Happy Birthday, Hetty Green, the "Witch of Wall Street"

“Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science.” The namesake for NASA’s most important telescope, Edwin Hubble has been called a modern-day Galileo. He identified multiple galaxies and helped to define the way in which the universe expands, providing evidence for the Big Bang theory.

Writer Nadine Gordimer has devoted her life to fighting for the rights and health of the less fortunate and oppressed. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991 for showing “the true power of words,” having written 14 novels and 11 collections of short stories.

They can’t wait to dig into the turkey and pies, but many kids could use a refresher course in the origins of Thanksgiving. Luckily for parents and teachers, there are excellent Thanksgiving crafts, simple recipes and games for kids to learn about this distinctly American holiday.

Jack Welch was CEO of General Electric for 20 years, beginning his tenure in the midst of 1981’s tough economic conditions and leading the company to enormous growth. An author, husband and father of four, Welch, along with his wife, Suzy, is a leadership guru whose viewpoint is routinely requested by companies and business students.

For many, the teenage years are wrought with strife and situations preferably forgotten. But Laurie Halse Anderson relishes the depth of the teenage experience. She is unafraid of judgment, writing books that tackle the most difficult subjects honestly and compassionately. In doing so, she and her readers experience personal growth. 

Does the taste of chicken feel pointy to you? Does the letter W seem red or the number 7 yellow, regardless of its print color? Exact responses may differ, but if you’ve ever associated words or numbers with colors or tastes, you might have synesthesia.

William Schwenck Gilbert, one half of the successful Gilbert and Sullivan duo, had a knack for satire and an eye for staging, producing comic operettas beloved to this day, including “The Pirates of Penzance” and “The Mikado.” Gilbert coped with a difficult childhood with disagreeable parents and surmounted a period of indecision before launching himself into a renowned career writing for theater.

Lately it seems as if every tour operator and destination is touting some type of eco-tour. But how can travelers determine whether a claim of greenness is authentic or just capitalizing on a trend? The concept of ecotourism is actually quite simple, but not so easy to fulfill.