Sesame Street

Sesame Street is a live-action, puppetry, animation, sketch comedy, and educational children's television program produced in the United States. It was developed by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett for Sesame Workshop. It features short films with comedy and cultural allusions and is well renowned for the imagery it conveys via the use of Jim Henson's Muppets. It had a successful debut on November 10, 1969, with a lot of viewers, considerable controversy, and favorable reviews. Since its inception, it has been shown on the national public television network PBS in the United States. On January 16, 2016, it moved from PBS to HBO for its first run, then in 2020 it moved to HBO Max, its sibling streaming service. One of the oldest television programs ever produced is Sesame Street.

A method of planning, production, and assessment based on cooperation between producers, authors, educators, and researchers was devised by the project's creators not long after it was first created and came to be known as the CTW Model. Government and private organizations first provided funding for the program, but because to income from licensing deals, overseas sales, and other media, it is now mostly self-sustaining. Sesame Street clones created separately were shown in 20 nations by 2006. When Sesame Street celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009, it was aired in more than 140 countries, up from over 120 million viewers in 2001.

The American children's television program Sesame Street was ranked 15th at that time. By the time they were three, 95% of all American preschoolers had seen it, according to a 1996 poll. It was projected that 86 million Americans watched it as kids in 2018. More awards than any other children's program as of 2021 were its 205 Emmys and 11 Grammys.

 

First Native American Tribe in First Thanksgiving

The origin of the Thanksgiving holiday dates back to a harvest feast held in 1621 between the Wampanoag, a Native tribe who occupied the land long before, and the newly settled English colonists in America. Although the two groups formed an alliance for a time, the years that followed led to the mass killing of the Native American people, the seizing of their land, and the enslavement of their people. For the Wampanoags and many other American Indians, the fourth Thursday in November is considered a day of mourning, not a day of giving thanks. 

KFC

In 2015, KFC launched one of their most popular and successful ad campaigns. The fast-food giant began casting different actors and comedians to play their beloved founder, Colonel Sanders. Audiences fell in love with the commercials, and fans quickly turned to the internet to uncover which new actor was hiding behind the iconic white suit, black bowtie, and black-rimmed glasses. Some notable celebrities who have played Colonel Sanders include Norm Macdonald, Jason Alexander, Rob Lowe, Darrell Hammond, Ray Liotta, and Reba McEntire. 

First Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims celebrated the event that Americans traditionally refer to as the "First Thanksgiving" in October 1621 after their first harvest in the New World. 53 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Native Americans participated in this three-day feast (survivors of the Mayflower). A lesser-known Thanksgiving feast that took place in Virginia in 1619 among English immigrants who had just arrived in Berkeley Hundred on the ship Margaret is less well-known.

In the summer, Massasoit, the leader of the adjacent Wampanoag tribe, forged an alliance with the Pilgrims. Massasoit supported the Pilgrims' food supply for the first few years in return for help in defense against the dreaded Narragansett tribe.

The fourth Thursday in November is recognized as a federal holiday in the United States as Thanksgiving. To differentiate it from the similar festivities in other countries and the Canadian holiday of the same name, it is often referred to as American Thanksgiving outside of the United States. The holiday's focus is on giving gratitude, and Thanksgiving supper continues to be the focal point of festivities. It was first observed as a day of thanksgiving and a harvest festival. Turkey, potatoes (often mashed or sweet), stuffing, squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries (generally in sauce form), and pumpkin pie make up the traditional Thanksgiving supper. Observing religious services, donating to humanitarian groups that provide Thanksgiving food to the less fortunate, and watching sporting events like the NFL and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television are other Thanksgiving traditions. The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is the largest shopping day of the year in the United States. Black Friday is recognized as the start of the Christmas and holiday season.

 

Pac-Man

First released as Puck-Man, the name was later changed to Pac-Man. The original Japanese name was Puck-man, which evolved from the Japanese word paku, meaning "chomp." Given the closeness to a certain explicit four-letter English word, a lot of arcade operators at the time were worried that vandals would alter the letter P. Eventually, "Pac" was suggested as an alternate name. Hence the name Pac-Man came to be. Pac-Man has the highest brand awareness of any video game character among American consumers, recognized by 94% of them. 

Yen

 

Japan's national currency is the yen. After the US dollar and the euro, it is the third most traded currency on the foreign exchange market. In addition, it is often used as a third reserve currency in place of the euro and the US dollar.

The modern currency system in Japan was established by the New Currency Act of 1871, which set the yen's definition at 1.5g of gold or 24.26g of silver and decimalized it into 100 sen or 1,000 rin. Both the earlier Tokugawa coinage and the different hansatsu paper currencies produced by the han were replaced by the yen. In 1882, the Bank of Japan was established and granted exclusive authority over managing the money supply.

The yen lost a lot of its value after World War II. As part of the Bretton Woods system, the yen's exchange rate was set at 360 per US dollar in order to stabilize the Japanese economy. The yen depreciated and was allowed to float when that system was abandoned in 1971. Due to the 1973 oil crisis, the yen had phases of gain and depreciation, reaching a value of 227 per US$ by 1980. It had previously risen to a high of 271 per US$ in 1973.

The Japanese government concentrated on a competitive export market and worked to maintain a trade surplus to keep the yen's exchange rate as low as possible. This was briefly altered by the Plaza Accord of 1985; the exchange rate dropped from an average of 239 yen to 128 yen to 80 yen to the dollar in 1995, substantially raising the value of Japan's GDP in dollars to virtually that of the United States. But the value of the yen has significantly dropped since then. The Bank of Japan continues to follow a policy of interest rates that are zero or almost zero, and the Japanese government has in the past adopted a strong anti-inflation strategy.

Ben Carson

 Ben Carson was the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and earned fame for his groundbreaking work separating conjoined twins. Carson made a cameo appearance as the "head surgeon" in the 2003 comedy "Stuck on You," starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twin brothers. He retired from medicine in 2013, and entered politics, making a bid to become the Republican nominee for president of the United States. Carson later withdrew from the race and was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by former President Donald Trump.