History

Throughout the history of music, thousands of iconic artists have left their mark in the music industry. Even if the genre of the music was completely different, they all left a huge impact. Many of these artists are now known all over the world and are still loved by millions. People like Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Vicente Fernández, and our star for this article, Selena Quintanilla.

Selena Quintanilla has been a huge figure all over the world, but mostly in Hispanic households. Many growing up listening to Selena from their parents, stores, friends, or by accident when searching fr new music. Selena’s music was amazing to many. Her voice booming and so uplifting while her songs are catchy and perfect for her voice. Selena grew to be someone manny looked up to, even decades later still going strong in many people's hearts. How had this girl come to be this big? What led to her being adored by so many people in this world?

Selena was born on April 26 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas, to father Abraham Quintanilla and Marcelia Perez Quintanilla. Selena grew up as the youngest of three. Her older siblings are A.B. Quintanilla III and Suzette Quintanilla.

At the ripe age of 6, Selena was taught to sing in Spanish by her father. He was part of the band ‘Los Dinos’, which was their family band. Both Selena and her siblings were taught at a young age to sing and use musical instruments. She mainly performed in her dad's restaurant. Selena has said in her interview in ‘Sabadao Gigante’. “The truth is I never thought it would be a professional thing. It was just a hobby.”

Selena's first acts had been in her family's restaurants and events in Lake Jackson. It wasn't until 1982 that they moved to Corpus Christi where their performances were at larger and more diverse places. Selena's voice was able to reach more people than she had back in Lake Jackson. A year before the move the band went professional. In the 1980’s Selena was considered ‘La reina de musica tejana.’ (The queen on Texan music).

Selena’s carrier only proceeds to go uphill from that point onwards. Her concerts attract over half a thousand people on the regular. Her music was the first to sell Texan 300,000 million copies of their music.

Through Selena's many songs, she had released a handful of English songs. Such as Dreaming of you, which was part of the album Dreaming of you. Originally, Selena was set on making an all-English album but changed her decision with a bilingual album, both English and Spanish songs.

On April 2nd, 1992, Selena married Chris Perez. He was the lead guitarist of the band Selena y Los Dinos. Their marriage was short-lived, but a happy one.

A fact not many people are familiar with is that even if Selena’s songs were more often than not in Spanish, Selena herself couldn't speak it fluently. She had only been thought to sing it by her father but had never learned it. This does not mean she didn't speak an ounce. Selena did know many words but she couldn't speak fluently. After her fame roused she was encouraged to learn the language.

Selena recorded with many labels, releasing her albums Alpha (1986), Dulce Amor (1988), Preciosa (1988), Selena y Los Dinos (1990), Ven Conmigo (1991), Entre a Mi Mundo (1992), Selena Live (1993), Amor Prohibido (1994), and Dreaming of You (1995). All these iconic songs many could associate with happiness.

Her albums were so successful she was the best-selling Latin artist in the 1990s.

With such a big figure Selena used much of her power for good. She went on programs to encourage children to learn and was very focused on children's education. She inspired thousands and her music joined thousands of people all from different races, ages, and backgrounds together. Selena was a beautiful person who will never be forgotten.

Sadly, on March 31’st, 1995, Selena was shot by Yolanda Saldivar. Selena was only 23 when she was shot in her back, causing her death. People were shocked, her name covered the news, and she was in headers and on the front of every newspaper. “Grammy-Winning Singer Selena Killed in Shooting at Texas Motel.” Was one of the titles shown in the New York Times. Over 30,000 people watched her casket, and millions made memories of the fallen star. Taken too soon is one of the common feelings people had over the situation. Songs, Posters, Banners, Articles, Books, Art, Statues, and even museums were made in her honor. In 2002 Judge Jose Longoria ordered Selena’s death weapon be destroyed, and the .38-caliber revolver.

“I remember it was all over the news, everyone was talking about it. I remember telling my cousins, that it was a huge shock to everyone. She was so important to many people in the world, she left a huge mark in the music industry.” Said my mother, who was 19 at the time of her death. She had grown to listen to Selena, they were similar ages. To this day, she likes blasting her songs on the speakers whenever we are cleaning.

Selena's album Dreaming of you’ was released on July 18, 1995. After her death. This was the first Texan music album to hit number one in the U.S. As her last album it brought a lot of warmth to people's hearts. Listening to the Album she was so ready to release made it feel as if her dream was complete. It was like a sense of closure, and many were happy that her album was released into the world.

Selenas music is a beauty to many, art being weaved into the beautiful sound of music. Her voice is angelic, perfectly fitting its owner.

Years later, The Selena museum was opened in 1997, two years after her death. The museum is full of the outfits she used to perform. From her most iconic to her first. It's a beautiful walk-through and an amazing experience for any fan or close member of Selena.

ALthough Singing was her career, Selena dreamed of opening her boutique. She had adopted fashion and all types of styles, being one of her biggest inspirations and passions. Sadly, she passed before her dream could come true.

In 2005, the concert ‘Selena Vive!’ was hosted in Houston, Texas. Over 70,000 people attended. Iconic singers came together to sing and honor her songs. A show to congratulate her for her achievements, and celebrate her life and music.

Now, in the present, there are still thousands of fans who listen to her music every day. She still inspires people and her music is still heard. She was an amazing person full of potential, and even if we can't help but wish she lived longer, we still appreciate and adore what she created while she was here. Her beautiful heart and beautiful music, Selena was nothing short of a star.

Links;

Selena Vive! (2005 Movie) - In Spanish

Selena en Sabado Gigante (interview and performance) - In Spanish

The last concert (March 19th, 1995 Bryan, Texas)

Selena's top five songs;

Como la flor - Selena y los Dinos 1992 (song)

Amor prohibido - Amor Prohibido 1994 (song)

Bidi Bidi Bom Bom - Amor Prohibido 1994 (song)

Si una vez - Amor Prohibido 1994 (song)

The worst time to be alive may depend on where you live, but for people in the Eastern part of the world, the year would be 536. This year, so many things went wrong.

The year started with a massive volcano eruption that took place in Iceland. This eruption threw up so much ash in the atmosphere that it covered most of the planet's sky with ash. This period of darkness lasted for about 18 months and during those years, the world was thrown into chaos.

For starters, the ash would cause much lack of sunlight. As you probably know, sunlight is vital because it helps in many ways for our ecosystem. For the 18 months it was gone, most plants withered and died off. This was a problem for people as they couldn’t grow crops and feed themselves or the livestock. This isn't the only thing that killed many people though.

Because the sun was gone would also mean that the temperatures would drop as low as 1.5C to 2.5C during the summer. These temperatures would be the lowest in 2,300 years. This meant, you either died of hypothermia or starved to death. As if this couldn’t get any worse, sometime later, the Bubonic Plague started to spread. This killed more than half of the remaining people that survived the events before this. For the people that remained alive, they were very lucky.

To conclude, the year 536 was the worst year to be alive. If you thought 2020 was bad, you may want to reconsider after reading this.

I think we can all agree that bagels are one of the best types of bread. How can anyone not appreciate the fact that bagels can taste good with almost anything and come in many different varieties of flavors (everything bagel, garlic bagel, cinnamon raisin bagel, Chocolate chip bagel, plain bagel, onion bagel, rainbow bagel, cheese bagel, etc.)? Yes, it is true that bagels are quite amazing, but do you ever have a bagel and wonder, ‘where did bagels come from?’ or ‘who created bagels?’ and even ‘why were bagels invented?’ (That last question is easy to answer. Bagels were invented because they are simply amazing. I’ll still be answering that question later in the article though.) I know most of you probably don’t ask these questions and you just enjoy your bagel in peace. Sadly, you don’t get to enjoy your bagel in peace anymore because I’ll be telling you about many years of bagel history! Feel free to make your friends feel stupid by bragging about all of the bagel facts you’ll know after you read this.

Bagel Basics

While a bagel does share some similarities with a donut (they are both round with a hole in the middle) a bagel definitely is NOT a donut. A donut is deep-fried and usually much sweeter and topped with frosting, glaze, sprinkles, candy, or filled with jelly. Bagels are made from heavy yeasted wheat dough, and they are boiled and baked until the outside is crisp. Most bagels may not usually be served with a lot of sugar, but as I said earlier, bagels come in many different varieties and can be perfect for any meal at any time of the day with any toppings you desire (or you can eat a bagel by itself. Go on, no one will judge you.).

The Long History of Bagels

I’m not exactly sure when the bagel was invented, but my research has led me to believe it might have been invented sometime around the 1600s to the 1700s. Legend says a Jewish baker in Vienna wanted to thank the king of Poland for keeping his countrymen safe from Turkish invaders by making a hard roll in the shape of a riding stirrup. This is what inspired the bagel's unique shape. It is also theorized that the bagel is a descendent of the German pretzel, which is another yeasted dough bread that is boiled and then baked.

Bagels in America

Although bagels differently were not made in America, we still have a lot of history with them. The bagel arrived in the United States with Jewish immigrants from Poland in the 19th century. They were sold in New York City stacked up on poles or hung from strings. This allowed people to buy and enjoy them on the streets. For many people, it was a simple comforting peasant food. After a while, different styles of bagels and were invented.

Bagels are the source of happiness. I believe that all bagels are amazing in their own unique way. If anyone tells you not all bagels are created equally special, tell them their opinion is wrong. Like all my other articles, I simply must tell you all a tea fact. Fun fact: It’s believed that the best green tea is produced during the first harvest of the year, which falls from early April to mid-May.

Sources:

A Brief History of the Bagel | Arts & Culture| Smithsonian Magazine

The History of Bagels in America | The Nosher

A DELIcious History of the Bagel in America - Chompie's Restaurant, Deli, Bakery, and Catering.

The history of Bagels,

Volcanoes are the vents in the planet's crust where lava, gasses, and other substances erupt. Volcanic eruptions happen when gasses cannot rise and get stuck inside the magma. This immense pressure inside can cause an eruption which can be very deadly.

Tambora, Indonesia

In 1815, Mount Tambora, on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia, erupted and instantly killed an estimated 10,000 people. After the eruption, tsunamis started to form and destroyed its surroundings. As for the survivors of this event, it was only the beginning. Ashes started to fall and gasses were sent into the atmosphere because of the eruption. This would soon cause a simple but significant problem for inhabitants. These gases would then spread out in the atmosphere and decrease the amount of sunlight causing crops and other foods to die. For around three years, this was a problem. These events caused another estimated 90,000 deaths from starvation. In total, around 100,000 people died from this one eruption.

Krakatau, Indonesia

This also takes place in Indonesia. This eruption took place on the island Krakatoa wherein 1883, it erupted. This volcano had previously erupted in 1860, so many residents thought it was extinct, making everyone unprepared. This was the first eruption out of the few more to come over the next 24 hours. The next day after the first eruption, the biggest blast occurred. It sent ash 50 miles into the air. Only a few died from the immediate impact, but most did from the enormous tsunami the explosion had created. This tsunami was 120 feet tall and destroyed an estimated 160 coastal villages killing more than 36,000 people.

With event like this, it shows everyone that volcano eruptions can be very deadly and destructive. Not all events are like this though. Some more deadly than others, Mt Saint Helens is a good example with low deaths after its eruption.

Barbara Shermund. Ever heard of her? This woman, much like many women in her time, was forgotten in her time. This doesn’t mean she deserves to be treated like a ghost. Her accomplishments were drastically ahead of her time, and she should not be forgotten again.

Shermund was a cartoonist during the early 1900’s, a time where the entertainment industry was booming from all forms, from the black and white movers in the south west, to the funny colored image right on the paper in front of you. This time wasn’t all cheery and jovial for everyone, however. The only people who were considered “people” were the straight white men, and they weren’t very kind to the people who considered them otherwise. Many people were afraid to confront this horrid truth. Barbara wasn’t. Not only did she have a job in a primarily male dominated industry of printing, but she wrote hundreds of cartoons that were very progressive and new for the time. And she won’t be forgotten for it.

Barbara Shermund was born June 27th, 1899 in San Francisco, California. Both of her parents had creative personalities, with her father being an architect, and her mother a sculptor. Barbara’s artistic instincts kicked in at a young age and was quite proficient at illustrating. Her first comic was published at the young age of eight, with her parents fully supporting her following her ambitions. When her mother tragically died of the Flu in 1918, causing Barbara and her father to drift apart slowly. She eventually became estranged from him when he started a new life with a new woman. She decided to start a new life, too, in New York City. Barbara moved there in her mid-20’s to pursue her illustration ambitions, and sought out an independent life. That’s when she met Harold Ross.

Harold Ross was the founder of a new and fresh magazine during the 1920s: The New Yorker. He needed a cartoonist who had a witty and satirical style. He found that in Barbara Shermund. Shermund had a new, feminist style that was very uncommon for the time. Her cartoons critiqued society and the patriarchy, and defied convention with a sense of independence. An example of this was a comic of two women sitting on the couch, with the caption ‘“Yeah,” one says, “I guess the best thing to do is to just get married and forget about love.”’ Not only was this surprising to hear because of the era this was from, but it was also surprising to hear from the New Yorker, a newspaper known for its cartoons that felt unreal. It didn’t show what life was like during the time, something that Shermunds cartoons did very well.

When the Mid-1900’s struck, people's interests changed. They were less appreciative of her cynical voice about society. After the ’40s, Shermund became a ghost to the world. She submitted her final piece of art in 1944 and wasn’t heard of again. She died in 1978, and no piece was written about her death at the time. According to the New York Times, “her ashes sat in a New Jersey funeral home for nearly 35 years until they were claimed by a descendant in search of information about her.”

Barbara Shermund’s fame and renowned stature may have died out in her later years of life, but the memory of her prime will still be remembered today. She was a voice for women all across the country, a voice that wasn’t afraid to speak its mind, a voice that opened the curtain to how women saw the world. She was a valiant soul, and she will never be forgotten.

All of this information can be found in this New York Times article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/obituaries/barbara-shermund-overlooked.html

We’ve all heard of the rising tension and now the war between Russia and Ukraine, but some may not know the series of events that lead to this war. Russia has been pretty possessive of Ukraine over the past hundred years.

But it is important to talk about the history of the Ukraine vs Russia situation and how things got this way. For starters, Ukraine used to be a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) which was a union of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Transcaucasia. They had gained independence from Russia in August of 1991, but they had tried to separate before, in 1922, during the Russian Civil War. Ukraine lost in their fight for independence in 1922; they were defeated by Russia and afterward were put into cultural repression by the military leader Joseph Stalin.

The repression caused a famine in Ukraine, known as the Holodomor, that killed several million people. Stalin wanted the small Ukrainian farmers to be replaced with farms controlled by Russia to impose greater punishment against Ukrainians. Many of the scholars of Ukraine were killed in the second wave of “Stalinist terror,” including artists and the writers of the dictionaries. A letter was removed from the Ukrainian alphabet and Russia changed the way the language was written and spoken to make it more similar to Russian. Russia wanted to eliminate all of the ways Ukrainians were different from the Russians, attempting to kill their culture and their language to force them into submission.

At the time, there were areas of Ukraine that were controlled by Poland, these parts of Ukraine experienced almost no famine when the rest of Ukraine was suffering. The areas were however struggling politically and culturally due to a lack of autonomy, not famine. Crimea, which is now taken over by Russia, became a part of Ukraine in 1954, marking the final expansion of Ukraine.

Even recently, Russia has been relentlessly trying to keep Ukraine from being independent. They don't want Ukraine to get into NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Association, because it would cause Russia to have less control over Ukraine. But Ukraine is in quite a precarious situation themselves as they derive electricity and resources from Russia and Belarus, making relationships with Russia essential, but Ukraine has been trying to disconnect from Russia as much as possible and plans to connect the power grid to the EU one.

Russia recently picked up that NATO was moving closer and closer to adding Ukraine to the list of countries included in NATO, and Putin figured that invading Ukraine through the separatist region of Ukraine, the Donbas region, would prevent losing control of Ukraine. Russia has been engaging in hybrid warfare with Ukraine with a combination of military invasions, aerial attacks, and cyberattacks.

As of recent times, everyone involved with the situation is hoping that the war ends soon before Russia can move towards the rest of Europe. Many countries are afraid of supporting Ukraine however, because of fear of what Russia might do to them. Hopefully, everything calms down soon but I’m personally doubtful things might clear up any time soon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_War_of_Independence

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-history-of-subjugating-ukraine/

https://theconversation.com/ukraine-as-a-borderland-a-brief-history-of-ukraines-place-between-europe-and-russia-178168

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Tuesday, January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia at 12:00 pm. He had two siblings and attended Booker T Washington High school, where he skipped ninth and twelfth grade because of his high IQ. He went to Morehouse College at the age of 15. He was planning to become a pastor and an activist, but he made fighting for civil rights his main priority. On June 18th, 1953, Martin Luther King Jr. married Coretta Scott. Martin and Coretta had four children.

On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her seat to a white person on a crowded bus. The outcome was her getting arrested. This brought attention to the segregation of colored people and encouraged activists, including Martin, to protest. This was known as The Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott lasted over a year in total. Martin got arrested and was attacked by people who did not want changes. After all this, the boycott was successful in making racial segregation and transportation unconstitutional. This made Martin a known figure and made him more known. Martin and other ministers and activists founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC.

With Martin as president, the SCLC helped conduct nonviolent protests and demonstrations across the south to promote civil rights. Martin made himself famous after the “I have a dream" speech delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. This speech inspired the nation and is now considered one of the greatest speeches in American history. He even became the youngest person with a noble peace prize. This expanded human rights against black discrimination.

On April 4th, 1968, Martin was shot while standing on the balcony outside of his hotel room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee at 7:05 p.m. Martin was pronounced dead at st. Joseph's Hospital on April 4th, 1968. This was the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr, who helped improve the treatment of African Americans and other people of color in the U.S.

Kirkland Signature? It’s a brand that almost everybody in America would know, a brand that’s associated with food, with appliances, with… everything. It sells quite literally everything. That’s quite odd, isn’t it? And the thing is, it’s one of the most successful brands in America in terms of sales. It passes Kellogs, Hershey’s, Mars, every large consumer product company doesn't compare to the 58 billion dollars Kirkland pulled in in one year alone. Costco is the mastermind behind this 1/20 of a trillion dollar organization, but it wasn’t always this successful.

In the Nineties, Costco had dozens of brands privately owned by them. Simply Soda is one aisle, Chelsea Toilet paper in another, all of these brands you could only find at Costco (which was known as PriceCostco at the time, but we don’t talk about that). Jem Sinegal was the CEO at the time, and he had a problem: People were switching to house brands.

Costco was expanding internationally, however, and private-label brands were more popular with the consumer overseas due to the quality of the product. Sinegal wanted the products to have the same quality in America as they did overseas, and he wanted one name for all of them: A name that showed the headquarters of the company at the time: Kirkland Signature.

From then on, with no exaggeration, everything from Costco had a Kirkland Signature brand. Everything. Golf clubs, food, appliances, everything. Kirkland brand has really helped Costco over the years, helping customers renew their memberships to Costco, and supporting the claim that Costco serves quality products at great prices. According to Christopher Durnham, president of Retail Brands institute, “Kirkland is designed to appeal across demographic groups, unlike many other retailers' array of private labels that are each targeted at a specific segment of shoppers.” The name is consistent across Costco, which makes it easier for the consumer to remember the products they buy, and for the shipper to only use one label.

According to CNN, “Many retailers have made developing their own brands a priority in recent years. Store products carry higher profit margins than national brand products and don't incur the same advertising costs.” Costco’s situation is a little different, however. They are still one of the only companies that sell their products under one name.

Kroger brand foods are tiered in their products: Premium products under “private selection label”, middle branded products under “Kroger”, value products under “Big K” and “Heritage Farm”, and much, much more. Kirkland has everything under the same umbrella, which benefits it with originality, but risks it with consistency.

Keeping the quality, pricing, and availability of Kirkland brand products consistent is what is expected, and if that doesn’t happen, people will remember it. Business may go down, so Costco has to be sure that that won’t happen. And that’s how we all know the Kirkland Signature Brand today.

We’ve all heard about the jolly fat, bearded wonder known as Santa Claus. Ever wondered how he became what he is? The original Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas of Myra, was also Nicholas of Bari. He was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent who worked in the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor during the time of the Roman Empire. Saint Nicholas was known for his generosity and kindness. He was born in Patara, Lycia, an area that is part of present-day Turkey. As a young man, he lost his parents and used his inheritance to help the sick and poor. Afterward, he started serving as a bishop of Myra, a city now called Demre.

There are many legends about Saint Nicholas, one of them tells a tale about three poor sisters. Their father had not had enough money to pay their dowries. Saint Nicholas secretly went to their house at night and put a bag of money inside by throwing it through the window. The next time he attempted to do this the window had been locked, he instead went up onto the roof and dropped the bag of money into the chimney, and landed in the stocking waiting for it to dry. The father had used this money so that he could pay the sister’s dowries and so the third daughter could marry.

Another legend of Saint Nicholas, though coming long after his death, says that on the eve of his feast day, the Day of Saint Nicholas, December 6th. There was a group of Arab pirates from Crete who stole treasures from Saint Nicholas’ church and kidnapped a young boy that was to be made into a slave. When the feast day took place the boy’s mother did not join, seeing as it was a day of great tragedy for her. All the while, Saint Nicholas appeared to the boy and blessed him. He woke him up in the city of Myra where he had once lived before being kidnapped. This legend made one of his primary roles in the west to be protecting children.

The Roman Emperor, Diocletian would imprison people for believing in Christianity, because of this, Saint Nicholas was imprisoned and not long after died of poor living conditions because of it.

Saint Nicholas of Myra became the well-renowned Santa Claus we all know and love by his legend of his gift-giving spreading across the world. Eventually, after his death, his name was known less formally as Santa Claus rather than Saint Nicholas.

Chess is one of the oldest games of all time. It originated from the Gupta Empire of India in about 600 CE. Chess shows respect to the king because even if the game is lost, the king is never captured. The game requires a resourceful mind that constantly reflects on the player’s past mistakes.

In the current day, professional chess players make a living in tournaments. The first chess tournament was in 1575 and took place in Madrid. Italians Leondardo da Cutri and Paolo Boi traveled to Madrid and played Ruy Lopez and Alfonso Ceron from Spain. In this tournament, Ruy Lopez had previously defeated the opponents, and it seemed that Spain would win the tournament after they quickly won the first two games. The Italians however, came back and won the next three games and won the first chess tournament.

In 1978, Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov were in the world championships against each other. This was known as a grudge match because Korchnoi had played Karpov in 1974 in the final candidates’ match. This candidates’ match was the game before the world championships. This match was very political and the players even received death threats. Korchnoi was born in the Soviet Union but moved to Sweden. Because of this, the Soviet Union saw him as a man with few morals. However, Korchnoi’s opinion of Karpov isn’t much different. He thinks that Karpov was handed the win in 1975 because Bobby Fischer retired. In the championships, Karpov eventually defeated Korchnoi after 31 games, giving the USSR the win.

In 1972, the world championships were played by Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Bobby Fischer was an American who was born in Chicago and is one of the most well-known players to this day. Boris Spassky was born in Leningrad and was thought to be the best player of the time. This championship match was very close, however, Bobby Fischer eventually defeated Boris Spassky with a score of 12 and a half games to eight and a half games. This match stood as a metaphor for the conflict between the two countries. It was also important toward the cold war because it shows the United States defeating the Soviet Union even though it was thought to be impossible.

Chess is a very mentally challenging and historic game, but its importance is not well known. The history of chess’s impact on historical events and people should be further studied and examined.

Have you ever read a pirate story? Watched an adventure movie? If you have, you have probably seen a hunt for an elusive treasure. Those always seemed fun, right? But in your heart, you probably think it’s only fiction. Well, that's not entirely true! Geocaching is a modern treasure-hunting experience that's safe, fun, and is a good way to get you out of the house.

It started on May 2, 2000. New GPS technology had been produced, enabling you to visualize the entire world on your phone. And one David Ulmer was more than excited to test this new technology. He specifically wanted to test the accuracy of finding objects with this new technology. To do this, he planted a black box in the middle of the woods. He posted this on the internet as “The Great GPS Stash Hunt”, where you would use GPS coordinates to find the box. In this box, he hid goodies such as a slingshot, books, and videos. On May 3rd, he told the internet the location and the rules: “Take something, leave something”.

Michael Teague was the first person to find this box. He researched different coordinates people have posted of their own little treasures, and collected them on a home page. A mailing list was made for all the people who wanted to discuss this new trend. Name changes were tossed around, due to the connotations of the word “stash” at the time. Geocaching was the one that stuck. Geocaching doesn’t just sound cool, though. There is a lot of thought going into the name: Geo meaning earth and relating to geography, and cache being a French term for a hiding place to store items. Though David Ulmer founded the idea, and Mike Teague made it mainstream, Jeremy Irish made it accessible to everyone, not just advanced GPS users.

At the time, only people who were skilled and had knowledge of how a GPS worked were on this trend. The technology was very new, and finding out where the coordinates were, and even if they were close by, was much more difficult to new-comers. Jeremy Irish was a web-developer who found Teagues website, and made it his new hobby. He then made a website named Geocaching.com that was similar to Teague's page: It had all of the coordinates he could find, but he used his web-developing knowledge to make it easier to understand. He included ways to find out what the coordinates mean, and a search feature that allowed you to put your zip-code, and find nearby caches. It was up September 2, 2000, and had 75 caches uploaded.

Through magazine articles, press articles, and other forms of media, Geocaching became a big hit, with new people hiding their own caches, uploading them to the website, attracting more people. Irish realised he needed a bigger computer if he wanted to continue this venture. He partnered with Elias Alvord and Bryan Roth to make Groundspeak.inc, with their machines and computers in Seattle. They still had to work on their own jobs, tinkering with the website off of work, and in 2005, they could make it their full time jobs with the payments of merchandise and premium memberships. Irish, Alvord, and Roth still run it today, with 100 volunteers and counting.

All information can be found at the official Geocaching website.

https://www.google.com/search?q=geocaching+history&rlz=1CATRYQ_enUS920US931&oq=g&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l2j69i57j69i59j46i199i433i465i512j69i60l3.900j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&surl=1&safe=active&ssui=on

Baseball was created in 1839 by Abner Doubleday, a civil war veteran.

In baseball, there are nine players on a field. You have the pitcher who throws the baseball to the catcher behind home plate. Then for infield, there is a first baseman, second basemen, shortstop, and third basemen. For outfield, there is a right fielder, center fielder, and left fielder. When the other team is on the field, your team is hitting. As a batter, you have a bat and wear a helmet. Then, you walk out to home plate and the pitcher throws the baseball to the catcher who is behind you. When it passes by, you swing and try to hit the ball.

Some gear baseball players have are baseball gloves and bats. A baseball glove’s design has progressed a lot throughout the years. Baseball gloves started as normal leather work gloves. Next, people started making a more padded glove with webbing in between the pointer finger and thumb to help stop the baseball and secure it. After a few years, the webbing was removed and people added a line of leather where the webbing was. A few years later, they added another leather line to help secure the baseball within the baseball glove. Years later, they added all of the fingers together to help secure the baseball better. Modern updates to the baseball gloves have been adding better webbing, making the gloves fit better onto the player's hand, and making them more comfortable.

Comparatively, the design of baseball bats has remained relatively unchanged since the advent of the game. As in the 1840s, wooden baseball bats are made of hardwood trees such as maple, hickory, and ash as well as bamboo grass. Throughout the years, baseball bats have stayed generally the same.

There have to be at least 9 baseball players to fill all of the positions on the field. But, you generally can’t pitch a whole baseball game, so there have to be replacement pitchers and a replacement catcher. It is not common for a player to both catch and pitch in the same game because Coaches don’t want the player’s throwing arm to get over-used. The extra catchers on the team go to the bullpen to wait to relieve the other catcher. Other than this, the fundamentals of baseball have stayed the same.

The Major League Baseball Organization (MLB) was invented in 1869. Baseball was first commentated on the radio in 1921 by Harold Arlin. Later, baseball was first televised in 1939 and announced by Red Barber. The first 8 baseball teams were the Boston Red Stockings (now the Atlanta Braves), Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), the Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, the Louisville Grays, Mutual of New York, Philadelphia Athletics, and the St. Louis Brown Stockings.

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John Fitzgerald Kennedy, typically referred to as JFK, was the 35th President of the United States. JFK was President from his inauguration on January 20, 1961, to November 22, 1963, which was when he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. JFK was a part of the Democratic party, which helped spark idealism for the next generation. I will talk about some of the things he did in his presidency and why they were important.

In 1961, JFK was focusing on the space race against the Soviets (Russia's main government at the time). If the US had better spaceflight against Russia, which was at its peak of weapon power, then the US would have a strong advantage in any wars in the future. In April of that year, the CIA funded about 1550 Cuban exiles to try and overthrow the Cuban government in the Bay of Pigs. JFK wanted the CIA’s involvement but it was clear that the CIA had some sort of involvement in it. In June of 1961, JFK met with Nikita Khrushchev who was the Soviet Premier to try to resolve the status of Berlin because there was still tension between the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, and France since the end of World War II. However, that was a bit of a failure because two months later, East Germany started to build up the Berlin wall. This was important because the resolution with Berlin was a point of conflict within the cold war.

In 1962, JFK was still maintaining the space race with John Glenn orbiting the earth that year. In February of that year, segregation in transportation facilities was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because it went against the constitution. This meant that segregation in buses would be considered racial discrimination because everyone had equal protection. In March of that year, JFK announced the reduction of U.S. import duties as part of an agreement to promote international trade. In October of that year, JFK was informed of soviet missiles in Cuba and a few days later announced the Cuban missile crisis. He warned that the purpose of the Soviet missiles in Cuba could be “none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere according to “millercenter.org” and a few days later it was resolved with the US agreeing to not raid Cuba

In 1963, JFK gave a lot of speeches because the presidential races would be coming up soon. Later on, JFK signed a nuclear test ban with the Soviets and the UK which would limit the number of tests that could be done. Then on November 22nd, 1963, JFK was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas while in a motorcade. He was there because he was trying to get more Democratic votes in the south and the country was saddened and shocked over JFK’s death. Two days after he was shot, a man called Jack Ruby, who was a local nightclub owner, shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald while Oswald was being transferred from the police station to the county jail on TV.

In summary, JFK did a lot of things including sparking idealism for generations after. Some things didn't work as well, as the Bay Of Pigs didn't really help anything, and some of the things he did ended up being good in the long run. JFK will always go down as a successful President at a very tough time.

If you want to know more about JFK’s presidency, here are some good articles: millercenter.org, whitehouse.gov jfklibrary.org

Christmas night is just around the corner. A holiday that has been celebrated for centuries. Where it's known as a family and friends holiday to celebrate. It's also known as a day to open gifts and wait for ‘Santa Clause’ to arrive. For the 2nd millennia, people have been observing it with practices and traditions that are both secular in nature.

Christmas is celebrated on December 25th because Jesus is the key figure in Christianity and his birth is an important holiday for those in that faith. The name ‘Christmas’ originally comes from the Mass of Jesus. In the middle ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucous just like today's Mardi Gras parties. Christmas was canceled in England from 1659 to 1681 and during that, the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Boston, and lawbreakers were fined five shillings. Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States in 1870 even though not all Americans were Christian.

The name ‘Santa Claus’ was traced back to a monk named ‘St.Nicholas’ who was born in Turkey. When families gathered to honor St. Nicholas’s death, they had made the name ‘Santa Claus’ which is the abbreviation of his name. He had first entered American popular culture in the 18th century in New York. He had given away all his wealth and traveled the countryside to help the poor and sick, and so he became known as the protector of children and sailors. One of Santa Claus' reindeer named ‘Rudolph’, was the product of Robert L. May’s imagination in 1939. Santa and Rudolph are the most recognized figures of American Christmas celebrations.

Not until the 19th century did Americans begin to embrace Christmas. Not only that, Americans had invented Christmas and changed from a raucous carnival to a family day of peace and nostalgia. During the 19th century, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes pretty often during the Christmas season. In 1828, New York’s city council instituted the city’s first police force in response to a Christmas riot. This caused certain members in the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was being celebrated in America.

As soon as Americans began to embrace Christmas as a nice, pretty, and perfect family holiday, old customs were being unearthed. People were looking around Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how they should celebrate it. After 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all on their own that included many other pieces of other customs. Even though most of the families thought Christmas was being celebrated how they were celebrating it for centuries, Americans really reinvented the holiday to a growing nation of cultural needs. Christmas was provided for families with a day where they could give lots of gifts and attention to their children without appearing as ‘spoiled’.

Christmas has changed from a religious holiday to a cultural holiday. Where people now celebrate it every year on December 25th with gifts, decorations, and more. It has turned into a family gathering even though not a lot of people celebrate it, they still have some family time. They have some fun without even having to celebrate it.

Badminton is a game where you or your team tries to hit a shuttlecock, also known as a birdie over the net. The goal is to make it hit the ground on your opponent's side of the court without it going out of bounds.

The sport was invented in 1870 when British soldiers that were stationed in India began playing a game called “battledore and shuttlecock.” It was a children's game played in England where you try to keep the shuttlecock (which is a cork with 16 feathers attached to it) with a lightweight racket in the air as long as possible. The game had been popular in England ever since medieval times.

The British soldiers then added a 5ft net to make the simple game more challenging and competitive. They decided to name this modified version of the game, “Poona.” At first, they played with a wooden ball, but later, they went back to playing with the shuttlecock.

When the soldiers arrived back in 1873, a Badminton House lawn party was held by the Duke of Beaufort and the soldiers were invited. The Soldiers played the game they had made at the party. Later, the Duke of Beaufort (the man that hosted the party) introduced the sport the soldiers played at his country estate. People tried the game and it got popular. They then named the sport badminton.

In 1877, “The Bath Badminton Club” established the first written rules for the sport which are still used today. One year later, The New York Badminton Club was founded and became the first-ever official badminton club. In 1992, Badminton became a full medal Olympic sport for men and women singles and doubles. They introduced mixed doubles in 1996.

October 31st, or Halloween, is one of the oldest holidays, dating back to the 8th century. Halloween was the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain(Sah-win), which is a pagan religious festival. Although both the people who celebrated The Festival of Samhain, and the people who celebrate modern-day Halloween would both dress up, there are a lot of differences in Halloween since then.

At the start of Halloween, when it was just a festival, people would celebrate it

because they believed that it was the end of summer and the harvest season. They wanted to enjoy the end of what they considered the “year” because the winter was cold, dark, and associated with human death.

In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III made November 1st a day to honor all saints, and soon after that, all of the saint’s days had some of the Samhain traditions. October 31st became considered Hallows Eve since the next day was to celebrate Saints. People thought the night before was the only day where the dead and the worlds of the living become blurred, so they would celebrate Samhain to ward off ghosts that night.

The Celts(Celtic people), lived about 2000 years ago and mostly lived in the area of what is now Ireland, The United Kingdom, and Northern France

So in conclusion, Halloween is one of the oldest holidays that has been celebrated by many people around the world. It started as an ancient festival and has become a loved holiday by many.

"Halloween 2021." History.com, 27 Apr. 2021,

www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween.