1 . In 1959, Handler changed how toy dolls were made when she introduced “Barbie” to the world. With her mature figure, Barbie was one of the first “grown-up” dolls to hit the retail market.

Handler wanted to create a toy that was different from the baby dolls that dominated little girls’ toy boxes. She wanted a doll that girls could project their future dreams upon and allowed for limitless clothing and career choices. Inspired by paper dolls of the time, Handler, to much disagreement, made sure Barbie had the body of a grown woman.

“My own philosophy of Barbie,” Handler wrote in her autobiography, “was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman had choices.”

There’s even a Barbie for cancer patients — Brave Barbie — a partnership between Mattel and CureSearch that sends a bald (光头的) Barbie to families affected by cancer. “Gifting my daughter a Barbie who suffered from cancer was tremendous,” Michelle, a cancer survivor said, “We would play with that Barbie together and I’d heartbreakingly watch her pretend to take the doll to the hospital for chemo (化疗), or place its long wig on top of its head and tell the doll ‘It’s time to be beautiful again.’”

Bald Barbie was super brave and went on awesome adventures after chemo. Sometimes she felt sick and needed to sleep, but would feel much better after a rest. Bald Barbie always beat the cancer and went on to live a long and happy life with her family. That Barbie became so much more than a plastic doll — she was a means of communication and a coping mechanism during an extremely distressing time for little families.

4 . Four Most Famous Paintings in the World

Artist: Vincent Willem van Gogh

Where to see it: the Museum of Modern Art (New York, US)

Being treated for mental illness in hospital and inspired by the view from the window of his room, Van Gogh painted The Starry Night. The painting is famous for Van Gogh’s creative use of thick brushstrokes (笔画). The painting’s striking blues and yellows and the dreamy atmosphere have attracted art lovers for decades.

Artist: Edvard Munch

Where to see it: the National Museum and the Munch Museum (Oslo, Norway)

The Scream is not a single work of art. According to a British museum’s blog, there are two paintings, two pastels (彩粉画) and a number of prints, The paintings are in the National Museum and the Munch Museum, and in 2012, one of the pastels was sold for almost 120 million.

Artist: Leonardo da Vinci

Where to see it: the Louvre Museum (Paris. France)

It should come as no surprise that one of the most famous paintings in the world is a woman with a mysterious smile. It is the earliest known Italian painting to focus closely on the sitter in a half-length portrait (像) , according to the Louvre, where it was first exhibited in 1804.

Artist: Leonardo da Vinci

Where to see it: Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan, Italy)

Leonardo is the only artist to appear on this list twice. The Last Supper is about the last time Jesus had dinner with his followers. The painting is actually a huge wall painting-4. 6 meters high and 8. 8 meters wide, which makes for a memorable viewing experience.

5 . Here are some of the Olympians who have shown the spirit of the Olympics in their unique ways at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games.

Brittany Bowe

The 33-year-old Brittany Bowe voluntarily gave up her spot on the US 500-meter speedskating team to her teammate and friend Erin Jackson. It cost her one of the two spots at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. Jackson, the world’s top-ranked woman for the event, slipped during the US Olympic qualifying contest.

“You are always ranked number one in the world and no one is more deserving than you to get an opportunity to compete in Beijing,” Bowe told Jackson.

Mikaela Shiffrin

The 26-year-old Alpine skier, who has won more World Cup races than anyone in history, woman or man, didn’t finish three of her five races in Beijing after either falling or skiing out of the course within a matter of seconds.

“I don’t know if anybody’s failed that hard with so many opportunities — maybe in the history of the Olympics. But I will face those failures with sportsmanship,” she joked.

Eileen Gu

The 18-year-old “Snow Princess” has struggled in qualifying in both of her Olympic events. She fell once during the big air jumps and had to increase the technical difficulty in the third round to ensure her spot in the final, where she went on to win the gold medal,

“I don’t know why I kept failing,” Gu said. “But I’m happy I was able to turn pressure into fuel and push through, ”

Lindsey Jacobellis

After a 16-year medal drought (旱季), the 36-year-old eventually overpowered a much younger field of competitors during the women’s snowboard cross and won her first career (职业) gold in Beijing. She went on to compete at the first-ever mixed team snowboard cross event with 40-year-old teammate Nick Baumgartner — again winning gold.

“Don’t count the old girl out,” Jacobellis said jokingly.

6 . Team China’s teenage freeski superstar Gu Ailing had halfpipe gold wrapped up by her second run at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou. “I’ve never taken a victory lap before in my entire life, but this time I felt like I finally deserve it,” Gu told reporters after becoming the first athlete to win Olympic medals in all three freeski events. Her big victory at the 2021 X Games in Aspen, Colorado, where she won Big Air, halfpipe and slopestyle golds, increased the expectation level for her Olympic performance in Beijing.

Born in California to a Chinese mother, Gu began competing for China when she was 15 in 2019, stating her aim to inspire millions of young people during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and promote the sport she loves. Since then, the outstanding part-time model and grade-A student has been busy gaining records, titles and firsts. All the while her superstar status has snowballed, as evidenced by her millions of followers on social media.

The 18-year-old also clearly feels she has achieved much away from the sporting arena at Beijing 2022 and she has become the inspiration for many. “After reading hundreds of messages that I get every day from young girls saying that they go sking because of me and they want to keep going or they, you know, broke their boundaries in some other way and felt inspired by something that I said, I feel all those little things are immensely rewarding.”

When asked about her future plan, she had no idea whether she would continue to compete in freestyle skiing. “I’m going to do whatever feels right, and hopefully I’ll be able to create some kind of positive change out of any position that I'm in,” said Gu.

7 . The Nobel Prize for literature is given to the person who shall have produced the most outstanding work in the field of literature. Here are four winners, along with the reasons.

Peter Handke

He is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director and screenwriter. He is most famous for his novel about his mother’s act of killing herself deliberately, A Sorrow Beyond Dreams. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for literature.

Kazuo Ishiguro

He is a British novelist, screenwriter and short-story writer. He was born in Japan, but his family moved to the UK in 1960 when he was five. He is known for The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go and The Saddest Music in the World. He was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for literature.

Bob Dylan

He is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 20th century. In 2016, he was named the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize for literature and it was the first time that the honor had been given to a musician. He was praised for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.

Svetlana Alexievich

She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize for literature. Her works reflected the suffering and courage in her time. She is known for her works about the women involved in World War II and the description of the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan.