February: Voices & Identity Umbrellas have their origins in ancient Egypt and China, where they were first used thousands of years ago to protect people from the sun rather than the rain. Because early umbrellas were made from paper, silk, and wood, they were often expensive and used...

February: Voices & Identity Pizza, one of the most popular foods in the world today, has its origins in Naples, Italy, where it was first made as a simple meal for poor workers in the 18th and 19th centuries. When Italian immigrants brought pizza to the United States in the late 1800s,...

February: Voices & Identity Jules Verne (8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a famous French writer who lived during a time of great scientific discovery and technological change. Fascinated by new inventions and travel, he wrote adventure novels such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under...

February: Voices & Identity Black History Month celebrates the achievements of African Americans in history. It remembers people like Harriet Tubman, who helped enslaved people escape to freedom in the 1800s , and Rosa Parks, who started the civil rights movement in the 1950s and...

February: Voices & Identity The first person to think of a "smart" phone was Theodore Paraskevakos in 1971, but the first real smartphone was the IBM Simon, which came out in 1994. Later, in 2007, Apple released the iPhone, which changed everything. Before smartphones, people used...

February: Voices & Identity Nutella is a sweet chocolate and hazelnut spread that was created in Italy in the 1940s by Pietro Ferrero. At that time, chocolate was expensive, so hazelnuts were added to make it cheaper and easier for families to enjoy. Nutella became popular in Europe...

February: Voices & Identity Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow students at Harvard University, Facebook was created to help students connect at university, but it quickly grew into a global network used by millions of people around the world. It appeared during a time...

February: Voices & Identity Birds have interested people throughout history because of their ability to fly and their close connection to nature. In many ancient cultures, birds were seen as symbols of freedom, messages from the gods, or signs of good luck, and they often appeared in...

February: Voices & Identity Who Was James Joyce? Celebrating His Literary Legacy and Masterpieces James Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was a very important Irish writer who changed how people write stories in the 20th century. He is famous for using a technique called...

February: Voices & Identity St. Brigid is one of the most important saints in Ireland. Long ago, in the 5th century, she started a famous monastery in Kildare where both men and women could study and work. Her feast day is February 1st, which is also the first day of spring in the old...

January: The Power of Ideas One of the most interesting moments in the history of 'opposite days' was George Costanza’s method of 'doing the opposite.' George, realizing that his life was going nowhere, decided to do everything the opposite way. The final result was that usually shy George...

January: The Power of Ideas Originating in Austria as the “kipferl” in the 17th century, croissants became popular in France in the 19th century, where they took the crescent shape we know today. Nowadays, croissants are a symbol of French café culture, enjoyed at breakfast with coffee and...