Origin of Everything

When did we start defining sexual orientation and how did that result in "straight" becoming a synonym for "heterosexual"? Today Danielle follows the winding history of the word through medical terms, lavender linguistics, and community slang.

E-Cigarettes are everywhere. Vaping has become so ubiquitous that "vape" was Oxford Dictionaries word of the year in 2014. Today, Danielle looks at how and why vaping took off. She examines the early 20th century prototypes for electric vaporizers and smokeless, non-tobacco cigarettes. She also compares the marketing and debates surrounding e-cigarettes to that of their tobacco counterparts.

When picturing a jury, you probably imagine 12 people - no more, no less. But did you know there is no hard and fast rule about how many members are required on a jury? Today, Danielle looks at the differences between petit and grand juries and the historical accidents that have lead many to believe that juries MUST have twelve members.

What does it mean to say someone is a "good" student? Today Danielle breaks down the stereotype of the perfect student and why grades alone don't define children. She also examines the systems and barriers that stop young girls and students of color from reaching their fullest potential.

Writing to a complete stranger about your most pressing, personal issues seems a bit odd. But that's exactly what the advice column is! From their origin as the Google of the 1600s to the booming renaissance of today, Danielle examines the strange history of advice columns.

It's a weird time to be alive. A pandemic is sweeping the world and life as we know it has gone through a seismic shift in a matter of weeks. But this isn't the first time humans have encountered an epidemic. Today, Danielle (from the safety of her Chicago flat) looks back at a few of the world's biggest pandemics. From the Black Death of the 1300s to the 17th c. Plague and the 1918 Spanish Flu, Danielle explores the human and economic tolls of past pandemics and what we can learn to prepare for life during and after COVID-19.

2020 marks 100 years of National Suffrage for women in the United States! Today Danielle looks back on the long road to ratification for the 19th Amendment. She explains how the Seneca Falls Convention wasn't seen as important at the time and how some of the most famous suffragists of the time (Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton) wrote a whole history book to ensure they were remembered.

Humanity didn't always know about the invisible viruses, bacteria, and microbes that can cause disease. But that doesn't mean we didn't come up with some truly bizarre ideas. From the four humors and miasma theory to bloodletting and trepanation (aka literally drilling holes in people's heads), Danielle traces humanity's winding road to the Germ Theory of Disease that revolutionized the medical profession.

We're all familiar with the haunting images of the concentration camps of World War II. But the history of those concentration camps extends back to the late 19th. century and the invention of barbed wire and automatic rifle. Today Danielle looks at the grim origin of concentration and internment camps and the various countries (including Spain, Great Britain, and the United States), who used similar tactic long before the Nazi Regime.

June is Pride Month and if not for coronavirus streets around the world would be filled with the LGBTQIA Community living loud and proud. But how did the New York City Stonewall Riots turn into a month-long celebration? And specifically, how did we get from picketed protests like the Annual Reminder in Philadelphia to massive parades and parties around the world?

The first thing to pop into your mind when you hear "Latino" is probably people from Latin America - places like Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, etc. But where exactly did the history of that word come from, and has it always meant Central America and South America as well as the Caribbean? Today Danielle traces the origin of the term "Latino" and the debates that still surround it as well as the term "Hispanic" and "Latinx."

Laws are intended to maintain order and promote justice, but what happens when those laws promote and spread discrimination and bigotry? Today Danielle analyzes the discriminatory history US law, tracing its origins in colonialism and chattel slavery up through the Jim Crow era and today's mass incarceration.

Will we ever shake hands again?! With the current state of the world, no one can really say. But that got us wondering... why do we shake hands in the first place? Today, Danielle traces the history of the handshake from Babylonia and the early Greeks to the present.

Laws are intended to maintain order and promote justice, but what happens when those laws promote and spread discrimination and bigotry? Today Danielle analyzes the homophobic history of US law, tracing its origins in colonialism all the way to present-day court cases like Obergefell v. Hodges. This is the second video in our examination of legal discrimination in the United States.

"Socialism" is one of THE most divisive words in America and it has been for a long time. With Democratic Socialism gaining more and more popularity, Danielle takes a look back at the long history of Socialism in America. From the Utopian Socialist communities of the 19th century to the labor strikes and Anarchist Bombings of 1919 that helped fuel the Red Scare, we explore America's complicated history with Socialism.

Language is constantly changing and ethnonyms are no exception. From "Negro" to "Colored" and "African American" to "Black," the people and cultures of African origin living in the United States have had many names. Today Danielle looks at the etymology and reclamation surrounding Black history and identity.

America's last major epidemic was the HIV/AIDS crisis of 1980s and 1990s. In order to better understand our current circumstances, Danielle is looking back at the legacies of action and inaction surrounding HIV/AIDS and how the government's response then informs our approach to COVID-19 now.

John Adams warned us. George Washington begged us not to. Despite numerous warnings, here we are on the cusp of the 2020 election with two major parties locked in a perpetual struggle for power. Today Danielle looks at the emergence of the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans shortly after the United States's foundation and how these early parties evolved into the Two-Party System of the Democratic and Republican parties we know today.

You're probably aware that the United States healthcare system is letting down many Black Americans. Today, Danielle looks at the historic reasons for distrust of medical establishment in the Black community as well as why these huge health disparities still exist.

With ongoing protests across the United States and the globe against law enforcement violence and extrajudicial killings of people in Black, brown, and impoverished communities, the world is contemplating the place of police in our society. Some argue for reforms, others for defunding, and others still for the complete abolition of police. This isn't the first time any of these things have happened. Today, Danielle looks at policing, from its colonial night watch origins to the modern-day, as well as attempts to change the institution over time.

In 2014, writer Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article for The Atlantic “The Case for Reparations” went viral. Tracing everything from the racial terror of slavery to the rampant housing discrimination of the 20th century, Coates made the case for financial reparations for the descendants of those who were enslaved in the US. However, the argument for reparations extends back much further than 2014 and also has significance beyond the Black American community. Today Danielle talks about one of the most controversial topics moving through American politics for over 150 years.

Here in the United States, when we think about the term "slavery" we think about the transatlantic slave trade and the institution of chattel slavery. But this wasn't the only type of enslavement that took place in the Americas and the Caribbean. Today Danielle looks at the complicated history surrounding the European enslavement of Indigenous peoples.

It's with heavy hearts that we're announcing the end of Origin of Everything. Thank you to all of our curious viewers who have explored the light-hearted and hilarious as well as the grim but incredibly important histories that define our world. While we won't be making any new videos, the channel will remain up. Please continue to learn from and share these resources as we all work to better understand the world around us!