The Trailing Edge

My 11th-grade English teacher, Mr. Joseph, was brilliant. That year, we studied American Literature, and he walked us through the gamut of novelists, storytellers and poets from the Colonial era through the early 1960s. Yes, of course we started with The Scarlet Letter, but we headed into spring with Death of a Salesman. Mr. Joseph wasn't just brilliant, he was also quite funny. Looking back, I'm quite sure he had Tourette's Syndrome. He would sometimes pause in the middle of reading a story, form his hand into a gun and yell "Pow-pow-pow!" Or he would be taking attendance and split someone's last name into syllables separated by "Duh-uh-uh!" Always with a completely straight face. He wasn't ridiculing or threatening anyone -- these bizarre lapses didn't seem to be directed at anyone. They happened randomly and then he went right back to what he was doing.  But at the time, it appeared to be just another facet of Mr. Joseph's exceedingly ...

[The answers are way down at the bottom.] In the mid-1960s, TV viewers could be “haunted” by two sitcoms that portrayed morbid monsters as the satiric versions of wholesome families seen on such shows as “Father Knows Best,” “Leave it to Beaver,” and several others. While the shows ran on rival networks, they had many things remarkably in common. Test your knowledge of these two classic comedies. Which of the two shows debuted first? a. The Munsters b. The Addams Family Which of these combinations is correct? a. The Addams Family, on ABC, Friday nights b. The Munsters, on NBC, Tuesday nights c. The Munsters, on ABC, Sunday nights d. The Addams Family, on CBS, Monday nights Which of the two shows began as a cartoon in The New Yorker magazine? a. The Munsters b. The Addams Family 4. Which of the two series experienced a change in its cast midway through the first season? a. The Munsters b. The Addams Family 5. ...