Peanuts

Article summary

Peanuts (subtitled featuring "Good ol' Charlie Brown" until January 1, 1987) is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which eventually expanded into a media franchise. The strip originally ran from October 2, 1950 to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. Peanuts is regarded as one of the most popular and influential comic strips in history, with 17,897 strips published in all, making it "arguably the longest story ever told by one human being". At the time of Schulz's death in 2000, Peanuts ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of roughly 355 million across 75 countries, and had been translated into 21 languages. It helped to cement the four-panel gag strip as the standard in the United States, and together with its merchandise earned Schulz more than $1 billion. Following successful animated television and stage-theatrical adaptations over the years, five animated theatrical films have been released. It is also one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. Peanuts focuses on a social circle of young children, where adults exist but are rarely seen or heard. The main character, Charlie Brown, is meek, nervous, and lacks self-confidence.…

Key claims

1. date of death: 2000 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of formation: 1992 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. publication date: 2000 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. publication date: 1952 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. publication date: 2000 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. publication date: 2004 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. publication date: 2013 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
8. publication date: 1990 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
9. publication date: 1963 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
10. release date: 2001-05-17 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
11. release date: 1969-05-22 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
12. release date: 2015 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
13. release date: 1995 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of death is "2000". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of formation is "1992". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the publication date is "2000". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the publication date is "1952". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the publication date is "2000". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the publication date is "2004". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the publication date is "2013". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. The record states that the publication date is "1990". What evidence would count against this claim?
10. The record states that the publication date is "1963". What evidence would count against this claim?
11. The record states that the release date is "2001-05-17". What evidence would count against this claim?
12. The record states that the release date is "1969-05-22". What evidence would count against this claim?
13. The record states that the release date is "2015". What evidence would count against this claim?
14. The record states that the release date is "1995". What evidence would count against this claim?
15. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
16. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378052923