Social Studies for Kids Update

Etch-a-Sketch Inventor Dies
February 3, 2013
The inventor of the Etch-a-Sketch® has died. Andre Cassagnes, a French electrician who for years was not listed as the venerable toy's creator, was 86.

Canada Takes Penny Out of Circulation
February 3, 2013
Canada is officially off the penny. The Canadian Mint has stopped circulating the one-cent coin to banks and has issued a recall for all current one-cent holdings. Retailers can still accept pennies, until the supply runs out. However, the Government is encouraging retailers to adopt the new rounding rules.

The Spanish-American War
The Spanish-American War was a military clash between two countries with competing visions of expansion. A four-month struggle, it resulted in a further disappearance of Spanish influence in the Western Hemisphere and a wider influence for the United States in both the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Punctuated by events such as the sinking of the USS Maine and the charge of the "Rough Riders" up San Juan Hill (led by Teddy Roosevelt), the Spanish-American War was, in effect, a changing of the guard in world politics.

Find out more about the Spanish colonies, the American desire for expansion, and how a dispute over Cuban sovereignty turned into a war spread out across thousands of miles.

Waitangi Day
Waitangi Day, February 6, is a national holiday in New Zealand. It commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the official forming of the modern country.

Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is both the first day of a new year and a 15-day celebration of what is hoped to be good times ahead. It is celebrated in China, of course; but major celebrations take place in other countries as well. The Chinese calendar is based on the movements of the Moon and the Sun, not necessarily on the Western Calendar, so the New Year isn't the same day on the Western Calendar every year. Find out more about people celebrate, including the special foods that people eat.

Monopoly First Goes on Sale
Monopoly, the best-selling board game in the world, began as a simple idea of one man during America's Great Depression. Charles B. Darrow of Germantown, Penn., had the idea for the game, which he thought would be especially appealing to so many people in America at that time who were out of work and might find enjoyment in the promise of quick wealth. Darrow designed his game in basically the form that we have it today and took it to Parker Brothers, which by then was making games successfully. They rejected the idea, saying that it had a great many "design flaws." Find out what happened next.

First Teddy Bear Introduced in U.S.
The teddy bear as we know it has been around only since the early part of the 20th Century. And, as with other famous inventions (like the telephone), it was a shared process.

The story involves German manufacturers, American businessmen, and President Teddy Roosevelt.

The Debut of Tennis's Davis Cup
Men's professional tennis's team-level trophy, the Davis Cup, was first proposed between the United States and the United Kingdom on February 9, 1900.

It was the brainchild of Dwight Davis, a Harvard tennis player who followed up initial success of and enthusiasm for a Harvard-West Coast "national" competition with a proposal to the U.K. for an "international" event. With $750 of his own money spent on an elegant silver trophy bowl, Davis had his matchup.

Where Is That?
The great folks at FunBrain bring you this exciting challenge of your knowledge of U.S. states and capitals, countries of the world, maps of the world, and much more.