It’s a public holiday here in the US, which means it’s an Open House day on campus, as Admissions brings in a whole herd of high-schoolers to try to convince them to apply and enroll. This messes up the parking even more than usual, and also requires a bit of extra faculty effort to chat with students and parents, and give lab tours and the like. There’s no rest for the wicked.
Anyway, in honor of the holiday that I’m not getting (Kate has the day off), here’s a totally non-controversial question to discuss:
Who is your favorite “discoverer” of North and South America?
Today is Columbus day, officially celebrating the 1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus, which our grade school teachers told us represented the discovery of America. Of course, the reality is a little more complicated, and lots of other people have been claimed as the real ones who “discovered” America over the years. So who is your favorite:
- Columbus
- Leif Erikson/ other Vikings
- Some Irish monk
- Chinese merchant seamen
- Prehistoric hunters following mammoth herds over the Bering strait
- Space aliens
- Some other option that I didn’t think of
Leave your answer in the comments. For bonus points, offer an argument as to why your choice is the best.