It took Facebook merely 17 years to establish practical world domination. Now rebranded as a multibillion-dollar company, Meta, that owns the most active of platforms on the internet, Facebook first saw the light of day when Mark Zuckerburg registered it as an official URL on February 4, 2004. Then known as TheFacebook, it was a social network used by the students of Harvard University to connect with fellow students. The site's popularity spiked gradually and by the end of that year, TheFacebook had one million active users.
The rest, as they say, is history. Or, in this case, our present and future.
Life in Plastic
From one worldwide phenomenon to another. It was on this date that Ruth Handler began the creation of the Barbie doll, in 1959. It was officially launched in March, in the same year by toy company Mattel.
The very first Barbie doll didn't dress up in pastels and pinks, as you'd expect. She donned, instead, a zebra-print black and white swimsuit. And, even as she started as a fashion model, she branched out to a whole host of careers, as her popularity took her all over the world. Sexism and issues with diversity are often quoted as concerns when it comes to these dolls though. Now, they are available in 22 skin tones, 94 hair colors, 13 eye colors and five body types.
And no, we will not apologise for putting that song in your head now. Imagination, life is your creation...
A legend is born
February 4 also happens to be the birthday of Rosa Parks, a significant figure in the Civil Rights movement in America. Born in 1913, Parks is referred to as the First Lady of the Civil Rights movement after she heralded a historic bus boycott in the year 1955. This happened after she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white person, and was therefore arrested.
