Irna Phillips is the ‘the queen of the soaps’

'These Are My Children' was TV's first soap

The Irna Phillips production featured many of the same themes as radio soaps. The key difference was that the low-paid actors now no longer had scripts in front of them, leading to some wooden performances and flubbed lines. Reviews at the time were rather negative, highlighting the melodramatic plots and overly expository dialogue. The show ran for less than two months.

Soaps launched the careers of countless Hollywood A-listers

Soap operas may not be considered high culture, but many actors who would go on to win television and film’s highest honors got their start with soaps. That includes Julianne Moore (“As the World Turns”), Morgan Freeman (“Another World”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“Santa Barbara”), and Michael B. Jordan (“All My Children”).

The first nationally broadcast soap opera was 'Clara, Lu, 'n Em'

The show first aired in Chicago in 1930, but was then picked up by NBC and broadcast across the country in 1931. The show followed three women who lived in the same duplex. Listen to a 1934 episode below, including the preshow's soap-centric advertising.

‘Guiding Light’ was the longest-running scripted drama in broadcast history

The show ran for 72 years, starting as a radio program in 1937, and eventually transitioning to television in 1952. Along the way, it launched several Hollywood stars, like Kevin Bacon, James Earl Jones, and Christopher Walken. CBS canceled the show in 2009.

A 1981 wedding on 'General Hospital' drew 30 million viewers

The wedding of Luke and Laura was a pop culture sensation and remains the most-watched episode of any show in daytime television history. Even Elizabeth Taylor wanted to get in on the fun, requesting she be written into the episode, which the show’s staff happily made happen.

‘Twin Peaks’ was David Lynch’s ode to the soap opera

In the 1980s, David Lynch was primarily known as the director of art films like “Eraserhead” and “Blue Velvet.” But “Twin Peaks,” his primetime ABC show with writer Mark Frost, was a take on the soap opera, leaning into the genre’s tropes: stilted dialogue, affairs, missing person, and melodrama.

‘A Raisin in the Sun’ made history in 1959

The play was the first on Broadway written by a Black woman. Lorraine Hansberry, the playwright, was 29 when it debuted at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on March 11, 1959.

Phil Spector’s Philles Records was home to several definitive girl group singles

The label, formed by Spector and Lester Sill, released most of Spector’s early “Wall of Sound” recordings, including the Crystals’ “Then He Kissed Me” and the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby.” This 1963 compilation, “Philles Records Presents Today’s Hits,” collects some of the label’s early hits.

The story of Marion Stokes, a woman who taped 30 years of TV

Marion Stokes was an activist archivist frustrated at the lack of a record or access to what was broadcast on TV. So in 1975, Stokes began taping the broadcasts, day and night, 24 hours a day, and continued to do so for 30 years, racking up over 70,000 tapes that span the Iran Contra crisis to the evolution of cable news. Read about her fascinating story here.

Desi Arnaz devised the three-camera method for sitcoms

Early television shows were filmed with a single camera capturing multiple takes from numerous angles, making for an arduous filming process that sucked the energy from comedies filmed in front of live studio audiences. Arnaz proposed a three-camera setup that allowed the show to be filmed like a play, which soon become an industry standard.

Advertising powerhouse Mary Wells Lawrence was the first female CEO of a public company listed on the NYSE

The TV show “Mad Men’s” character Peggy Olson is inspired by Wells Lawrence, who founded ad agency Wells Rich Greene in 1966. Wells Lawrence is also known for her famous Alka-Seltzer campaign slogan, “plop plop fizz fizz.”

Parton hosted two separate variety television shows called ‘Dolly’

Parton became a magnetic television performer on “The Porter Wagoner Show,” something that would pay off in dividends later in her career. Both her 1976 show “Dolly” and the 1987 series of the same name featured musical performances from Parton and various guests, along with lighthearted segments featuring contemporary stars. You can watch the fifth episode of 1987 below, with special guest Kermit the Frog.

Charles Dickens' novels inspired a young Norman Rockwell

Rockwell is considered a narrative painter who tells stories through his portraits of everyday Americans. The interest in using images to tell stories began at a young age, when his father read Dickens aloud to him while the young Norman illustrated the books’ scenes.

Minnelli is the goddaughter of Kay Thompson, the author of the 'Eloise' books

Many people speculate that Eloise, the little girl living at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in Thompson's popular series, is Minnelli. The actress, however, denies the claim. Still, people continue to theorize that Minnelli likely influenced the privileged, precocious character's traits.

How Lyndon Johnson created public radio

The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, part of the president's Great Society plan, established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which later led to the incorporation of National Public Radio. Originally, the bill was intended solely to establish public television; before Johnson signed the act, slips of paper reading "and radio" were literally Scotch-taped next to each mention of "television."

The story of the Radium Girls, who exposed the dangers of radioactive paint

After radium was discovered in 1898, companies began using radium-based paints on watch and clock dials to create a glow-in-the-dark effect. Women who worked to apply the paint were encouraged to use their lips and tongues to help create the fine point needed to draw small numbers, unknowingly poisoning themselves.

Sylvia Robinson is considered ‘the Godmother of Hip-Hop’

While hip-hop was soundtracking countless parties in the early ‘70s, Robinson saw the music’s potential. She began writing, producing, and releasing some of the music’s earliest singles through her Sugar Hill Records label and helped build a place in the music industry for the young music. Robinson’s groundbreaking work led to a 2022 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

'The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them'

- Ida B. Wells, co-founder of the NAACP (1862-1931)

How Audrey Hepburn became a spy during the Nazi occupation

Despite her status as one of Hollywood’s most beloved actresses, Audrey Hepburn experienced a war-torn childhood in Europe that few people know about. During her upbringing in the Netherlands, the Nazi occupation caused Hepburn to quit her life as a ballerina and made her family go hungry. In the face of adversity, Hepburn bravely carried messages for the Dutch resistance. Learn more about the star’s compelling life before finding fame.

'It takes a lot of courage to be happy, but I've got courage, so I think I will be happy again.'

- Actress Florence Henderson (1934–2016)

How Van Gogh painted 'Irises' in an asylum

Van Gogh’s painting titled “Irises” (1889) remains one of his most-recognized works. Created soon after the artist checked himself into an asylum, the oil painting depicts flowers from the overgrown garden in the institution. Discover more about the work and other masterpieces Van Gogh constructed during a personally tumultuous time.

The Victorian queen of ice cream

Agnes Marshall invented "ices," the Victorian equivalent of ice cream, through her books and equipment, as shown in the pictures below. Her 1888 book also includes a recipe for "cornets with cream," an early version of the ice cream cone, which was a major advancement from the time period's most popular method for eating ice cream: licking it from a shared parlor dish.

The Tonys got their name from Antoinette Perry

In 1946, trailblazing director Antoinette Perry died after decades of creative success. The following year, Perry's professional partner, Brock Pemberton, founded a series of awards to honor her. While handing out an award at the first ceremony, Pemberton referred to it using Antoinette's nickname of "Tony," and the name caught on.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Joan Didion's 1975 commencement speech at UCR encouraged graduates to think outside of themselves

Filled with many widely circulated quotes, the talk addresses people's tendency to focus only on their personal ideologies and perceptions of the world. Didion advocates for being an active participant in the world, rather than existing only in our own bubbles.

The iconic photo of the Wright brothers' first flight was the photographer’s first

Using a then-state-of-the-art Korona V, rescue member John T. Daniels was tasked with squeezing the device’s rubber bulb the moment the plane left the wooden track on the sand. The camera produced negatives on 5 by 7 sheets of glass.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

Brian Wilson wrote the Beach Boys' 'Don't Worry Baby' for the Ronettes, but the legendary girl group rejected it.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

Poison ivy's characteristic rash is caused by an allergic response to an oily compound in the plant called urushiol.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace