Cheese, butter, and meat were rationed in 1943 as part of the effort to win World War II. Shoppers received ration books with stamps. When the shopper no longer had stamps for a certain product, that product could not be bought until next month. Sugar, tires, and gasoline were also rationed. Rationing was lifted in 1946. Children could learn many more facts at the excellent website: Food Rations.
Mariner 10
Mariner 10 flew by Mercury for the first time in 1974. Launched November 3, 1973, it first flew by Venus on February 5, 1974. After it flew by Mercury, it orbited the sun and came close to Mercury again on September 21, 1974. A third encounter happened on March 16, 1975. Data from Mariner 10 included 2,800 photographs of Mercury as well as information on a helium atmosphere and an iron-rich core. Mariner 10 ran out of fuel and stopped transmitting data on March 24, 1975. Scientists believe that it continues to orbit the sun. Children could learn more at: Mariner 10.
Pearl Bailey (born Newport News, Virginia, 1918; died Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 17, 1990) was a singer. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988.
Lou Henry Hoover
Lou Henry Hoover (born Waterloo, Iowa, 1875; died New York, New York, January 7, 1944) was America’s First Lady from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1933. She was the wife of Herbert Hoover, thirty-first president of the United States. She was a geology and mining major at Stanford University when they met. She was First Lady during the Great Depression, and she often paid for White House social events with her own money. Children could visit a website at: Lou Henry Hoover.
John Tyler (born Charles City County, Virginia, 1790; died Richmond, Virginia, January 18, 1862) was the tenth president (1841-1845) of the United States. He was the first president to become so from the death of his predecessor. Prior to being the president, he was a representative, a senator and a governor. He was known as “His Accidency,” and he was not a popular president. After his presidency was over, he returned to the South. He was about to join the Confederate Congress, but he died before it convened. Children could learn more at: John Tyler.
Cy Young (born Denton True Young in Gilmore, Ohio, 1867; died Peoli, Ohio, November 4, 1955) was a very famous pitcher. The Cy Young Award honors the two best pitchers in Major League Baseball, one for the National League and one for the American League. Children can learn more at: Cy Young.
Anesthesia was used for the first time in surgery in 1842. Dr. Crawford Long operated on a tumor on the neck of James Venable. The patient had been given ether. Long did not report the results of the surgery until 1849.
Egg Incubator was patented by Napoleon E. Guerin of New York, New York, in 1843. He received Patent #3,019. Incubators circulate warm air around fertilized eggs until the chicks hatch. Children can learn more at: Egg Incubator.
Pencils with erasers
Pencil with eraser was patented in 1858 by Hymen Lipman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received Patent Number 19,783. About two billion pencils are produced each year. The pencil “lead” is really a form of graphite.
William Henry Seward
Alaska was bought by the United States from Russia in 1867. The purchase was often originally called Seward’s Folly. William Seward, secretary of state, bought Alaska for $1,200,000. That averaged out to about two cents an acre. The 1898 Alaska gold rush was one of the first indicators that the United States had made a good bargain. Children could learn more at: Alaska.
Amendment Fifteen to the Constitution was adopted in 1870. A person’s right to vote could not be denied on the basis of “race, color, or previous servitude.” Children can examine a photo of the original document, read a transcript of the document, and learn more about the background of the amendment at: Amendment Fifteen.
Van Gogh Self Portrait
Vincent van Gogh (born Groot Zundert, Holland, 1853; died Auvers-sur-Oise, France, July 29, 1890) was an artist. He never received formal training. He often applied the paint with a palette knife. Children can visit the Metropolitan Museum website at: Vincent van Gogh. Idea: Children could compare and contrast the works of Goya and van Gogh.
Agnes Danforth Hewes (born Tripoli, Lebanon, 1874; died San Francisco, California, September 30, 1963) was a Protestant minister and an author of children’s books. She earned three Newbery Honor Awards: in 1931 for Spice and the Devil’s Cave (illustrated by Lynd Kendall Ward), in 1934 for Glory of the Seas (illustrated by Lynd Kendall Ward), and in 1937 for The Codfish Musket (illustrated by Armstrong Sperry).
Francisco Jose de Goya (born Aragon, Spain, 1746; died Bordeaux, France, April 16, 1828) was a Spanish artist. He produced more than 1,800 artworks. Children can visit the Metropolitan Museum website at: Francisco Jose de Goya.
Anna Sewell (born Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, 1820; died Catton, Norfolk, England, April 25, 1878) wrote Black Beauty. Children can read Black Beauty at: Project Gutenberg. They could also learn more at: Anna Sewell.
National Crayon Day is today! The concept of crayons, using beeswax, has been around for thousands of years. Today’s crayons are made by melting paraffin wax and adding pigment. Although at one time around 300 companies produced crayons, only a few companies remain. Now Crayola is the biggest producer of crayons. So what can children do today? They could make a poster (using crayons) celebrating National Crayon Day. They could advocate for a new crayon color. You could gently melt old crayons and make crayon blocks that produce multihued effects.
Is there anything better than a new box of crayons?