The Night Belongs To Ruth Handler

According to Wikipedia, Handler adapted the Barbie doll from the German “Bild Lilli” doll because she believed it “was important to a girl’s esteem that she plays with a doll with breasts.” Barbie may not necessarily have been beneficial to every girl’s self-esteem, but Handler also undertook other cool projects. After having a mastectomy, she was dissatisfied with breast prostheses available at the time and developed her own, which she called the “Nearly Me.” She also helped write the film Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World.

If, however, you’re not a Barbie fan, you can still raise a Friday glass to Robert Mapplethorpe, Kathy Griffin, or Matthew McConaughey, all born on this date. Or to these adorable owls — I’m not sure when they were born, but I love the noise they make.