Paul Fogle, Ph.D., Speech Pathology

10/28/2025

Michael Orlando Clark Jr., a bright and courageous kindergartner from East Grand Rapids, Michigan, had been living with his foster parents, Andrea Melvin and Dave Eaton, for about a year before his life-changing adoption day. So excited about the day he’d officially become part of his forever family, Michael decided to invite his entire kindergarten class to attend his adoption hearing. His classmates filled the front rows of the courtroom on Kent County’s annual Adoption Day, waving handmade pink and red hearts and even offering sweet declarations of friendship, like one child simply saying, “My name’s Steven and Michael’s my best friend,” or another adding, “I love Michael.” Michael beamed in his vest and bow tie, supported by familiar faces that became as close as family.

Not only did Michael’s classmates bring love and innocence into a formal setting, but the courtroom, already filled with touching adoptions that day, became especially magical. Michael was one of 36 children adopted at that courthouse on that special day. The image and story quickly resonated beyond Michigan, with over 90,000 shares of the Kent County Facebook post and millions moved by the message that unity, love, and belonging can come from the pure hearts of children. Authorities even reflected that perhaps “the things that unite us are far more important than the things that divide us,” a lesson delivered effortlessly by a five-year-old.

10/28/2025

Gina Lollobrigida once walked off a Hollywood set and never came back. The director had called her “just a pretty face.” She smiled, thanked him — and flew back to Rome the next morning.

What few knew then was that she had just turned down a million-dollar contract from Howard Hughes, the most powerful producer in the world. Hughes sent roses, letters, even a private jet. Lollobrigida ignored them all. “He offered me everything,” she said later, “except respect.”

In postwar Italy, when cinema was ruled by men and glamour meant obedience, Gina was something else entirely. She spoke six languages, designed her own costumes, and argued with directors until they rewrote scripts. When she starred in Bread, Love and Dreams in 1953, she didn’t play a starlet — she played a woman with fire in her eyes, the kind men underestimated until it was too late. Audiences saw themselves in her, and Italy fell in love.

What happened next turned her into a legend. Hollywood kept calling, but she built her career in Europe on her own terms. She became an international symbol of independence long before feminism had a name in film. Later, she reinvented herself again — as a photojournalist. She interviewed Fidel Castro and photographed Salvador Dalí, trading red carpets for real revolutions.

“Beauty fades,” she once said, “but courage, that stays in the face.”

Even now, decades later, Gina Lollobrigida’s story feels like a rebellion wrapped in elegance — a reminder that power sometimes looks like walking away.

10/28/2025

The baobab tree, commonly known as the “Tree of Life,” is indigenous to the African continent, as well as certain regions of Australia and Madagascar, and is capable of living for thousands of years. Its scientific name, Adansonia digitata, honors the French botanist Michel Adanson, who documented this remarkable tree in the 18th century.

10/28/2025

Lily Mae was born in the backroom of a saloon, her first lullaby the sound of poker chips and pistol clicks. Her mother did what she could to keep her safe, but the world behind those swinging doors had sharp edges. By twelve, Lily knew how to patch a knife wound and read by lamplight, hiding borrowed books under whiskey crates so no one would laugh at a saloon girl’s daughter trying to learn her letters.

When her mother died, folks said it was only a matter of time before Lily took her place upstairs. Instead, she walked out of the saloon with a medical bag and never looked back. She apprenticed under the old town doctor, traded sleep for study, and stitched cowhands, drifters, and lawmen until her name carried more weight than her past ever could. By eighteen, she was Dodge City’s only nurse — steady, calm, and unflinching even when bullets tore through the doors at midnight.

Men who once sneered at her mother now waited in line for Lily’s care, hats in hand and shame in their eyes. She never said a cruel word, just worked until her hands shook and the lantern burned low. Some called her an angel, others a miracle. But Lily Mae never believed either. She was just a girl who refused to let dust, or men, decide who she’d become.

10/28/2025

A French doctor's simple act of modesty for a young female patient in 1816 led to one of the most important inventions in medical history. His respect for her dignity inspired an idea that would save millions of lives. The stethoscope was born not just from ingenuity, but from character.

10/28/2025

While their cultures were being erased by force, Indigenous women became secret guardians of everything their people knew. In the face of boarding schools and banned ceremonies, they found a way to hide thousands of years of knowledge in plain sight. What they preserved changed the course of history for entire nations.

10/28/2025

Across the sunlit plains of Australia, this bird moves with quiet dignity, its wings flashing metallic hues only when the light strikes just right. It can travel long distances without water, surviving on dew and moisture from seeds — a patient wanderer perfectly tuned to the dry heart of the land. When it takes flight, the soft whistle of its wings echoes like a desert song.

Common Bronzewing 👇

10/28/2025

Before Sarah Boone, ironing the sleeves and corsets of the day was a frustrating chore. In 1892, the former dressmaker patented a brilliant solution—a curved, collapsible ironing board designed to handle fitted garments with ease. Her ingenuity continues to influence the laundry rooms we use today.

10/28/2025

In 1812, Charleston, South Carolina, bustled with ships, merchants, and the creak of horse-drawn carts along cobblestone streets. Among the chaos, twelve-year-old Miriam Lawson carried a secret responsibility: every evening, she lit the lanterns that guided sailors safely into the harbor. Her father, a retired sea captain, had entrusted her with the task after an accident left him bedridden.

Miriam’s small hands trembled the first night she climbed the wooden scaffolding, but the gentle glow of the lanterns calmed her fears. Night after night, she walked along the piers, tending each light with care, ensuring no sailor would stumble in the dark waters.

One stormy evening, a ship struggled against the violent winds, its crew unable to see the harbor entrance. Miriam braved the lashing rain, climbing higher and higher, keeping each lantern ablaze despite the howling storm. Her courage guided the vessel safely into the harbor. By morning, the sailors were singing her praises, and word spread of the young lantern keeper who had risked everything to save lives.

Miriam’s bravery became legendary in Charleston. She was no longer a child in the shadows; she was the light in the storm, a symbol of quiet strength and responsibility, proving that courage often shines brightest when no one is watching.

10/28/2025

She discovered what determines whether you're born male or female—then history erased her name from the textbooks.
Meet Nettie Stevens. A name you should know, but probably don't.
In 1905, in a cramped laboratory at Bryn Mawr College, Nettie Stevens peered through her microscope at mealworm cells and saw something no human had ever seen before. While other scientists were still debating vague theories about how s*x was determined—some thought it was nutrition, others believed it was environmental—Nettie was looking at the answer under 600x magnification.
Males had one large chromosome and one small one. Females had two large ones. It was that simple. That profound.
She had discovered the X and Y chromosomes—the fundamental mechanism that determines biological s*x in most species, including humans. One of the most important discoveries in the history of genetics was made by a woman who had been discouraged from pursuing science her entire life.
Nettie was born in 1861 in Vermont. Her mother died when she was young. She worked as a teacher and librarian for years, saving every penny. She didn't start her formal scientific education until age 35—an age when many scientists have already made their mark. She studied relentlessly, earned her PhD at 42, and then made her groundbreaking discovery at 44.
But here's where the story turns bitter.
Around the same time, her mentor Edmund Beecher Wilson made similar observations in other species. Wilson was already established, already respected, already a man in a field that barely tolerated women. When papers were published, when credit was distributed, when textbooks were written—Wilson's name appeared prominently. Stevens was often relegated to a footnote, if mentioned at all.
She didn't fight for recognition. She just kept working. Kept researching. Kept pushing the boundaries of what science understood about heredity and chromosomes.
In 1912, at just 51 years old, Nettie Stevens died of breast cancer. She never received the awards, the acclaim, or the historical recognition her discovery deserved during her lifetime.
For decades, her contribution was minimized or forgotten. Textbooks taught about the XY s*x-determination system without mentioning the woman who discovered it. Students learned about chromosomes without knowing Nettie Stevens' name.
But here's the thing about truth: it doesn't disappear just because it's ignored.
Today, scientists recognize Stevens as the primary discoverer of chromosomal s*x determination. Her papers are considered foundational texts in genetics. In 1994, Bryn Mawr College established the Nettie Stevens Science Library in her honor. In 2002, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Every biology textbook, every genetics class, every understanding we have about why some babies are born boys and others girls—it traces back to a woman hunched over a microscope, studying mealworms, seeing what no one else had seen.
Nettie Stevens proved that groundbreaking science doesn't require fame or fortune or even recognition. It requires only curiosity, dedication, and the courage to look closely at what everyone else overlooks.
She saw the invisible machinery of life itself. And even though history tried to make her invisible too, her discovery remains—undeniable, unchangeable, eternal.

10/28/2025