Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in FYI.
Don't Quit
Everyone remembers things about their childhood that stood out as interesting or important. When I was younger I had a lot of moments like that. The first time I traveled outside of the U.S and my first day of middle school. When I first rode a bike, when I learned to swim, and when I went to Las Vegas for a family reunion. The most important parts of me that shaped me became memories I could look back on and smile about. As a kid something I loved was history and I used to live with my aunt. On her door, every day I walked by it I looked at a poem taped on it. That poem is a part of history, of my history, and the history of the person who writes it. It's the most inspirational poem I've ever read. I memorized it and carry it as a memory today. The poem is called "Don't Quit" and some people credit the author Edgar A. Guest as the author but others believe it to be John G. Whittier.
By Porsha Greer5 years ago in FYI
The WW1 weapon you can’t live without
When people think of WW1, they often conjure up thoughts of the infamous phrase “trench warfare.” Images of shell-shocked soldiers sitting in trenches with eyes that hold a million stories many would never be able to tell and gruesome wounds that forever shaped a generation may spring to thought. Just as likely would the history class every student takes in 10th grade explaining the bare-bones facts of the war with glossy pages detailing mustard gas and the newly emerging concept of “shell shock” that would later go on the be named PTSD. Students in advanced world history might cover a bit of the politics that took place before the bubbling cauldron in the Balkans finally boiled over. It might cover the assassination that sent an entire generation to the front lines that took a backseat to WW2 when it came time for their yearly history exam. However, while mustard gas often left painful and debilitating blisters on soldiers. It wasn’t even close to being the deadliest chemical weapon used on the battlefield.
By Mukena Addict5 years ago in FYI
Hidden History
I think it's safe to say America likes to be forgetful, and to leave pertinent histories undisclosed. This has become increasingly apparent over the last year, with a plethora of information coming to light and mass movements gaining momentum to protect our waters and BIPOC. What I'm sharing today is part of a short research project I took on for an environmental studies class at my local community college, addressing some of these issues. For this report I was to use the National Inventory of Dams and other resources to identify and compare two dams of different sizes, listing their benefits and drawbacks, age, safety risks, whether or not they include a fish passage to travel upriver, the habitats they flood, recreation opportunities, etc. The two dams I chose are both significant to me, and both of which have caused much conflict with and heavily impact Native populations (human, animal, and plant life). And honestly the more I read about all this, the more it seems that this is not unique to these dams alone. This makes sense because life exists from and by water, and so of course the choices of American society and industry would violate the sacred grounds of many First Peoples.
By Lucy Whitesell5 years ago in FYI
Fruit for Thought
When I think of the words fun and facts usually what comes to mind for me is facts about fruit. Facts about fruit is something I’ve always had knowledge about since first grade when I had received my first iPod touch, and downloaded the country’s most popular app that year: Fruit Ninja. One of my favorite things about Fruit Ninja besides the game itself was the little “Sensei’s Fruit Facts” that would appear after you completed a game. Those facts stuck to me ever since and have found its way into my daily life along with becoming my best friend when it comes to times like these, a time when a challenge asks of you to go on a “fact-finding journey”.
By Summer Baldwin5 years ago in FYI
A Capitalist, a Murderer, a Gambling Bet, a Brain Injury, and an Earthquake
The cigar smoke in Leland Stanford’s parlor hung heavy in the air. The lucky men who attended Stanford’s elaborate dinner party in the spring of 1872 were brimming with privilege and money. Their wool vests barely buttoned around their swollen stomachs. Brandy in their hands, they discussed the current events of the day from the sweetness of Stanford's mansion in San Francisco.
By joy ellen sauter5 years ago in FYI
