdown of her order, which came up 3,152 baht (S$124.73).
In response to the incident, Phuket International Airport said on Facebook that they were aware of discussions on social media about the prices at Subway and confirmed that the store displays its pricing “clearly” and operates in compliance with the terms outlined in its concession contract.Top screenshots via @naynaysully/TikTok
India’s official entry to Oscars 2025 (Laapataa Ladies) lost the race quite early in the game but nine movies with Indian connection are still in contention for the most prestigious awards in the world of cinema. Seven Indian films have been listed among Oscar qualifying movies and one Hindi film made it to the shortlist for International Feature Film category. Mira Nair’s production Anuja has also been shortlisted in Live Action Short Film category.
Nine Indian Films In Race At Oscars 2025
A total of nine films with Indian connection, including UK’s official entry to the Oscars, are in the race to win Oscars this year in different categories. British production Santosh has made it to the shortlist in Best International Feature Film category and Anuja was shortlisted under Live Action Short Film category. The rest of the films have been named in Oscar’s reminder list comprising hundreds of Oscar-qualifying movies for this year’s nominations.
A total of 323 feature films from across the world have been listed in as Oscar eligible but the fight for the Best Picture nominations will be among 207 films as the category has additional requirements for eligibility.
Qualifying for Best Picture eligibility
According to the rules listed on the Academy’s website, motion pictures must be at least be lengthier than 40 minutes, and must have released in 35mm or 70mm running a minimum of three shows per day in theatres for seven consecutive days. Release in Los Angeles, New York, Bay Area, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Atlanta is essential for the eligibility. It is essential for the producer or distributor of a film to submit an application form for Oscars eligibility, apart from qualifying all other conditions. The Academy also lists several technical specifications for the audio and visual aspects of a film.
The films that are Oscar-contenders and have a connection to India are:
1.Swatantrya Veer Savarkar
Randeep Hooda wrote, directed and acted in the Hindi film ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’.ZEE Studios
Randeep Hooda (Kick, Rang Rasiya) turned director for the period drama Swatantrya Veer Savarkar. Set in the pre-Independence, the biopic talks about Savarkar and his role in India’s fight against the British rule. More than a compelling narrative, the film feels like a news bulletin with incidents thrown in to ensure coverage. An able cast including Amit Sial, Rajesh Khera, Brajesh Jha, Mrinal Dutt, and Ankita Lokhande uplifts a film that often becomes overdramatic and choppy.
2. Girls Will Be GirlsKani Kusruti and Preeti Panigrahi in a still from ‘Girls Will Be Girls’.Pushing Buttons Studio
Shuchi Talati’s Girls Will Be Girls marks the production debut of Bollywood couple Richa Chadha-Ali Fazal. The film addresses a rare topic – sexuality and coming-of-age of girls. Though it does not ignore the reality, the film focuses on the views, needs and desires of the girls and women in the story instead of dwelling over the expectations of the society, family, or traditions. Kani Kusruti and Preeti Panigrahi play the mother-daughter duo at the center of the story, and they display the vulnerability and emotions apt for the film. It bagged awards at Sundance Film Festival and MAMI Mumbai Film Festival last year.
3.SantoshIndian actor Shahana Goswami as a cop in the Hindi film ‘Santosh’. (TAHA AHMED METROGRAPH PICTURES)Metrograph Pictures
Sandhya Suri’s Hindi feature film Santosh made it to the shortlist for Best International Feature Film award at Oscars 2025. Set in India’s Uttar Pradesh, the film is a Hindi-language crime drama and features Shahana Goswami as a widow cop. The film bagged awards at National Board of Review, Tokyo FILMeX, British Independant Film Festival, and Seville European Film Festival. Santosh was also nominated in the Prix Un Certain Regard category at Cannes International Film Festival last year and also made it to the nominations at BFI London Film Festival and European Film Awards.
4.PutulA poster of the Bengali film ‘Putul’.Indira Dhar Mukkherjee
Written, directed and produced by Indira Dhar, Putul was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024 under Marchu Du Film. The film features Sujan Mukherjee, Tanusree Shankar, Indroneel Mukherjee, and Mumtaz Sorcar. The film is Dhar’s debut as a director and producer. The film has music by Arghyakamal Mitra and Sayan Ganguly.
5.Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life Indian star Prithviraj on a poster of his Malayalam film ‘Aadujeevitham’.Visual Romance/Prithviraj Productions
Blessy has written, directed and produced the film Aadujeevitham which is an adaptation of Benyamin’s 2008 Malayalam novel Aadujeevtiham. It traces the real-life story of a Malayali immigrant labor in the Gulf. The film bagged a few awards at Hollywood Music in Media Awards and the Kerala State Film Awards. The film and the novel faced ban in some Gulf countries.
6.All We Imagine As LightCANNES, FRANCE – MAY 25: Kani Kusruti, Chhaya Kadam, Payal Kapadia and Divya Prabha pose with the … [+] Grand Prix Award for ‘All We Imagine As Light’ at the Palme D’Or Winners Photocall at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 25, 2024 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)Getty Images
All We Imagine As Light is an Indo-French co-production and Payal Kapadia has written and directed the film. Kani Kusruti, Chhaya Kadam, and Divya Prabha play important roles in the film. Bagging Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival last year, the film became a critics’ favorite worldwide. Many industry experts believed it could have been a good choice but All We Imagine As Light failed to make it as the official entry for India at the Oscars. The film won several awards including New York Film Critics Circle, and National Board of Review. It also bagged two nominations at the Golden Globe and is among the best contenders for Best Picture at the Academy Awards 2025.
7.Band of MaharajasA poster of Girish Malik’s film ‘Band of Maharajas’.Clapstem Entertainment
Girish Malik (Jal, Torbaaz) has directed the Indian Film Band of Maharajas featuring Shraddha Pandey, Arun Bajwa and Kuwarjeet Chopraa.
8.KanguvaA poster of ‘Kanguva A Mighty Valiant Saga’.Studio Green Pvt Ltd
Featuring Suriya in the lead role, Kanguva marks the Tamil debut of Bollywood stars Bobby Deol (Animal) and Disha Patani (Kalki 2898 AD). Siva has directed the film which had a decent opening but was soon criticized for the high-decibel audio. Such was the criticism that the film was re-edited and new version was run in theatres. Starring KS Ravikumar, Yogi Babu and Redin Kingsley, Kanguva is about the struggle of a tribal warrior to save his people.
9.AnujaA poster of Mira Nair’s production, the short film ‘Anuja’.Salaam Baalak Trust/Shine Global/Krushan Naik Films
Produced by Mira Nair, Anuja is now being backed by two big Indian producers – Guneet Monga and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The short film, set in the Indian capital city of Delhi, is directed by Adam J Graves and Suchitra Mattai. It has been shortlisted for the Live Action Short Film category.
Upcoming In Academy Awards Race 2025
The Academy was set to announce Oscar 2025 nominations on January 17. According to a report in The Variety, the voting and nominations have been shifted to January 19 because of the California wildfires. The award ceremony will be held at a live event on March 2.
Listen to the latest episode of Mixed Signals here.This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) showcased an array of new gadgets, screens, and robots – but will any of them impact how and what we consume? Or will the real changes come from Washington, where the big tech companies from Meta to Amazon seem to be targeting their attention? To discuss all the ways that tech and tech leaders will impact the media industry this year and beyond, Ben and Max talk to Jessica Lessin, founder and CEO of The Information. And Max hits the ground running with his first episode as co-host, as Taniacs rejoice.Nayeema Nation: Be sure to follow Nayeema’s new show, Smart Girl Dumb Questions, on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your content!Find us on X: @semaforben, @maxwelltaniIf you have a tip or a comment, please email us [email protected] up for Semafor Media’s Sunday newsletter: https://www.semafor.com/newsletters/media
Tyler Perry’s new Netflix film, The Six Triple Eight, tells the story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of the US Women’s Army Corps (WACs). These women, who were mostly African American, were sent to Britain in February 1945. Their goal was to boost morale by clearing a backlog of undelivered mail for the American troops fighting in Europe.
The film powerfully brings the story of these women, and the racism they encountered, to a wider audience. But it has received criticism from some reviewers for stereotypical characterisation and histrionic acting. Although there is an emphasis on the sisterhood of the unit and occasional nods to the sexism they experienced, the film largely misses the way this intersected with racism.
This was a subject the real commander of the 6888th, Charity Adams Earley (played in the film by Kerry Washington), gave more attention in her autobiography, One Woman’s Army (1995). As Adams Earley saw it, resentment towards the 6888th was “doubled” because they were a majority black, all-female unit serving overseas in a major theatre of war.
But the way these women handled the intersecting challenges of racism and sexism helped transform America’s notion of who could be a soldier.
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It wasn’t only the women of the 6888th who experienced racism during the war. Black nurses and American Red Cross volunteers in Britain had similar experiences.
But because their positions conformed to more traditional caring roles expected of women by American society in the 1940s, they were deemed less threatening to the military hierarchy than the WACs, who interposed women into the traditionally male identity of soldiers.
For this reason, the WACs faced significant opposition to posting any women overseas. Yet there were eventually 8,000 WACs stationed in Europe during the war. The approximately 855 women of the 6888th joined them after a considerable black political and press campaign in the US (Oprah Winfrey appears in the film as campaigner Mary McLeod Bethune).
The trailer for The Six Triple Eight on Netflix.
There was less than a warm welcome for the WACs from some male soldiers, who did not want to be replaced by women soldiers as it might mean them being sent to the front lines.
This was equally true of how some black soldiers received the women. In her book, Adams Earley observed how “Negro males had been systematically degraded” and the “presence of successfully performing Negro women on the scene increased their resentment”.
But the only significant male black character in the film, the lovelorn Private Hugh Bell (Jay Reeves), demonstrates none of this duality in his pursuit of Lena Derriecott (Ebony Obsidian). The one hint of any complexity is in a bar scene with Adams when her executive officer, Noel Campbell (Milauna Jackson), complains about “these white men … these Negro men too”.
Opposition to the female soldier
Back home in the US, rumours abounded as to the “true purpose” of the WACs. In 1943, a public “slander campaign”, driven by those unhappy with the idea of female soldiers, gave a false impression of the real mission of the WACs.
The whispering suggested they were to be morale-boosting sex workers for the men overseas. The 6888th certainly encountered this rumour. Adams Earley wrote that the women heard black soldiers say: “You can all just go back to the States, we get ours from white girls now.”
Perry’s film misses an opportunity to tackle these issues directly. Instead, it concentrates on another real event – the arrival of a chaplain at the 6888th who preached a sermon against the leadership of Adams Earley. She ordered the chaplain, who was known to her father as a fellow member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, to leave.
These 6888th WACs (Mary E. Walker, Erman Trude Finch, Callie K. Smith, Evelyn Martin, Virginia Blake and Gladys S. Carte) were all from New York.
US National Archives
Women becoming soldiers also threatened contemporary ideas of femininity, appearing to their critics to replace ideas of beauty, care-giving, nurturing and homemaking with a uniform masculinity. This led to an emphasis on retaining “feminine virtues” via a beauty parlour established by the 6888th. In the film, this draws the racist ire of General Halt (Dean Norris) during his inspection of their base.
In reality, the military and WAC hierarchy approved of such efforts to maintain conventional notions of femininity, though Adams Earley noted this was not something the army provided for African American women.
Ultimately, it led to a negative obsession with homosexuality and “mannish behaviour” among the women by the US army’s higher command. This undoubtedly existed, but in her book Adams Earley makes clear her disdain for this obsession. She discusses the “chore” of this focus, because it never impaired the performance of the unit.
Kerry Washington as Major Charity Adams in The Six Triple Eight.
Laura Radford/Perry Well Films 2/Courtesy of Netflix
The story of 6888th in Britain, and later in France, is one of transcending entrenched racism, but also one of confronting the challenges of sexism in the military.
In their conduct, the 6888th contributed to a redefinition of who could be a soldier that would eventually lead to the desegregation of the US Armed Forces by Executive Order 9981 in July 1948. The WACs were fully integrated into the army in 1978.
This combination of service and the 6888th’s clear success against combined racism and sexism was best articulated by Adams Earley, who believed she “survived in a state of pleasant belligerency. I had no chip on my shoulder; I kept it slightly below the shoulder.”
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to LinkedinForbes Travel Guide’s Top Destinations for 2025
While 2025 will be full of big events and noteworthy hotel openings in alpha cities, Forbes Travel Guide is seeing travelers gravitate to more remote locales and a continued focus on wellness getaways. No matter your travel motivation—from Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans to Amsterdam’s 750th birthday—you will find a place to visit among Forbes Travel Guide’s top destinations for 2025. From Monaco to the Maldives, start planning your next adventure.
The Top Bucket List Trips for 2025.getty
Looking to cross off an unforgettable vacation this year? A new report recently ranked the top bucket list trips around the globe. From escaping to Bali to experiencing the northern lights in the Grand Canyon, here are the top bucket list experiences for 2025.
Europe’s Best Ski Destinations 2025.getty
Whether you’re looking for the most picturesque ski slopes or the best après ski indulgences, these are Europe’s top ski destinations for 2025, according to European Best Destinations. The top twelve locations were selected from a pool of nearly 4,000 ski towns and voted on by a panel of nearly 100,000 skiing enthusiasts. Georgia’s Adjari ski region was named Europe’s top ski location with France’s Alpe D’Huez and Val Thorens rounding out the top three. It’s all downhill from there.
This is the published version of Forbes’ Passport newsletter, which offers a first-class guide to luxury travel. Click here to get it delivered to your inbox every Friday.
TravelWise.getty
What are the safest places to travel in 2025? A new report from International SOS—a leading security and health risk services company—offers key insights and practical guidance for travelers. Among the safest countries to visit this year are Iceland, Finland, Switzerland and Slovenia along with several island nations, including the Seychelles and the Marshall Islands.
The Coolest Restaurants for 2025.Jesse Hunniford
While there are plenty of restaurant awards for 2025—including new Michelin guides, La Liste and the World’s 50 Best—longtime Forbes travel writer Ann Abel talked to several food industry tastemakers to determine the coolest places to eat this year. From Australia to Vienna, here’s where to pick up a fork on the road.