Good evening. Hamlet getting ghosted = the only semi-modern reference appearing in 21st-century English classes, according to a new survey of 4,000 public high school and middle school teachers across America.

The survey, the most comprehensive look at what’s being taught by English teachers since 1989, reveals that most of the texts on curriculums haven’t changed in decades:

• Six of the ten most-popular books in classrooms also appeared on the 1989 list of ten most-popular books—Romeo & Juliet, The Great Gatsby, Macbeth, Of Mice and Men, To Kill A Mockingbird, Hamlet, and Frankenstein.
• The other four—Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Elie Wiesel’s Night, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein—while newcomers to the list, were still all published 60+ years ago.

Calls are growing for an update. However, teachers say introducing different or more modern texts in classrooms often involves several layers of approval that can be difficult to overcome. Finding quality teaching resources also poses a frequent challenge.

But…Officials say a concerted list refresh could help increase student engagement. In a federal survey of students who were 13 as of 2023, 14% reported reading for fun almost every day, down from 27% in 2012 and 35% in 1984.

P.S. Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe to The DONUT’s AM/PM updates here.

Each of the following events happened on July 28. Your challenge is to put them in the order in which they occurred by year, earliest to latest. Answers at the bottom!

• A) Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, effectively kicking off WWI.
• B) The first feature-length zombie film, White Zombie—inspired by the book as well as a stage play called Zombie—is released in New York City. It stars Bela Lugosi.
• C) Maximilien Robespierre, a radical Jacobin leader and one of the principal figures in the French Revolution, is guillotined before a cheering mob on the Place de la Révolution in Paris.
• D) The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution—which granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to Blacks and slaves who had been emancipated after the Civil War—enters into force.

Hint: The zombies are coming…last

Forget hot takes and highlight reels. Extra Points delivers the substantive insights that shape collegiate athletics—the stories nobody else is covering.

Deep dives from Matt Brown's investigative reporting go far beyond sports coverage. This is intelligence for people who understand college sports are about business as much as games.

…and play Conjoiner, an original word game we developed where each answer to a crossword-style clue gives indications as to the next.

The first clue of today’s sequence: “Nukes food”...

Note: A (potentially important) clue for today’s Conjoiner can be found at the bottom of our AM send. Just search “🍩 Getting busy (or not)“ in your inbox.

Mini

While today’s mini is titled “Last, resort”, in our team’s humble opinion it should actually be your first. Anchor time: Our CEO Branndon knocked out today’s masterpiece in 51 seconds.

• Play the puzzle here.

Sudoku

A peaceful Monday night = tackling our latest Sudoku with a quality bottle of Josh (cab sav, of course) + good attitude.

• Play today’s puzzle here (wine not included).

Happy Gilmore 2 was released on Netflix last week. The cameo-laden sequel involved (SEMI SPOILER ALERT🚨) one-time bitter rivals—Happy Gilmore and Shooter McGavin🔫—burying the hatchet and working together to save golf.

But some rivals out there can’t hang up the hate. Examples include Michigan-Ohio State, the Yankees-Red Sox, India-Pakistan (cricket), and Real Madrid-Barcelona, to name a few.

Which of these rivalries^ is the best? We need you to weigh in.

Compete in the Best Sports Rivalries challenge and cast your vote for the GOAT.

C, D, A, B

• C) 1794: Maximilien Robespierre, a radical Jacobin leader and one of the principal figures in the French Revolution, is guillotined before a cheering mob on the Place de la Révolution in Paris.
• D) 1868: The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution—which granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to Blacks and slaves who had been emancipated after the Civil War—enters into force.
• A) 1914: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, one month to the day after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were killed by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo, effectively kicking off WWI.
• B) 1932: The first feature-length zombie film, White Zombie—inspired by the book as well as a stage play called Zombie—is released in New York City. It stars Bela Lugosi.