On August 12, the network celebrates International Youth Day, Vinyl Record Day, World Elephant Day.
On August 12, 1962, Pavlo Popovych, the first Ukrainian, went into space, on August 12, 1999, a decision was made in Ukraine to close all sober houses, on August 12, 1930, the famous financier and philanthropist George Soros was born.
International Youth Day
Every year on August 12, young people around the world gather to celebrate their special holiday – International Youth Day. This holiday was established by the United Nations in 1999 to draw attention to important issues facing the younger generation. On this day, various events are held in different countries of the world: conferences, festivals, exhibitions, volunteer actions, which aim not only to entertain, but also to inspire young people to actively participate in public life.
Interesting facts
International Youth Day is a platform for young people to voice their rights, ambitions and concerns. Each year, the UN chooses a theme for this day that reflects current issues affecting young people globally. For example, the 2023 theme focused on the importance of green skills for a sustainable future.
Today, there are more than 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 living in the world, which is approximately 24% of the entire global population. This is the largest youth cohort in human history, and the future of our planet depends on them.
Many global changes, such as environmental movements, campaigns for equal rights, the struggle for quality education, started with young people. A vivid example is the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who started her “school strike for the climate” at the age of 15 and later became the face of the global environmental movement.
Cultural movements, music, fashion and technological innovations are often initiated by young people. They not only perceive new things, but also actively create new trends. For example, in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic closed the doors of schools and universities, young people around the world actively switched to online learning and created new forms of communication in quarantine conditions.
States and international organizations pay more and more attention to youth support. In particular, investments in the education, professional skills and health of young people are key to building stable and prosperous societies. Without such investment, there is a risk that this large cohort will remain inactive in economic and social life.
Vinyl Day
This day unites music lovers, collectors and musicians who pay tribute to vinyl records – a symbol of the golden age of music. Vinyl records have not only experienced ups and downs in popularity, but have also become a true cultural phenomenon.
Interesting facts
In the 2000s, vinyl experienced a real renaissance, when the demand for it began to grow rapidly. Despite the development of digital technologies and streaming services, vinyl records have become popular again due to their unique sound quality and nostalgia for analog times. In 2021, vinyl sales surpassed CD sales in the US, marking the first time in over three decades.
Record Store Day was started in 2007 to support independent record stores that sold vinyl records. The day features special limited edition releases that can only be purchased at independent stores, making it a true collector’s day.
Vinyl records have a warm, rich sound that cannot be reproduced on digital media. This is due to the fact that the sound on a vinyl record is recorded in an analog format, which allows you to preserve more sound details. Music lovers believe that the sound of vinyl is much more natural and pleasant to the ear.
Many vinyl record covers have become real works of art. For example, Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” album cover is one of the most famous in music history. Collectors appreciate not only the sound itself, but also the visual design of the records, which often reflects the spirit of the era.
Some vinyl records become real rarities. For example, the first pressing of the album “The Beatles” (“The White Album”) with the serial number 0000001 was sold at auction for more than $790,000. This makes vinyl records not only a source of musical pleasure, but also a profitable investment.
World Elephant Day
Every year on August 12, the world celebrates World Elephant Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of the threats facing these majestic animals and promoting their protection and conservation. This celebration was started in 2012 by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clarke, together with the Elephant Conservation Fund of Thailand. Today, this day unites millions of people in the fight for the survival of elephants, which are a symbol of wisdom, strength and compassion.
Interesting facts
African and Asian elephants are threatened with extinction due to poaching, habitat loss and human conflict. Over the past 100 years, the number of African elephants has declined by 90%, and today only about 415,000 remain on the continent. Asian elephants are in even greater danger, with a population of only about 40,000.
Despite the ban on international ivory trade, poaching remains a serious problem. Every year in Africa, tens of thousands of elephants are killed for their tusks, which leads to a critical reduction in the population. Campaigns on World Elephant Day are aimed at combating this phenomenon and attracting the attention of the world community to the need to strengthen the protection of these animals.
Elephants are known for their high intelligence and capacity for emotions. They have a complex social structure where older elephants play a key role in raising the young. Elephants can express sadness, joy, sympathy and even remember events and other elephants for many years. These qualities make them one of the most amazing animals on the planet.
There are numerous elephant conservation programs around the world aimed at protecting their habitats, fighting poaching and ensuring peaceful coexistence between humans and elephants. For example, there are numerous national parks and reserves in Africa where elephants can live in relative safety.
Elephants occupy a special place in the culture of many peoples. In Indian culture, the elephant Ganesha is one of the most revered gods, symbolizing wisdom, wealth and prosperity. In Thailand, elephants are considered a national symbol and are associated with the country’s history and religion.
Historical events on this day
1915 year, the first combat use of a torpedo-carrying aircraft took place during the First World War. A British Short Type 184 aircraft successfully sank an Ottoman ship, which was a significant achievement of military aviation at the time.
1916 – th year, near the city of Berezhany, fierce battles began for Mount Lysonya between the Ukrainian Sich riflemen and the army of the Russian Empire. These battles became an important part of the history of the struggle for Ukrainian independence.
1918 year was marked by the introduction of a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages at railway stations in the USA, which became one of the elements of a nationwide campaign against alcohol.
1919-th, the united armies of the Ukrainian People’s Republic launched an attack on Kyiv and Odesa, trying to liberate these key cities from the enemy.
1933 year was marked by the first football match of the national team of Ukraine. The opponent of the Ukrainian team was the Turkish national team, and this match marked the beginning of international football competitions for Ukrainians.
1949 The Geneva Conventions were signed in 2008, which defined international standards for the protection of war victims. In the same year, a curious event took place in London: due to the starlings perched on the minute hand of Big Ben, the clock began to show time four and a half minutes late.
1981 In 2008, the IBM PC personal computer was presented, which became revolutionary in the development of computer technologies and marked the beginning of the mass use of personal computers around the world.
1990 The year went down in history because the Mound of Mourning was laid near the city of Lubna – a monument to the victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933, which reminds of the tragedy that took millions of lives.
U 1992 In 2008, the USA, Canada and Mexico signed the agreement on the creation of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), which became the most important economic step towards the integration of these three countries and the creation of the largest single trade space in the world.
U 2010 In 2016, the highest temperature in the history of Ukraine was recorded in Luhansk, which reached +42°C, which became an extreme weather phenomenon for the country.
On August 12, 1962, the first Ukrainian, the fourth pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR, Pavlo Romanovych Popovych, a native of the village of Uzyn, Bilotserkiv district, Kyiv region, went into space. His call sign was “Berkut”. The flight lasted from August 12 to 15, and it was during this flight that the first video reports from orbit took place, which were broadcast on USSR television and in the Intervision system. On the first day of the flight, at the request of the designer Serhii Korolev, Pavlo Popovych sang the Ukrainian song “I look at the sky and I think” to the whole country, which became the first song that was heard in space.
Pavlo Popovych spent 2 days, 22 hours and 57 minutes in orbit, circling the Earth 48 times. For the successful implementation of the world’s first group space flight and the courage and heroism shown at the same time, Pavel Popovych was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
He was a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR for six consecutive convocations. In an interview with the Ukrainian magazine “Aviation and Time” in 2001, Pavlo Romanovych noted:
“If you carefully analyze, cosmonautics originates from Ukraine. Just look: Kybalchych, Kondratyuk, Korolev, Chelomey, Yangel, Glushko… Ukrainians made a huge contribution to the development of world cosmonautics. And I’m Ukrainian, and I’m proud of it.”
This flight not only emphasized the important role of Ukrainians in the development of cosmonautics, but also became a landmark event in the history of space research, which once again confirmed the scientific and cultural contribution of Ukraine to the global achievements of mankind.
On August 12, 1999, a decision was made in Ukraine to close all sober living rooms. The main reason for this decision was their unprofitability. These institutions, which were once an integral part of the Soviet reality, were considered a real invention of the Soviet system, because there were no analogues in the world.
For those who are interested in numbers, there were a total of 154 such institutions in Ukraine, in particular, 5 sober houses operated in Kharkiv. Formally, these institutions were classified as medical institutions, the purpose of which was to provide assistance to people in a state of moderate alcohol intoxication until they sober up. The first sober house was organized in 1931 in the USSR in the system of the People’s Commissariat of Health, but already in 1939, due to the rowdiness of the customers, they were transferred to the police.
For those who want to expand their knowledge, it is worth noting that the removal of drunks from the streets was carried out by police patrols, which included two policemen and a driver who drove a car with the inscription “special medical service”. These outfits were forbidden to take part in resolving family conflicts and to deliver drunks home. In the sober house itself, the “client” was provided with paid services, such as pouring cold water, often from a hose, and a bed in the cell. In the 50s and 60s of the last century, workers who were sent to a sober house were poured vodka in the morning to “recover,” and this practice was preserved even in the 90s in the LTP (treatment and labor prevention center).
The cost of services in a sober house was 15 rubles per receipt, and at the end of the 80s – 25 rubles. After a second visit to the sober house, the photo of the “hero” could end up on the “board of shame” stand. The incident was necessarily reported to the workplace, and then discussed at trade union or party meetings.
It is interesting that in 2010, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine initiated the idea of returning sober people. However, the statistics of law enforcement officers, according to which about 80% of crimes in Ukraine are committed at home in a state of alcohol intoxication, seemed to human rights defenders not convincing enough, and the problem was “hyped up”. Currently, the problem with alcohol has also been added to the problem with cannabis.
On August 12, 1930, the famous financier and philanthropist George Soros, who is often called “The Great and Terrible”, was born in Budapest, in the Jewish family of a middle-class lawyer. His real name is Schwartz. According to various estimates, Soros’ fortune is about 8.6 billion US dollars.
George Soros is an undeniably talented man, and some of his quotes have become widely known:
- “God gave me an extremely short memory, which allows me to deal not with the past, but with the future.”
- “The music has already ended, but they are still dancing.” (about the collapse of the financial market)
- “I did not accept the rules proposed by others. If I did that, I would no longer be among the living.”
- “My principle is that, first of all, I strive to survive, and only then to earn.”
- “The worse the situation becomes, the less it takes to fix it, and the greater the advantage.”
- “Revolutions usually begin with enthusiasm and end with tears.”
- “When they tell me about honesty, I check my pockets.”
It is known that George Soros is the only person in the world who earned a billion dollars in one day. However, as the financier himself notes, “money is only one of the necessary components of success.”
Soros remains one of the most influential and at the same time controversial figures in the world today, and his activities attract both admiration and criticism.
