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Thread: Google doodles

  1. #5001
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    14 January 2021
    Justicia Espada Acuña's 128th birthday






    Today’s Doodle celebrates Chilean engineer Justicia Espada Acuña, one of the first female engineers in Chile and South America. A symbol of women’s progress in Latin America, Acuña forged a path for generations of women to pursue careers in engineering.

    Justicia Espada Acuña Mena was born in the Chilean capital of Santiago on this day in 1893. Her father was a civil builder who encouraged Acuña and her seven siblings to follow their dreams and challenge unjust societal norms. After high school, she studied mathematics, but she soon took an interest in engineering instead. In 1912, she became the first woman to join the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Chile, and she made history when she graduated with a degree in civil engineering seven years later.

    The next year, Acuña began her trailblazing career as a calculator for the State Railways’ Department of Roads and Works [Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado]. Excluding a break to raise her seven children, she worked for the company until her retirement in 1954.

    To honor her legacy, the College of Engineers of Chile inducted Acuña into its Gallery of Illustrious Engineers in 1981, and around a decade later the Institute of Engineers created an award in her name for outstanding female engineers. In addition, in 2018 the Faculty of Physical Science and Mathematics of the University of Chile renamed its central tower after Acuña to memorialize the faculty’s first female student.

    Happy birthday, Justicia Espada Acuña, and thank you for helping engineer a brighter future for women in science.

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    27 July 2018
    Lyudmila Rudenko’s 114th Birthday








    On this day in 1904, one of the world’s most influential chess players was born in Lubny, Ukraine. Twenty-four years later, Lyudmila Rudenko achieved the first major check[[mate) in her storied career when she won the 1928 Moscow Women’s Championship. This championship was just one of the many prestigious titles she’d earn in her lifetime. As an International Master in the World Chess Federation [FIDE] and later Woman Grandmaster, Rudenko made a career paving the way for women to come.

    Rudenko was first introduced to chess by her father at just ten years old. Initially interested in swimming, she placed first at a local competition in Odessa, Ukraine in the 400-meter breaststroke before moving to Moscow in 1925 and refining her gift for chess.

    In 1950, Rudenko became the second woman ever to win the Women’s World Chess Championship—a title she held until 1953. In 2015, she was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame. In fact, despite her major accomplishments in the game, she considered her life’s most important achievement to be organizing the evacuation of children during the Siege of Leningrad in World War II.

    Today’s Doodle—which draws artistic inspiration from 1960s graphic art and posters—reimagines a focused Rudenko’s determination during the world championship game.

    On what would’ve been her 114th birthday, we honor Rudenko’s achievements both on and off the board.

    Cднем ​​рождения, Lyudmila!

  3. #5003
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    11 January 2016
    Alice Paul’s 131st Birthday







    “I never doubted that equal rights was the right direction. Most reforms, most problems are complicated. But to me there is nothing complicated about ordinary equality.” -- Alice Paul

    When the 19th Amendment to the Constitution became law in August of 1920, women finally won the right to vote after a very long fight. Many suffragists played vital roles in this victory, but none more so than Alice Paul. Paul first made a name for herself by organizing a successful women’s suffrage parade the day before Woodrow Wilson’s first inauguration. Paul thought that public demonstrations were the smartest ways to achieve voting rights. That belief put her at odds with the National American Woman Suffrage Association, so she founded her own organization, the National Women’s Party.

    Paul’s group organized daily protests in front of the White House [marking the first time anyone demonstrated there]. Police arrested the protestors on a made up charge, and Paul was one of the women to be sent to jail. While in jail she and the other women were treated horribly. Journalists wrote about the mistreatment, people became outraged, and the suffragists gained public support. A short while later President Woodrow Wilson declared his support for a constitutional amendment that would finally give women the right to vote. It would take another couple of years for the amendment to become the law, but his support marked a crucial turning point. Alice Paul dedicated the rest of her life to fighting for the equality of women, authoring the very first version of the Equal Rights Amendment and working the rest of her life towards its passage.

    Today, on what would have been her 131st birthday, we salute Alice Paul with a Doodle that pays tribute to her pivotal role in the fight for women’s suffrage and her unyielding dedication to women’s rights.

  4. #5004
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    11 January 2012
    Nicolas Steno's 374th Birthday






    Known as the father of stratigraphy and geology, Nicholas Steno worked to understand history by what he could find in the ground. Rather than simply write books about his findings, Steno opted to do his own hands-on research. As an innovative thinker, he disagreed with his contemporaries in thinking that shark-tooth-shaped objects found imbedded in rocks "fell from the sky." Instead, Steno argued that these formations were fossils. His dedication to analysis, critical thinking, and creative thinking make him a great subject for a Google doodle!

    Considering Steno's contributions to stratigraphy and geology, I wanted to honor his birthday with a unique take on his work. I knew that the colorful and geeky aesthetic of stratigraphy was the right direction for the doodle, but the team and I weren't sure how to apply it. Should we set the doodle in the middle of the country? Should we relate it to Google culture? Should I just make things up?

  5. #5005
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    14 Jan 2012
    National Children's Day 2012







    As doodlers, messing with the company logo is part of our job, but every once in a while we really get to mess with it by making it virtually unreadable! Since Children's Day is traditionally all about having lots of fun being kids, we tend to make this annual doodle a little – well, extra fun.

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    16 Jan 2012
    Teachers' Day 2012




  7. #5007
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    16 January 2014
    Dian Fossey's 82nd Birthday





    Dian Fossey was an American primatologist and conservationist known for undertaking an extensive study of mountain gorilla groups from 1966 until her 1985 murder. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of Rwanda, initially encouraged to work there by paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey. Gorillas in the Mist, a book published two years before her death, is Fossey's account of her scientific study of the gorillas at Karisoke Research Center and prior career. It was adapted into a 1988 film of the same name.

    Fossey was one of the foremost primatologists in the world, a member of the "Trimates", a group formed of prominent female scientists originally sent by Leakey to study great apes in their natural environments, along with Jane Goodall who studied chimpanzees, and Birutė Galdikas, who studied orangutans.

    She spent 20 years in Rwanda, where she actively supported conservation efforts, strongly opposed poaching and tourism in wildlife habitats, and made more people acknowledge sapient gorillas.

    Fossey and her gorillas were victims of mobbing. Following the killing of a gorilla and subsequent tensions, she was murdered in her cabin at a remote camp in Rwanda in December 1985. Although Fossey's research assistant was convicted in absentia, there is no consensus as to who killed her.

    Her research and conservation work largely helped reduce the downward population trend in mountain gorillas, saving them from extinction.

  8. #5008
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    26 February 2021
    Lantern Festival 2021







    Today’s Doodle honors the annual celebration, known as the Lantern Festival, a treasured occasion signaling the finale of Lunar New Year celebrations all over the world.

    The Lantern Festival tradition has been practiced for more than 2000 years, dating back to China’s Han Dynasty. Once known as Shang Yuan, early lantern festivals were designed as offerings to the gods, and families lit lanterns near their homes to represent a holy place.

    Since its inception, the Lantern Festival is now celebrated across Asian and around the globe with illuminating art installations, in addition to lanterns of various sizes and designs. The lanterns are painted with everything from pandas to cats, and each have their own meaning, such as great fortune or luck in a relationship.

    Happy Lantern Festival!

  9. #5009
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    2 Mar 2021
    Wangdee Nima [Wang Tae]'s 96th birthday








    Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and legacy of Thai musician Wangdee Nima, a performer affectionately known by his stage name Wang Tae.

    Born on this day in central Thailand in 1925, Wang Tae inherited a love for music from his parents, both of whom were performers of traditional Thai folk genres. As a child, he became a specialist in Lam Tad, a style of music that originated in his home region. This popular folk genre brings groups of men and women together to alternate singing improvised humorous lyrics to elicit laughs from the audience, all set against the background of instruments like the Klong Ramana, a traditional Thai hand drum.

    Wang Tae soon established his own troupe, eponymously named “Lam Tad Wang Te,” which earned him national recognition and widespread appeal. Renowned for his clever lyrics with his cunning use of double entendres, Wang Tae was a true master of the Thai language whose witty performances brought smiles to the faces of audiences across Thailand for close to forty years.

    In 1988, Wang Tae was named a National Artist of Thailand, an annual prize awarded by the National Culture Commission of Thailand to the country’s most prestigious performing artists.

    Happy birthday, Wangdee Nima!

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    2 March 2019
    Desi Arnaz’s 102nd Birthday






    Today’s Doodle celebrates the life and legacy of Desi Arnaz, the Cuban-born American actor, musician, comedian, and producer best known for playing Ricky Ricardo in the 1950s hit sitcom I Love Lucy.

    Desiderio Alberto Arnaz III was born in Santiago, Cuba on March 2, 1917, where he spent his childhood before immigrating to the United States during the Cuban Revolution. After arriving in America without a penny to his name, the young Arnaz worked hard to eventually find success as a musician. A major turning point in his career came after he landed a role in the 1939 Broadway production Too Many Girls as well as a film adaptation of the same play just one year later. It was on this set that he met his co-star, future wife, and lifelong friend Lucille Ball.

    In 1950, after advancing his career as both an actor and a musician, both Arnaz and Ball pitched CBS on what would eventually become the hit American TV sitcom I Love Lucy. Network executives were initially concerned that Arnaz’s accent would affect his credibility as Ball’s husband, so the pair produced a pilot with their own money, ultimately winning support for the creation of the show.

    I Love Lucy ran from 1951 to 1957 and was the most popular TV show in America for four of its six prime-time seasons. At one point, it attracted an estimated 44 million viewers for a single episode—more than watched the inauguration of President Eisenhower! As part of their production deal, Arnaz and Ball retained all rights to the content, enabling them to sell the series into syndication.

    Today, Arnaz is widely considered a trailblazer in the American entertainment industry, even being credited with inventing the rerun. In 1956 he won a Golden Globe for Best Television Achievement, an award which recognized his impact on American comedy both in front AND behind the camera. He was also awarded not one, but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to both Television and Motion Pictures.

    Here’s to Desi Arnaz, whose beaming joy and laughter continues to bring delight to living rooms and viewers around the globe.

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    4 Mar 2021
    Rosa Sevilla de Alvero's 142nd birthday






    Today’s Doodle celebrates the 142nd birthday of journalist, educator, and activist Rosa Sevilla de Alvero, who is widely considered one of the most influential suffragists in Filipino history.

    Rosa Sevilla was born on this day in 1879 in Manila, the Philippines capital. As a child, she was sent to live with her aunt, an educator who hosted Filipino patriots and intellectuals at her home. Sevilla often eavesdropped on their conversations about battling educational colonialism—revolutionary discussions that helped mold her beliefs. At just 21, Alvero founded the Instituto de Mujeres [“Women’s Institute”] of Manila, one of the first schools for women in Filipino history.

    The institute became a hotbed for progress under Sevilla’s leadership—educating women on topics such as suffrage, vocation and Tagalog. She also collaborated with notable Filipino Tagalog poets to present the first balagtasan [a debate held in poetic verse], which sparked a movement for Tagalog to become the national language. With her institution in good hands, Sevilla left Manila in 1916 to rally women across the country in her fight for suffrage, later founding the Liga Nacional de Damas Filipinas [“National League of Filipino Women”] to support her cause.

    Thanks in part to Sevilla’s tremendous call to action, voting rights were granted to Filipino women in 1937. Today, Sevilla’s Instituto de Mujeres lives on in her legacy as the Rosa Sevilla Memorial School.
    Happy birthday, Rosa Sevilla de Alvero!

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    4 March 2016
    42nd Anniversary of Rio-Niteroi Bridge Opening








    Completed 42 years ago today, Brazil’s Rio–Niterói Bridge beautifully exemplifies the ingenuity of the human spirit. It met with great international praise when it opened in 1974 as the second-longest bridge in the world, spanning the vast Guanabara Bay. Guest Doodler Patrick Leger has crafted a lovely recreation of the bridge on the bay with the Brazilian coast visible in the background.

    At 13.29 km [8.3 mi], it remains the longest bridge in Latin America and one of the longest in the world. On the day it opened it was second only to the near-infinite Lake Pontchartrain Bridge in Louisiana [38.35 km, 28.3 miles long].

    But this structure’s greatest accomplishment is connection. Carrying over 100,000 passengers daily, it unites Nieterói and Rio de Janeiro, cities with populations of 487,000 and 6.5 million respectively. With that kind of impact, the Rio–Niterói Bridge reminds us that nothing lies beyond the reaches of the human imagination.

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    2 Mar 2016
    Marija Juric Zagorka’s 143rd Birthday






    Today we pay homage to Marija Juríc, the fearless Croatian writer fondly known by her pen name, Zagorka. She first used this name in 1898 when she wrote an article in support of working-class Croatians for the Obzor, an influential daily newspaper. After one of the newspaper's publishers learned Zagorka was actually a woman, he told her in no uncertain terms that journalism wasn't a career for women. "If someone wants to be a writer, this person needs to be a man," she remembered him saying.


    Despite the hostility she encountered, Zagorka in time became editor-in-chief of the paper in 1903. Under her direction, the Obzor reached record readership for a Croatian newspaper. In her own writing, Zagorka shed light on the oppression of both women and the peasant class, often uniting the challenges of these groups to deploy a double-barrelled critique of ruling parties. She was also a fierce defender of Croatian culture, avoiding conversation in German among other members of the intelligentsia in order to keep discussion on level ground with the national culture.

    Zagorka continues to be one of the most popular writers in Croatia, having written many popular novels in addition to her journalistic work. For today's Google Doodle, artist Kevin Laughlin considered a few ways to commemorate Zagorka's 143rd birthday, the second of which highlights her novel Daughter of Lotrscak [1922], a historical romance.

    Laughlin and the Doodle team agreed on the first design, which is inspired by a statue of Zagorka that stands in a vibrant pedestrian street in Zagreb.

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    6 Mar 2016
    Ghana National Day 2016





    Happy Independence Day, Ghana!

    Today's Doodle depicts Independence Arch welcoming visitors into Independence Square for the annual celebration of Ghana's Independence Day. On this day, the streets of Accra —the capital of Ghana — are bursting with parties, parades, music, and dancing. The brilliant reds, yellows, and greens of Ghana's flag will be visible everywhere. Tonight fireworks will light up the night, illuminating the proud faces of Ghana's people.


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    7 Mar 2016
    Georges Perec’s 80th Birthday






    Where others might feel stifled--even bewildered--Georges Perec felt his most free. The French author and tireless literary innovator saw constraints as a means of liberation. He viewed the craft of writing as a game, a way to upend his readers’ understanding of language and its accepted forms. Perec loved puzzles, and filled his works with anagrams, palindromes, and other verbal trickery.

    He belonged to a curious coterie of French writers and mathematicians called the Oulipo, a group of literary experimentalists who proposed things like the S-7 method, a technique that involved rewriting classic poetry by replacing each word with the seventh word after it in the dictionary.

    Doodler Sophie Diao’s reimagining of today’s homepage honors Perec’s most challenging, and perhaps most ridiculous experiment--writing an entire novel without using the letter “e”. La Disparition is nearly 300 pages long, and there is nary a hint of our most common vowel in the entire work. That means you won’t find a “the,” a “he,” a “nearly impossible,” or a “Happy birthday, Monsieur Perec.”

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    7 March 2011
    Sendung mit der Maus 40th Anniversary



    Die Sendung mit der Maus [The Show with the Mouse is a children's series on German television that has been called "the school of the nation". The show first aired on 7 March 1971. Originally called Lach- und Sachgeschichten für Fernsehanfänger ["Laughing and Learning Stories for Television Beginners"], it was controversial because German law prohibited television for children under six years of age. The program was initially condemned by teachers and childcare professionals as bad for children's development, but is now hailed for its ability to convey information to children. The show has received over 75 awards. The first doctoral dissertation on the program was written in 1991. On 7 March 1999 the program's Internet site was launched and received 2,400 e-mails and 4 million hits on the first day.
    Last edited by 9A; 07-05-2021 at 04:19 PM.

  17. #5017
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    12 Mar 2011
    Chinese Arbor Day 2011





  18. #5018
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    12 March 2017
    Holi Festival 2017 [Nepal]






    Today, the Google letters are taking on a fresh set of colors in honor of the Holi festival. Coinciding with the arrival of spring, the vibrant celebration looks a lot like the Doodle: people run around happily covering each other in a rainbow of powdery hues.

    Amid the cloud of red, blue, yellow, green, and everything in between, festival-goers can often be found laughing, singing, and dancing in the streets. The joyous event, which takes place in Nepal and other countries around the world, traditionally marks the triumph of good over evil. It also gives family and friends a chance to simply come together, enjoying a spirited “Festival of Colors” that undoubtedly lives up to its name.

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    13 Mar 2011
    National Thai Elephant Day 2011






  20. #5020
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    18 Apr 2011
    129th Birthday of Monteiro Lobato


    José Bento Renato Monteiro Lobato [April 18, 1882 – July 4, 1948] was one of Brazil's most influential writers, mostly for his children's books set in the fictional Sítio do Picapau Amarelo [Yellow Woodpecker Farm] but he had been previously a prolific writer of fiction, a translator and an art critic.

    He also founded one of Brazil's first publishing houses [Companhia Editora Nacional] and was a supporter of nationalism.

    Lobato was born in Taubaté, São Paulo. He is best known for a set of educational but entertaining children's books, which comprise about half of his production. The other half, consisting of a number of novels and short tales for adult readers, was less popular but marked a watershed in Brazilian literature.

  21. #5021
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    22 Apr 2011
    Earth Day 2011







    Truly a team effort for a global celebration, this year's Earth Day doodle started with a desire to depict different environments around the world. Starting with Asia, the doodle walks users through Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and America. Having laid down the overall composition, I turned to my teammates to determine what should happen in this nature-packed doodle. We all huddled in a room and brainstormed various cute interactions, internet memes, and nature jokes that could fit into each region. When users hover over various parts of the doodle, they may catch a salmon swimming up stream, parrots darting through the sky, a frog leaping across the grass, a bear having a snack, a koala performing gymnastics, a sleepy lion, butterflies rustling trees, a penguin sliding down an iceberg, and a sneezing baby panda.

    posted by Jennifer Hom
    Last edited by 9A; 07-05-2021 at 06:34 PM.

  22. #5022
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    6 July 2021
    Ángela Peralta's 175th Birthday








    Today's Doodle celebrates the 175th birthday of Mexican pianist, harpist, composer, and internationally-renowned operatic soprano Ángela Peralta, who is widely considered one of the most significant Mexican opera singers of her era.

    On this day in 1845, Ángela Peralta Castera was born in Mexico City. Her reputation as a remarkable singer began to take hold with her solo performance of a cavatina from the Italian opera “Belisario” at just 8 years old. At 15, Peralta made her operatic debut at the Gran Teatro Nacional—one of 19th-century Mexico’s premier opera houses. This performance received such acclaim that it prompted Peralta to further refine her talent in Italy, the birthplace of opera.

    In Milan, Peralta’s 1862 performance of the romantic opera “Lucia di Lammermoor” so impressed the audience that standing ovations brought her back to the stage 23 times! The scope of her international tours broadened to include some of Europe’s most prestigious opera houses as well as the U.S., garnering the title of “Mexican Nightingale'' for her mastery of the lyrical operatic style known as bel canto. Peralta returned to Mexico City in 1871, a homecoming announced by yet another grand performance at the Gran Teatro Nacional.

    Soon after, Peralta utilized this successful momentum to found her own opera company. On their final tour in 1883, Peralta’s troupe traveled to the coastal Mexican city of Mazatlán. Here, her legacy is preserved in an opera house named in her honor: the Ángela Peralta Theater.

    Happy birthday, Ángela Peralta. Here’s to all those performances that ended on a high note!

  23. #5023
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    2016. okt. 28.
    Függetlenség napja, 2016 [Csehország]






    Today's Doodle marks the Independent Czechoslovak State Day with a symbol of Czech national resilience, the Linden tree. The Linden tree is known for its ability to live for hundreds of years, and serves as an enduring symbol of the Czech Republic.

    Following World War I, there was wide support for the territories of the Austrian-Hungarian empire to form their own governments. Czechoslovakia arose from this spirit of independence. In 1918, the Czechoslovak National Council declared independence for a territory that included the countries we now know as the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic still celebrates Independent Czechoslovak State Day today as the formation of their own, sovereign country.

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    May 29, 2020
    Celebrating Margaret Lin Xavier [Lin Srivisarnvaja]






    Today’s Doodle celebrates Margaret Lin Xavier, widely considered Thailand’s first female doctor, on her 122nd birthday. Years ahead of her time, the medical pioneer opened her own clinic in the 1920s to provide quality care to those in need.

    Xavier was born on this day in 1898 in Bangkok, where her father held a government position in foreign affairs. When his work required a move to Europe, she joined him to pursue an education in London. She eventually earned a medical degree from the London School of Medicine for Women and then returned to Thailand in 1924.

    At just 26 years old, Dr. Lin became the first Thai woman to earn a medical degree and practice in the country when she was accepted to work as an obstetrician for the Thai Red Cross, Chulalongkorn Hospital, and a Ministry of Public Health medical facility.

    She soon received permission from the Thai Red Cross to open her own private clinic with her sister, Chan Xavier, a pharmacist who was also trained in England. Dr. Lin provided services in obstetrics and gynecology, and she treated for free many of those who couldn’t afford her care.
    Last edited by 9A; 07-06-2021 at 08:36 AM.

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    July 6, 2021
    Teachers' Day 2021 [July 06]




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    Aug 8, 2012
    Basketball 2012








    With the addition of a video game console in our home, my brothers and I used to spend as many hours playing sports in front of the tv as we did outside.

    The good ol' fashion button mashin' of my youth was no small part of the inspiration for the 2012 Summer Games interactive doodles. [In fact, collaborator Marcin Wichary even wired up these doodles with the then newly released Gamepad API, allowing users to mash actual buttons.]

    To my great joy, over one billion games were played on the Google homepages in this four-day interactive doodle run. [Besides this basketball game, there're doodles for hurdles, slalom canoe, and soccer/football.] With each game presenting an opportunity to share your high score, I'm sure quite a few brothers, sisters, friends, etc. were able to play, compete, and grow closer with these doodles.

    As a personal touch, the setting of this particular "event" was inspired by another place I used to spend a lot of time with my brothers – our elementary school gym.


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    Aug 21, 2012
    Consuelo Velazquez's 96th Birthday






    Consuelo Velázquez Torres [popularly also known as Consuelito Velázquez] was a Mexican concert pianist, songwriter and recording artist. She was the composer of famous Mexican ballads such as “Bésame mucho", "Amar y vivir", and "Cachito".

  28. #5028
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    Sep 8, 2012
    46th Anniversary of Star Trek's 1st Broadcast






    OK, I admit it, I am a die-hard Trekkie. I grew up watching endless reruns of Star Trek, my imagination completely immersed in Gene Roddenberry’s brilliant creation.

    Today’s Star Trek doodle is, and Mr. Spock said it best, “Fascinating.” Built using modern web technologies, this beautiful, interactive, multi-scene doodle takes all of us... where no one has gone before. Every scene has hidden surprises you absolutely have to discover for yourself, especially the fate of the Redshirt. A team of outstanding designers and engineers, and numerous Star Trek fans at Google, got really creative with this one.

    Working on search at Google has brought me ever so close to realizing my childhood dream of turning science fiction into reality; and Star Trek has played a special role in my journey. Yes! The destiny of search is to become the Star Trek computer, a perfect assistant by my side whenever I need it.

    I hope you enjoy today’s magical doodle, and to all my fellow Trekkies, I say... live long and prosper.

  29. #5029
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    Sep 13, 2012
    Clara Schumann's 193rd Birthday






    A doodle for Clara seemed like an obvious choice due to her enormous talents that started when she was still just a little one. Considered a child prodigy, her first concert was at the age of 11. Upon further research we realized there was also quite an amazing story beyond what she's most widely remembered for. She was an outspoken and courageous woman who followed her heart and fought for who and what she believed in. In sixty one years of performing, she forever shaped the classical music genre and was one of the first pianists to perform by memory, setting the stage for future performers.

    Beyond her own performance career, Clara was a teacher and a mentor to students. Additionally, her and her husband raised eight children while also developing their own musical careers. I knew Clara was a truly exceptional person when I read that at age 29 she marched to the front lines of the May Uprising in Dresden [one of the final events of the Revolution of 1848], straight past a group of armed men to rescue her children. She then turned around and marched right back through the pack and out of the city. She was truly a dedicated, passionate and strong-willed person and it's evident in her work, how she was with her family, and in her everyday life.

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    August 21, 2017
    Great American Eclipse 2017





    Skywatchers on the American continent today are in for a special astronomical treat: front row seats to a total solar eclipse. An eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, blocking the light of the sun from reaching us.

    While eclipses aren’t rare, a total eclipse, when viewers from Earth are at the very center of the moon’s shadow, only happens once every 18 months. To see one requires you to be in just the right place on earth, and a total eclipse in the same location only happens every 375 years on average.

    It’s been 99 years since an total eclipse crossed the width the United States. This year, the 65-mile wide path of totality with sweep, sash-like, across the country—entering the map at Oregon and exiting at South Carolina. The once-in-a-lifetime spectacle will attract an estimated 7.4 million people to areas in the path of totality, including so-called eclipse-chasers, who plan for years in advance and travel from far and wide to get a glimpse of the stellar phenomenon.

    No matter where you are in the country, if you plan to look at or even toward the sun, be sure to protect your eyes. According to experts, only those in the path of totality are safe to look at the eclipse without protection, and only during totality.




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    Aug 24, 2017
    Ukraine Independence Day 2017





    Today’s Doodle honors Ukraine’s independence day with a colorful celebration of its people. It’s drawn in shades of blue and yellow, Ukraine's national colors, meant to evoke the country's golden wheat fields and blue skies.

    Home to nearly 130 different nationalities, Ukraine’s diverse population is represented in each unique letter. Guest artist Sergiy Maidukov says the image is meant to invoke happiness and show different people from across the country working together toward “freedom, peace and respect for each other.” He considers Ukraine’s diversity “a reason to be proud, to meet each other, learn about each other, sing and laugh together, and celebrate.”

    Ukrainians may don hutsul shirts, or folk costumes, to attend the parade in Kiev today, or to watch fireworks over the city at night. Other celebrations include art fairs celebrating local craftsmen, historical reenactments, fireworks and live music all over the country.

    Happy 26th Independence Day, Ukraine!

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    Aug 28, 2017
    Qixi Festival 2017






    Tonight, if you look up at the sky, you might be able to spot two stars that originated with a pair of truly star-crossed lovers: the “Weaving Maid and the Cowherd.” Today’s Qixi Festival celebrates their origin myth.

    According to the Han Dynasty-era story, an oxherd, Niulang, with the help of his ox, married a fairy, Zhinü, who became a weaver girl. When Zhinü's mother, an empress, discovered her daughter had married a mortal, she returned Zhinü to heaven. Niulang pursued Zhinü using the magic of the ox’s hide. To keep the lovers apart, the empress slashed across the sky, forming a Heavenly River of stars known as The Milky Way.

    Niulang and Zhinu became the stars Altair and Vega, which come closest together on the Qixi Festival. So the tale goes, magpies were allowed to form a bridge for the lovers to meet once a year on the seventh night of the seventh lunar month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

    As Zhinü was a weaver, tradition dictates you can show your loved ones you appreciate them today with handmade gifts like scarves or hats!

    Happy Qixi Festival 2017!
    Doodle by Sophie Diao

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    Sep 1, 2017
    First Day of School 2017






    Today is the first day of school in many countries. And the school of fish in our Doodle is ready to dive into the brainy brine! A whale swims toward the classroom, textbooks in fin. A starfish crams in the remainder of its summer reading, and a turtle and friends embark on their first science project.
    Here's hoping our seagoing scholars inspire you to have a great school year!

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    October 27, 2019
    Sylvia Plath's 87th Birthday






    “How she longed for winter then! –
    Scrupulously austere in its order
    Of white and black
    Ice and rock, each sentiment in border,
    And heart’s frosty discipline
    Exact as a snowflake.”

    —Sylvia Plath, “Spinster”

    Today’s Doodle celebrates the acclaimed American writer Sylvia Plath, whose painfully honest poetry and prose gave voice to the author’s innermost emotions in ways that touched generations of readers. “It is as if my life were magically run by two electric currents: joyous positive and despairing negative,” wrote Plath, whose work helped many understand mental illness. “Whichever is running at the moment dominates my life, floods it.”

    Born in Boston on this day in 1932, Sylvia Plath grew up with her father, a strict German and biology teacher specializing in the study of bees. Showing an early talent for writing, Plath was published in national publications, won awards, worked as an editor, and graduated from Smith College with honors—all despite suffering a mental breakdown. Her works often used heavy imagery and metaphors, set amongst scenes of winter and frost, as shown in today's Doodle.

    After college, Plath earned a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to England. In 1982, she won a Pulitzer Prize posthumously. While her children’s book, The It-Doesn’t-Matter-Suit, shows a lighter side of her creativity, her poems were described by the novelist Joyce Carol Oates as reading “as if they’ve been chiseled, with a fine surgical instrument, out of arctic ice.”

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    Oct 31, 2019
    Carlos Drummond de Andrade’s 117th Birthday






    “What now, José?” asked Brazilian writer Carlos Drummond de Andrade in a popular poem from his 1942 anthology, Poesias. Today’s Doodle celebrates an individual whom many consider one of the greatest poets in modern Brazilian literature. Born in the mining town of Itabira on this day in 1902, Drummond composed poems that broke formal rules in verse and expressed the stresses of modern life. He also worked as a literary critic and journalist, writing short semi-fictional newspaper essays, known as crônicas, about the lives of ordinary people, including children and the poor.

    After co-founding the literary journal A Revista in 1925, Drummond spent years on his poetry collection Alguma Poesia, emerging as a leading figure in Brazilian modernism. Having earned his degree in pharmacy, he went on to work for Brazil’s Ministry of Education as well as the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Service of Brazil. Throughout his career, he published over a dozen volumes of poetry and a handful of collections of crônicas. His 1986 collection Traveling in the Family:

    Selected Poems
    includes English translations by prominent poets Elizabeth Bishop and Mark Strand.

    Drummond has received many awards—including the Brazilian Union of Writers Prize—and has become a fixture of Brazilian popular culture. His “Canção Amiga” [“Friendly Song”] was printed on Brazilian currency, and a statue of the poet stands near the ocean in Rio de Janeiro.

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    Nov 5, 2019
    René Maran’s 132nd Birthday








    Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Marseille-based guest artist Irene Tardif, celebrates French author René Maran, born on a boat en route from Guyana to Martinique on this day in 1887 [although some sources cite November 8th, which was the day when his birth was officially declared following the boat’s arrival]. His 1921 book Batouala: A True Black Novel spoke of life in a Central African village as seen through the eyes of a tribal chief. Praised by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, the powerful work of fiction made Maran the first black author to win the prestigious Prix Goncourt, one of France’s highest literary honors.

    As the son of a French colonial official, Maran spent his early childhood in Gabon and was educated in French boarding schools. Like his father, he went on to work for the French government, serving as an administrator in Oubangui-Chari, now known as the Central African Republic. While there, Maran learned the Bantu language and wove details of the local culture into his writing.

    In 1921, the preface to his debut novel criticized racial inequalities in the colonial system, which sparked controversy and criticism. Maran soon resigned from his government position and moved to Paris, where he corresponded and socialized with African-American writers of the Harlem Renaissance throughout the 1920s and 30s.

    Maran would go on to write for prominent periodicals in France and America—including publications like Opportunity, The Crisis, and Chicago Defender—and authored several other books of verse, fiction, and memoir. He also spent more than a decade reworking Batouala, a groundbreaking work of fiction that was admired for its unprecedented insights into African life and widely translated.

    Maran remained staunchly committed to equality throughout his life, as well as to the quality of his writing. His success gave inspiration to the 1930s movement of francophone intellectuals in the African diaspora, and to this day he is regarded as a literary pioneer.

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    May 11, 2020
    Celebrating Tomris Uyar







    Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Istanbul-based guest artist Merve Atılgan, celebrates the prolific Turkish short story writer and translator Tomris Uyar. A leading figure in 1970s Turkish literature, Uyar was known for her realist style that often focused on the authentic depiction of female characters and family dynamics. On this day in 1980 and 1987, Uyar was honored with one of Turkish literature's most esteemed awards for short stories, the Sait Faik Story Award.

    Born in Istanbul on March 15, 1941, Uyar grew up attending American schools, and her access to English-language short fiction and Turkey’s contemporary literature served as a strong inspiration for the future writer.

    Beginning her career as a translator, Uyar continued in the craft for the rest of her life, tackling avant-garde English fiction, and in the process developing a rare mastery of the intricacies of the Turkish language.

    As a writer, she devoted herself to short fiction with a bit of support from her cats. Whenever one entered the room, she credited the felines for stimulating her writing process. These “inspiration cats,” referenced in the Doodle artwork, helped her to publish over 900 pages across 11 volumes of her stories throughout her career.

    Amongst her greatest influences was Turkish writer Sait Faik, known for narrating evocative human stories unconstrained by form or plot. Drawing from influences like Faik, Uyar’s work pushed the boundaries of the form, employing postmodern techniques in the exploration of the lives of ordinary people, particularly from a female perspective. Over the years, her writing progressed to a caliber that positioned her to receive the aforementioned Sait Faik Story Award twice, a prize created in honor of the writer that had such a profound impact on Uyar and her narratives.

    In current times, Uyar’s writing has been published in over 60 languages and is enjoyed by readers around the world to this day.

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    May 19, 2020
    Nicholas Winton's 111th Birthday






    Today’s Doodle celebrates the 111th birthday of British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton, who organized the escape of over 600 children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia in the lead-up to World War II.

    Nicholas Winton was born Nicholas George Wertheim in London, England on this day in 1909. In 1938, with World War II looming over Europe, Winton was inspired to do something to help.

    He set in motion a huge rescue effort to save primarily Jewish children from the threat of German occupation in present-day Czechia by transporting them to Britain. The dangerous operation required Winton and his collaborators to find homes for the children with British families, raise money, bribe officials, and even forge documents. In March 1939, the first train left Prague, and over the next few months, a total of 669 children were rescued to safety.

    For nearly 50 years, the world knew nothing of what Winton had done – not even his wife. That all changed in 1988, when she discovered documents in their attic referencing the daring rescues. Today, Winton’s story serves as an shining example of the power of selfless action to bring about incredible change.

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    May 20, 2020
    Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's 61st Birthday




    [Beautiful rendition of ¨Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Turn on your sound. 9A]

    From Wikipedia: Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole [Hawaiian pronunciation: [kəˌmɐkəˌvivoˈʔole]; meaning 'the fearless eye, the bold face'; May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997], also called Bruddah IZ or just simply IZ, was a Hawaiian singer-songwriter, musician, and Hawaiian sovereignty activist.

    In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in the U.S., today’s Doodle celebrates the 61st birthday of native Hawaiian `ukulele player, singer-songwriter, and activist Israel “IZ™” Kamakawiwo`ole, who is perhaps best known for touching the world with his beloved rendition of “Over the Rainbow” and forever changing the face of Hawaiian music. Through his joyful songs and lifelong advocacy for the islands’ values and culture, Kamakawiwo`ole has been widely referred to as the “Voice of Hawai`i.”

    Israel Ka`ano`i Kamakawiwo`ole was born on this day in 1959 in a suburb of Honolulu, Hawai`i and raised in a native islander family with a shared love of Hawaiian music. At ten years old, he was often found holding his `ukulele against his chest. In his teens, Israel, his brother, and three friends dug deep into the traditional sounds of the islands. Together, they achieved huge popularity across fifteen albums.

    Late one night in 1988, Israel sat down in a Honolulu studio, closed his eyes, and in a single take, sang an emotional `ukulele-backed version of the classic song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Little did he know, this recording—which serves as the soundtrack of today`s video Doodle—was destined to become an international phenomenon.

    But Israel is so much more than one song; with his band and successful solo career, he redefined popular Hawaiian music through his own unique style and spread his love for the islands around the world.

    Thank you, Israel, for providing the soundtrack for Hawai`i and for continuing to move hearts around the world through your music.
    Last edited by 9A; 07-06-2021 at 11:23 AM.

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    May 21, 2020
    Celebrating Mbira





    [Musical video.]




    [Video with Google team in Zimbabwe discussing the mbira]

    Today’s interactive Doodle celebrates Zimbabwe’s national instrument, the mbira, as Zimbabwe’s Culture Week begins. Try your own hand at this instrument that has been played for over 1,000 years, while experiencing a story as told through the lens of a Zimbabwean girl who learns to play the mbira.

    Originating in Southern Africa, the mbira has long played an integral role in the traditions and cultural identity of Zimbabwe’s Shona people. It consists of a handheld hardwood soundboard [gwariva] affixed with a series of thin metal keys, which are plucked by the thumbs and forefinger. A large hollow gourd [[deze) provides amplification, and materials such as bottle caps or beads can be affixed to the soundboard to create the instrument’s signature buzzing sound.

    The music played on the instrument, which is also called mbira, often consists of two or more interlocking and cyclical parts marked by polyrhythmic complexity. Songs lend themselves to improvisation, so no two performances are exactly alike.

    The instrument features prominently in a variety of Shona ceremonies, and it remains a vital link to the past through songs that have been passed down over hundreds of years. While the mbira was traditionally played by men, Zimbabwean women have increasingly taken up the instrument in recent years and continue to push its timeless sound in new and contemporary directions.
    Last edited by 9A; 07-06-2021 at 11:41 AM.

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    May 25, 2020
    Kazi Nazrul Islam’s 121st Birthday







    Today’s Doodle celebrates Bengali poet, musician, writer, and activist Kazi Nazrul Islam on his 121st birthday. A prominent voice of the Indian independence movement, Nazrul was a fierce advocate for religious tolerance, freedom, and the fight against injustice, earning him the nickname “Bidrohi Kobi” [“Rebel Poet”].

    Kazi Nazrul Islam was born on this day in 1899 in what is today the Bardhaman district of the Indian state of West Bengal, and as a youth, he developed an interest in poetry and literature through his involvement with his uncle’s traveling theater group. After several years in the British Indian Army during World War I, Nazrul moved to Kolkata and in 1922 published his now-famous revolutionary poem “Bidrohi” [“The Rebel”], which was marked by a vehement stance against colonialism and global oppression and inspired today’s Doodle artwork.

    Nazrul’s subversive writing—much of which he published in his own magazine, Dhumketu [The Comet]—resulted in frequent imprisonment, which in turn inspired one of his most well-known works, “Rajbondir Jobanbondi'' [''The Deposition of a Political Prisoner,” 1923]. He used his platform to combat bigotry in all its forms, and through his poetry supported the equality of women at a time when few of his peers were willing to do the same. Not to be confined to the written word, Nazrul also wrote some 4,000 songs, which brought him national popularity and spawned an entirely new genre called Nazrul Geeti [Music of Nazrul].

    For his incredible literary contributions, Nazrul was named the national poet of Bangladesh in 1972.

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    May 31, 2020
    Celebrating the Galápagos Islands






    Today’s slideshow Doodle celebrates Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, first made famous as a source of inspiration for Charles Darwin’s seminal theories of natural selection. Home to hundreds of unique species of plants and animals from green turtles to fur seals, the islands were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site on this date in 1978.

    The Galápagos archipelago, which straddles the equator some 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, consists of 19 mostly uninhabited islands and countless islets, formed through volcanic and seismic activity over many millennia. Due to their unique geology and isolation, these Pacific islands are home to flora and fauna that can be found nowhere else on the planet, including the giant tortoise depicted first in today’s Doodle—the galápago is the largest living species of tortoise—along with the only penguin species that lives north of the Equator.

    The islands are closely associated with British naturalist Charles Darwin, who arrived on the HMS Beagle in 1835 as part of a fateful journey around the world. Here, Darwin observed closely related but highly specialized species of wildlife, like finches with distinctive beaks specialized to their diets—memorialized today with the name “Darwin’s finches.”

    It took Darwin over 20 years after he first observed the islands’ marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies to synthesize his observations into his groundbreaking theories of natural selection, published in “On the Origin of Species” in 1859.The fundamentals of his work remain a cornerstone of biological science to this day.

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    Jun 20, 2020
    Swedish Midsummer 2020







    Today’s Doodle commemorates one of the oldest and most important holidays in Sweden: Midsommar [Midsummer]. In a country where winter can bring just hours of light each day—if that—it’s no surprise that Swedes pull out all the stops for this celebration of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

    Friends and family traditionally begin the day’s festivities with dance and song around the Midsommarstången [Midsummer maypole], a massive pole decorated in garlands and flowers, as depicted in today’s Doodle artwork. With flower wreaths on their heads, revelers may sing one of the most popular songs of Midsummer: “Små grodorna” [“The Little Frogs”]. To join in the fun, simply hop around the maypole like a frog and sing along to lyrics like, “The small frogs, the small frogs, are funny to look at!”

    All that jumping can work up quite an appetite, which is traditionally satiated with a classic Midsummer meal. The menu typically includes Swedish favorites like inlagd sill [[pickled herring), snaps [Swedish liquor] , and knäckebröd [crisp bread], all finished off with the iconic desert of jordgubbstårta [strawberry cake].
    Glad Midsommar! HOP-py Midsummer!


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    June 26, 2020
    Olive Morris' 68th Birthday







    Today’s Doodle celebrates British activist Olive Morris on her 68th birthday. Morris is widely recognised as a prominent voice of leadership in the fight against discrimination in Great Britain during the 1970s.

    Olive Elaine Morris was born in St. Catherine, Jamaica on this day in 1952 and moved to London before she turned 10. A catalysing moment in Morris’ life of activism occurred when she was just 17, when she witnessed the arrest and beating of a Nigerian diplomat whom police had stopped on the basis of the “sus” laws of the time, similar to today’s “stop-and-search” policies. In response to this injustice, Morris intervened to try to protect the diplomat and prevent the arrest. As a result, she was arrested, held, and physically assaulted. This incident ignited Morris’ determination to take action, and she soon joined the Black Panthers’ Youth Collective to oppose systemic racism within Britain.

    Morris took a leadership role in the push toward justice across many areas of society, including fighting for racial equality, gender equality, and squatters’ rights. After heading protests and demonstrations, she helped to found the Brixton Black Women’s Group in 1973, one of Britain’s first networks for Black women.

    Despite leaving secondary school with no qualifications, Morris enrolled in 1975 at Manchester University, where she earned a degree in social sciences and fought tirelessly for issues like international students’ rights. She also traveled extensively around the world, from China to Algeria, which greatly informed her approach to activism back home. In 1978, she co-founded the Organisation of Women of Asian and African Descent, considered instrumental in rallying movements for change.

    In honor of Morris’ lifetime of activism, she was selected in 2015 to appear on the Brixton Pound, a currency designed to foster local business within the South London neighborhood she served during her lifetime. Today’s Doodle features Morris’ portrait on a wall in South London, surrounded by the local community the Brixton Pound that featured her was intended to support. Her commitment to fighting for equality and justice continues to inspire today.

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    Jun 30, 2020
    Celebrating Tebas [Joaquim Pinto de Oliveira]






    Today’s Doodle celebrates the legacy of 18th-century Brazilian architect and engineer Joaquim Pinto de Oliveira, also known as Tebas. Historians believe that during this month in 1778, Tebas broke free from the shackles of slavery and ingrained his artistic vision into the streets of São Paulo upon the completed renovation of one of his most iconic designs: the first tower of the original São Paulo Cathedral.

    Tebas was born in 1721 in the port city of Santos, Brazil, and was a black slave of the well-known Portuguese architect and builder Bento de Oliveira Lima. They relocated to São Paulo during a period of expansive civil construction in the capital city. Tebas had a rare expertise in working with stone, a skill which placed his services in very high demand there.

    By the 1750s, Tebas had risen to become a highly accomplished architect in São Paulo, and over the following decades, he shaped the city with constructions including the pediment of the São Bento Monastery and the facade of the Church of the Third Order of Carmo. He continued working for years after he gained his freedom and lived until the age of 90. Over the course of his long life, he cemented himself as one of the greatest Brazilian architects of his time.

    In honor of Tebas’ contributions to the city, in 2019 his name was inscribed at the former site of what is widely considered one of his best-known works, the Chafariz da Misericordia [Fountain of Mercy], Sao Paulo’s first public water fountain which he designed and constructed in 1792.

    Thank you, Tebas, for overcoming all obstacles to lay the blueprint for a brighter future!

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    August 13, 2019
    Doodle for Google 2019 - US Winner






    Congratulations to Georgia-based high school senior Arantza Peña Popo, who was announced as the winner of the US 2019 Doodle for Google national competition last night on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon!

    “When I grow up, I hope to care for my mom as much as she cared for me my entire life,” Arantza wrote in the statement submitted with her artwork, entitled Once you get it, give it back, which appears today on the Google homepage. In Arantza’s Doodle, there is a framed picture of her mother carrying Arantza as a baby─inspired by a real picture in her house of her mom holding her sister. Below the picture is Arantza, caring for her mom when she’s older in the future.

    Arantza started drawing when she was three years old and wants to publish alternative graphic novels and comics in the future. She graduated as valedictorian of Arabia Mountain High School in DeKalb County, Georgia, and will be attending the University of Southern Califonia in the Fall.

    Described by her mother as someone who “lights up any room she is in,” Arantza is currently teaching herself how to skateboard when she’s not focusing on her school work and visual arts.
    Arantza dreams of one day being able to help her mom do all the things in life she hasn't been able to yet, such as traveling around the world.

    Congrats again to Arantza and thanks to all the students who shared their dreams and creativity with us this year!

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    Aug 7, 2019
    Qixi Festival 2019





    Today’s Doodle celebrates the Qixi Festival, a romantic tradition that originated from Chinese culture over 2,000 years ago. On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the stars Altair and Vega appear close together in the night sky, separated by the Milky Way. This celestial convergence inspired the legend of Niulang and Zhinü, a tale of true love triumphing against all odds.​

    As the story goes, Niulang was a humble cowherd who lived with his faithful ox, who was actually a cattle god sent to the earth as punishment. One day, Niulang met the fairy princess Zhinü and fell deeply in love. They were soon married, and Zhinü became a weaver girl happily living in Niulang’s cottage. Unfortunately, her mother did not approve and returned Zhinü to heaven.

    In a selflessly tragic act, Niulang’s ox sacrificed his own life so the cowherd could use his magic hide to fly to the stars in pursuit of his bride, but the goddess continued to separate the couple with a river of stars. According to the legend, a flock of magpies formed a bridge, allowing the lovers to meet once each year.

    Celebrated in China since the Han dynasty, Qixi, or the Double Seventh Festival, inspired Tanabata in Japan, Chilseok in Korea, and Thất Tịch in Vietnam. Many traditions have evolved around the ancient festival: Children hang flowers on the horns of oxen, while young women try to thread a needle by moonlight or read poetry honoring the weaver goddess.

    Today, Qixi is similar to Valentine’s Day in the west—an occasion for flowers, candy, and romantic dinners for two.

    七夕情人節快樂!Happy Qixi Festival!

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    July 29, 2011
    Medellin Flower Festival 2011




    The Flowers Festival is a festival that takes place in Medellín, Colombia. The festival is the most important social event for the city and includes a pageant, automobiles, a Paso Fino horse parade and many musical concerts.

    The first Flowers Festival took place on May 1, 1957. It was organized by Arturo Uribe, a member of the Board of the Office of Development and Tourism in Medellin, Colombia. The festival lasted for five days with an exposition of flowers displayed in the Metropolitan Cathedral, which was organized by the Gardening Club of Medellín and monsignor Tulio Botero to celebrate the Virgin Mary day. This flower parade represents the end of slavery when slaves carried men and women on their backs up steep hills instead of flowers. The first silleteros parade also took place with some 40 men from the corregimiento of Santa Elena carrying on their backs flower arrangements to the exposition site.

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    September 23, 2020
    Romy Schneider's 82nd Birthday







    Today’s Doodle celebrates the 82nd birthday of Austrian-born actress Romy Schneider, a legendary star of European cinema between the 1950s and the early ‘80s. Schneider garnered international acclaim for her charismatic and provocative performances in more than 60 feature films throughout her storied career.

    Romy Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach-Retty on this day in 1938 in the Austrian capital of Vienna and moved to Germany as a young child. Following in the footsteps of two generations of professional actors in her family, she appeared in her first feature film alongside her mother by the age of 15. Three years later, Schneider earned a big break when she landed the role of the titular empress in the Austrian historical drama “Sissi.”

    The film was a major hit and–along with two sequels–established Schneider as one of Europe’s brightest new stars. To the dismay of many in Germany, the young actress moved to Paris, France in 1958, in part to distance herself from the “Sissi” trilogy and pursue a bold transition to more serious roles. Over the following decades, she worked with some of the world’s top directors and redefined herself as a prolific force in international cinema.

    For her performance in “L’important C’est D’Aimer” [“That Most Important Thing: Love,” 1975], Schneider became the very first recipient of the César Award for Best Actress–one of French cinema’s most prestigious prizes–and she won the honor again for 1978’s “Une Histoire Simple” [“A Simple Story”].

    Happy birthday, Romy Schneider, and thank you for helping to bring decades of timeless stories to life.


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    September 23, 2016
    358th Anniversary of Tea in the UK




    Tea drinking is a thoroughly British pastime, whether it’s a mug of steaming builder’s tea or a delicate cup and saucer served with cucumber sandwiches. It’s not known when the first cuppa was enjoyed in the UK, but we do know that the first advert for tea in England appeared on this date in a publication from 1658 describing it simply as a “China Drink.” A couple of years later, English Naval Administrator Samuel Pepys wrote about drinking tea in his diary entry from 1660.

    Chinese tea was reportedly drunk by Europeans as early as the 16th century, a trend spearheaded by Dutch and Portuguese traders. British coffee shops were selling tea in the 17th century, though drinking it was considered an expensive, upper-class privilege. By the 19th century, The East India Company was using fast ships called tea clippers to transport leaves from India and China to England’s docks. The Cutty Sark is the only surviving clipper of its kind and can still be visited in Greenwich.

    As tea became more readily available, dedicated tea shops began popping up throughout the UK, becoming favorite spots for daytime socialising. Tea was well on its way to becoming a British tradition.

    As today’s animated Doodle illustrates, tea cups come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Whatever your favorite vessel may be, we hope you enjoy a cuppa or two of this enduring drink today.

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[REMOVE ADS]

Ralph Terrana
MODERATOR

Welcome to Soulful Detroit! Kindly Consider Turning Off Your Ad BlockingX
Soulful Detroit is a free service that relies on revenue from ad display [regrettably] and donations. We notice that you are using an ad-blocking program that prevents us from earning revenue during your visit.
Ads are REMOVED for Members who donate to Soulful Detroit. [You must be logged in for ads to disappear]
DONATE HERE »
And have Ads removed.