Google Doodles

[Gopher Gary]

It's time again for the US Children's Doodle for Google contest. The national winner receives a $30,000 scholarship. 

This years's theme is kindness.

The State and Territory Winners are in! Vote for your favorite Doodle!

Congratulations to our 54 State and Territory Winners who shared the special ways they show kindness in their families, schools, and communities.

Vote for your favorite Doodle to determine who will go on to become one of our five National Finalists, one of which will go on to become the National Winner.


https://doodles.google.com/d4g/vote/


Vote Now!
Help us pick the five State and Territory Winners who will go on to become one of our five National Finalists.

All you have to do is click on a Doodle you like. From there, you can learn about the artist and cast your vote for each of the five grade groups. You can do this anytime between August 17th at 12:00am PDT until August 21st at 11:59pm PDT.

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Julius Lothar Meyer's 190th Birthday



Today’s Doodle celebrates German chemist, professor, and author Julius Lothar Meyer on his 190th birthday. Meyer was one of two scientists to independently discover the periodic law of chemical elements and pioneer the earliest periodic tables.

Julius Lothar Meyer was born into a medical family in Varel, Germany on this day in 1830. Initially devoted to the study of medicine, he soon shifted his focus to physiological chemistry. He earned his doctorate in 1858 and began his career as a science teacher the very next year.

In 1864, Meyer published a seminal textbook called “Die modernen Theorien der Chemie" (“Modern Chemical Theory”). The treatise included a rudimentary system for the organization of 28 elements based on atomic weight, a precursor to the modern periodic table. But Meyer was not alone in the sprint toward this scientific milestone, as Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev was independently developing similar ideas of his own.

Meyer designed a more comprehensive table in 1868, but before he could publish, Mendeleev released his own paper that placed all the known elements in one table and cemented his place in science history. Meyer’s subsequent 1870 paper was groundbreaking in its own right, as its graphical demonstration of the relationship between atomic volume and atomic weight provided strong evidence for the periodic law describing cyclical patterns among the elements. Meyer’s now-famous display is depicted behind him in today’s Doodle artwork.

Happy birthday, Julius Lothar Meyer, and thank you for braving the elements for the sake of scientific knowledge!

[SBI_Patience]

Todays doodle: Celebrating Barbara Hepworth

Today’s animated Doodle celebrates the life and work of English abstract sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth, widely considered one of the mid-20th century’s most impactful sculptors. On this day in 1939, Hepworth arrived in St. Ives, a town on England’s southern coast, where she established her studio and lived for the remainder of her career.

Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on January 10th, 1903 in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, and by the age of 15, she knew she wanted to become a sculptor. She enrolled at the Leeds School of Art, where she began a mutually influential lifelong friendship with fellow sculptor Henry Moore, and then attended the Royal College of Art in London. While her early work incorporated classic elements, by the 1930s she had shifted to wholly abstract pieces, among the earliest such sculptures crafted in Britain.

As depicted in today’s Doodle artwork, Hepworth was one of the leading practitioners of “direct carving,” a technique by which the sculpting process is influenced by the qualities of the raw materials, rather than a preconceived model. Her work is frequently marked by a sensitive, organic quality and a signature focus on the interplay between mass and empty space.

Among her many accolades, Hepworth was awarded the Grand Prix at the 1959 São Paulo Bienal, and for her invaluable contribution to British art was named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1965. Hepworth’s more than 600 sculptures remain a testament to the unique power of art to reflect the timeless values of humanism and natural beauty.

Thank you, Dame Barbara Hepworth, for using your art to help carve a path toward greater harmony within our society and environment.

Source: https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-barbara-hepworth

[Gopher Gary]

  I googled her artwork, and I liked it. 

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Celebrating Alexandre Dumas



In honor of one of the most revered French authors of the 19th century, today’s Doodle slideshow celebrates Alexandre Dumas. Perhaps best known for swashbuckling adventure novels, Dumas produced a prolific body of work that continues to thrill readers around the world today. An abbreviated version of one of his most famous novels, “Le Comte de Monte Cristo” (“The Count of Monte Cristo,” 1844-’45), is included (spoiler-free!) in today’s Doodle artwork. On this day in 1884, the Parisian newspaper Les Journal des Débats (The Journal of Debates) published the first installment of the novel, which appeared serially in the publication through 1846.

Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was born in 1802 in Villers-Cotterêts, France. He later took the name Alexandre Dumas, assuming the surname of his paternal grandmother Marie-Césette Dumas who was a woman of African descent and a slave in Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti). As a child, Dumas was regaled with stories of his late father’s exploits as a general, elements of which later found their way into some of the writer’s most famous works.

Dumas moved to Paris in 1822 and became an accomplished playwright before he hit upon monumental success with his action-packed serialized novels of the 1840s, including “Les Troi Mousquetaires” (“The Three Musketeers,” 1844). Today these works have made him one of the most popular French authors in the world, and his books have been translated into over 100 languages.

In the late 1980s, a long-lost Dumas novel was uncovered in Paris’ National Library of France. Titled “Le Chevalier de Sainte-Hermine” (“The Last Cavalier”), the book was finally published in 2005.

Merci, Alexandre Dumas, for all the excitement you’ve given to so many readers!

Here's the link if you want to view the slideshow. https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-alexandre-dumas

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Celebrating Jackie Ormes



Here's the link if you want to view the slideshow. https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-jackie-ormes

Today’s slideshow Doodle, illustrated by Philadelphia-based guest artist Liz Montague, celebrates American cartoonist and activist Jackie Ormes. Ormes was known for her satirical and stylish cartoons and comic strips that challenged the derogatory portrayals of Black female characters prevalent in the media. She is widely recognized as the first and only Black female newspaper cartoonist of her time in the United States. On this day in 1945, her groundbreaking single panel “Patty-Jo ’n’ Ginger” debuted in the Pittsburgh Courier, introducing the world to the smart and fashionable Ginger and her precocious 6-year-old sister Patty-Jo. Each slide of today’s Doodle provides a glimpse into stages of Ormes’ life, from her beginnings as a self-taught artist to a powerhouse cartoonist and humorist whose work continues to inspire.

Jackie Ormes was born Zelda Mavin Jackson on August 1, 1911, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She taught herself to draw at an early age and showcased her skills with a page of cartoons in her high school yearbook. After graduation, she entered the media landscape as a proofreader and freelance reporter for the nationally circulated Black newspaper the Pittsburgh Courier.

In 1937, the Courier published Ormes’ first comic strip: “Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem,” which at times reflected the more serious struggles of real people migrating from the South to the North to escape racism and find better opportunities. Ormes’ trailblazing career continued with “Candy” and “Patty-Jo ’n’ Ginger”—her longest-running work–and her final comic, “Torchy in Heartbeats.”

Across all of her work, Ormes’s heroines faced real-life issues like romantic heartbreak, environmental justice, and gender inequality, mirroring the issues Ormes encountered in her own life and those around her. Her characters were all independent women—confident, intelligent, attractive, and brave, who persevered against adversity to reach their next adventure.

Ormes furthered positive depictions of Black women and girls while also expressing her talent for fashion design through the development of several dolls related to her characters. In 1949 she made history by designing one of the first high quality American Black dolls “Patty-Jo,” complete with an extensive wardrobe produced by the Terri Lee Doll company. Later, her 1950 debut of a new, full color comic strip featuring her character Torchy, came with an accompanying paper doll topper, “Torchy Togs.” This bonus feature promoted a positive depiction of Black women while advising them on such fashion tenets as fabric, cut, and seasonal trends.

A pioneering professional woman in a male-dominated cartooning industry, Ormes retired in 1956 but continued her commitment to advocacy and community leadership throughout the rest of her life. In recognition of her achievements, Ormes was posthumously inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists’ Hall of Fame in 2014 as well as the Will Eisner Comic Industry Hall of Fame in 2018.

Thank you, Jackie Ormes, for helping to strip away negative stereotypes one panel at a time.

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Labor Day 2020 (United States)



Each year in the waning days of summer on the first Monday of September, Labor Day is celebrated throughout the United States. In honor of this national holiday, today’s Doodle highlights just a few of the countless professions that each play a vital role in our society.

Thank you to all the hard-working laborers across the nation.

Happy Labor Day!

[Gopher Gary]

Not a doodle, but today there is a remembering 9/11 icon under the search bar of the Google home page.

[odeon]

What does it link to?

[Gopher Gary]

What does it link to?

It doesn't link to anything.  Hovering over it gives the description: Remembering September 11th.

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Celebrating Terry Fox




“I want to try the impossible to show it can be done.”

—Terry Fox

Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Toronto-based guest artist Lynn Scurfield, celebrates the Canadian athlete and humanitarian Terry Fox. After losing his leg to cancer, Fox embarked on the “Marathon of Hope”—a historic cross-Canada journey to raise awareness and money for cancer research.

Born on July 28, 1958, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Terry Fox was a natural competitor known for his commitment and fierce work ethic. In 1977, at the age of 18, Fox was diagnosed with bone cancer, resulting in the amputation of his right leg.

During his months of treatment, he was deeply affected by the stories of the patients around him, igniting in him an urgent desire to end the suffering cancer causes. Refusing to allow his amputation to slow him down, Fox decided to run across Canada, raising much-needed research funding to find a cure for cancer.

Three years following his diagnosis, on April 12, 1980, Fox humbly embarked on his “Marathon of Hope” in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Through biting winds and summer heat, he ran close to a marathon a day for over four months, an incredible 5,373 kilometres (approximately 3,339 miles) in all. Although a return of Fox’s cancer prevented him from completing the route, he achieved his goal of raising a dollar for every Canadian citizen, totaling over $24 million for cancer research.

The first Terry Fox Run, held on this day in 1981, united 300,000 people across Canada to walk, run or cycle in Terry’s memory, and raised $3.5 million for cancer research. Today, the Terry Fox Run is held virtually in his honor, and has raised over $800 million since its inception.

Thank you, Terry, for every step you took towards the cancer-free world you bravely envisioned.

 

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Celebrating Jovita Idár.



Today’s Doodle celebrates Mexican-American journalist, educator, nurse, and activist Jovita Idár, a pioneer in the fight for Mexican-American civil rights at the turn of the 20th century. During the First Mexican Congress, which met the week of September 14 to 22 in 1911, Idár was elected president of the League of Mexican Women, a feminist organization ahead of its time in uniting women around the critical educational, social, and political issues facing the Mexican-American community.

Jovita Idár was born in the border city of Laredo, Texas in 1885 at a time when Mexican-Americans faced rampant discrimination in the state. Determined to stand up for her community, she became a teacher in 1903 but later resigned to join her father’s influential activist newspaper, La Crónica (The Chronicle). Through her articles, Idár spoke out against discrimination, fought for women’s suffrage, and affirmed the importance of Mexican culture.

In 1911, she and her family helped establish the First Mexican Congress to organize Mexican-Americans across Texas in the fight for civil rights. Building upon the female participation in the congress, Idár then founded the League of Mexican Women and served as its president.

In 1914, Idár continued her groundbreaking journalism career at El Progreso (The Progress) newspaper. Never afraid to make her voice heard, she expressed her criticism of the US army's involvement in the Mexican Revolution in an editorial, which resulted in an attempt by Texas Rangers to shut the publication down. When officers rode up to the El Progreso office, Idár stood in their way and forced them to turn back—a scene recreated in today's Doodle artwork.

Despite Idár’s bravery, the Rangers returned the next day and shut down El Progreso, but Idár refused to be silenced. She returned to La Crónica and eventually ran the paper with her brothers, using its pages to continue her pursuit for justice. In 1917, she moved to San Antonio, Texas, where she carried her activism forward as a prominent leader in the city’s community, including opening a free kindergarten, serving as a Spanish translator at a local hospital, and teaching childcare and feminine hygiene.

Gracias, Jovita Idár, for dedicating your life to the pursuit of equality and justice.

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is US Voter Registration Day 2020...



Today’s 2020 US National Voter Registration Day Reminder Doodle leads to a tool that will help you register in your state and get basic voter information ahead of the election on November 3rd.

[Gopher Gary]

Today's Google Doodle is Doodle for Google 2020 - US Winner.



Congratulations to Texas 5th grader Sharon Sara, winner of the US 2020 Doodle for Google contest, whose Doodle is featured on the US homepage today! Sharon was one of tens of thousands of students from across the country who entered the contest this year answering the prompt “I show kindness by…”

In her artist’s statement, Sharon describes how kindness can be practiced through friendship and inclusion: “I show kindness by sticking together with my friends in tough times. I drew people coming together and not thinking about the outside but being together because of their personality.”

Sharon’s interest in art started when she was just 4 years old, and her passion continues to grow today.  As the US 2020 Doodle for Google contest national winner, Sharon has won a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 technology package for her elementary school.

Congratulations again to Sharon and a huge thank you to all of the students who shared their kind words and inspiring Doodles with us this year!

 

[renaeden]

That's really good drawing. I'm second from the left.