This Day in History: 05/03/1469 - Niccolo Machiavelli born

Remember when playtime meant tempting fate? From toy belts that fired speeding projectiles to high-powered pogo sticks that sent us soaring, these perilous playthings were made for kids—but their risks were anything but child’s play.

In the summer of 1982, nearly 20,000 garment workers—mostly Asian American women—filled the streets of New York’s Chinatown in solidarity. Their strike won a decisive victory and challenged the “model minority” myth that still persists today.

The DSM once labeled homosexuality a mental disorder. In the 1960s, LGBTQ+ activists Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny pushed to change that, helping to spur its removal from the DSM in 1973.

After WWII, veterans returned home with "combat fatigue," now known as PTSD. Psychiatrist Robert Felix lobbied to establish the National Institute of Mental Health and elevated mental health awareness in America.