Pondering my life and those who inhabit it, I’ve come to question my understanding of “cool people” in history. Just because someone isn’t known to the world doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be recognized.

Their name may not appear in a Google search, and no archive may contain the beautiful story of their life. Yet my grandmother, Amalya Simonyan, called Greta by her loved ones especially deserves recognition for the amazing person she is.

Amalya was born on April 13, 1938, shortly before the outbreak of World War II. She recalled playing in the dirt with her younger siblings when a man in uniform came and scooped her into his arms.

“When my mother passed out upon seeing him, that is when I knew he must have been my dad.”

She must have told me this story a hundred times when I was younger.

Among the stories she has repeated countless times, there are two that have always stuck with me.

The first was about her greatest dream: becoming an actress. She would sneak out of her house to audition at the theater in her city, even going as far as earning leading roles. Her older brother eventually discovered her name in a program, and a major conflict broke out within her family.

During that time in Armenia, the 1950’s, it was not considered “honorable” for a woman of good reputation to be an actress. Amalya, who was eighteen at the time, gave up her dream to please her parents. She then decided to marry my grandfather, Gevorg. He had first seen her when he attended one of her plays, before she was forbidden from performing.

Little did she know, her biggest role was still ahead of her. Beginning at only nineteen years old, Amalya took on the responsibility of caring for Gevorg’s parents as if they were her own. She raised four children, washed laundry by hand, ran errands on foot, managed the entire household, and put all of her children through higher education.

The second story that has always stayed with me is one of her heroism during the devastating Armenian earthquake of 1988.

Around noon on December 7, Amalya had sent her husband to work, one child to school, one to university, and the other two to take her newborn granddaughter for a checkup. She prepared lunch for herself and her disabled, elderly mother-in-law, whom she has mentioned “not liking” thousands of times.

When the earthquake struck, Amalya recalled, “My mother-in-law struck her cane against the floor, and though she couldn’t speak well, she said to me, ‘Go! Run! The house is going to collapse.’”

Their century-old, stone-built home was unlikely to withstand the earthquake.

Four-foot-eleven and weighing only ninety pounds, Amalya went into her mother-in-law’s room, hooked her arm underneath her body, and dragged her outside to safety, knowing the roof could collapse at any moment.

“I couldn’t just leave her there,” she later explained.

It took years to rebuild and recover. Thankfully, Amalya did not lose her home or any immediate family members. As a result of carrying her much heavier mother-in-law, Amalya has suffered from years of back problems and chronic pain.

She fears being alone and goes on high alert whenever she hears an unexpected noise.

In the late 1990s, Amalya came to the United States. She eventually settled here and helped my mother and father raise my sister and me. I grew up baking bread and making cookies with her. At night, she would tell me the same five tales she had memorized so I could fall asleep.

Today, Amalya is eighty-eight years old, and I am the one who helps take care of her.

But now, when I look at her, I don’t see a frail, tiny, yet fiery old woman who needs me to yell the same thing seven times because she refuses to wear hearing aids.

I see the little girl who was reunited with her father after World War II.

I see the girl who snuck out of her home to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.

I see the beauty queen my late grandfather must have fallen in love with.

I see the hero who risked her own life to save a woman who had spent years making her life difficult.

Finally, I see the grandmother who passed the torch of dreaming to me, the belief in my own dreams, the perseverance to keep going, and the courage to do the right thing.

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How far in the past must something be before it is considered history? The year 2017 was nearly a decade ago. Yet, it feels strange to discuss a historical event that I watched unfold in real time.

Before becoming one of the co-founders of the famous American fast-food chain Dave’s Hot Chicken, Arman Oganesyan posted funny Armenian videos on Vine. For those who do not remember or are unfamiliar with the ancient days of Vine, it was a social media app similar to Tik Tok that allowed users to post six-second videos.

I followed Arman’s page and often found myself entertained by his content. He was not particularly famous at the time; following him felt like being part of a niche fandom. Then, among his usual comedy videos, he began inviting people to check out the pop-up hot chicken spot he and his friends had opened in a random Hollywood parking lot.

Sweat glistened on his brow and hope filled his voice as smoke rose from the fryer behind him. Their chicken looked so delicious that I thought to myself, “As soon as I set foot in California, I am going to visit.”

Only four years later, I finally visited one of their restaurants in Hollywood. A few years after that, I was able to visit one in my own state. Within a couple of years after that, Arman, Dave, Tommy and Gary had sold their restaurant for a billion dollars. According to the Armenian Report, Oganesyan mentioned the founders were able hold ownership of around thirty-percent of the company that is dispersed among the friends.

How does a business go from a $900 budget, their parents picnic tables and a random parking-lot to a billion dollar empire?

Arman Oganesyan, who had a background in marketing and a love for fried chicken, noticed that Nashville-style hot chicken was trending at the time. However, there were not enough hot chicken restaurants in Los Angeles to meet the growing demand.

Oganesyan then approached his best friend, Dave Kopushyan, a chef with experience working in Michelin-starred restaurants, and suggested that they start a fried chicken business. Dave was reluctant.

After much convincing, Arman persuaded his friend by saying, “Look, man, if there’s anybody in the world who is going to make an amazing chicken sandwich that everyone’s going to love, I know it’s going to be you.”

Dave then asked, “You think so?”

Arman responded, “Trust me, I know.”

Over the following months, Arman and Dave visited different chicken restaurants, watched documentaries about fried chicken, and experimented with several recipes. Later, their friend Tommy stepped in and suggested that they start the very next day.

The three friends went shopping for supplies, purchased a ninety-dollar fryer, and brought other items from their parents’ homes. They also bought a rubber chicken for one dollar, named it Dave, and used it as their profile photo.

Their first location was a modest space in a parking lot whose landlord Tommy knew. The area seemed crowded, unconventional, and uninviting. Arman explained that they were fans of the only other hot chicken restaurant operating in the area at the time. To work around permitting issues and avoid taking customers from the other restaurant, they decided to open their pop-up at 7 p.m. and operate throughout the night.

After a famous food writer posted about their food, their popularity skyrocketed, and they were eventually able to open their first permanent location. At that point, Tommy’s older brother, Gary, joined the team and had his daughter design their now-famous rubber chicken logo.

Fast-forward about ten years: Arman, Dave, Tommy, and Gary were able to sell their company for one billion dollars while retaining partial ownership. Furthermore, they created a fifty-million-dollar pool from their own earnings to provide bonuses to their employees and team members, making many of them millionaires. In the words of Oganesyan, “If you’re making enough, you might as well change a couple people’s lives.”

So, who was responsible for the success of this franchise? Was it Arman, who first had the idea? Was it Dave, whose culinary skills created the recipe? Was it Tommy, who pushed his friends to take the risk and actually begin? Or was it Gary, who supported them along the way?

Having friends who believe in you, and whom you believe in, can make a person a billionaire before they ever get a check.

If you have not already, go get some Dave’s Hot Chicken. Yes, it really is that good.

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Credits:

Dave’s Hot Chicken. (n.d.). About us. https://about.daveshotchicken.com/about/

The Armenian Report. (2025, May 30). Armenian-founded Dave’s Hot Chicken acquired for $1 billion in historic deal. https://www.thearmenianreport.com/post/armenian-founded-dave-s-hot-chicken-acquired-for-1-billion-in-historic-deal

LA Times Studios. (2026, February 24). Sizzlin’ hot: Arman Oganesyan on building Dave’s Hot Chicken | Business Innovators Unplugged [Video]. YouTube.

An ancient disease that is currently cured by antibiotics doesn’t seem to get much attention in the twenty-first century because it isn’t as common. Yet, there was a time when this skin disease made a person susceptible to judgment and ridicule. Often, it was believed to be inflicted by God Himself as punishment for sin. Further, it caused patch-like skin irritation, eye damage, nerve damage, etc.

Alice Augusta Ball was born to a middle-class American family who placed a high importance on education. Her mother, Laura, was a photographer, and her father, James, was a lawyer. Her initial exposure to chemistry was her photographer grandfather’s dark room.

In Seattle High School, Alice demonstrated her brilliance by advancing through her studies gracefully. Later, she would attend the University of Washington and earn two degrees: pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacy. The emphasis of her undergraduate studies focused on the “chemical analysis of Kava plants” (Krichbaum, 2025).

Her work on the kava plant grabbed the attention of two doctors at Hawai’i University who had hoped to find a cure for leprosy, otherwise known as Hansen’s disease. Granted, at the time, chaulmoogra oil was the substance used to treat leprosy. However, the oil was absorbed poorly through oral consumption and was too thick and painful when injected (Krichbaum, 2025). So, the doctors had tasked twenty-three-year-old Alice with extracting the active ingredient from the chaulmoogra oil, as she had previously done in her work with the kava root plant.

The problem was solved, and the approach was known as the “Ball Method,” which isolated the active ingredient that would allow patients with leprosy to receive the injection without pain and permitted effective absorption.

The social stigma around leprosy had confined thousands of people to “camps” that contained the infected, who were forcibly removed from society and legally pronounced dead. If they had children during their imprisonment, their children were taken from them and given up for adoption (Krichbaum, 2025).

A disease older than the Bible suddenly had a hopeful cure for the first time in history, and thousands of people were given a second chance at life.

It was all because of Alice Augusta Ball.

A year after her discovery, at the young age of twenty-four, Alice unexpectedly and tragically passed away before she could publish her findings and assume the credit that was rightfully hers.

One of the doctors who had initially reached out to Alice to solve a problem they had failed trying to solve, claimed ownership of her work, publishing her findings in his name without bothering to give her any credit. For years, this had gone unnoticed until a historian was able to come across her original thesis.

Alice Augusta Ball was a brilliant, intelligent scientist. Her work was nothing short of groundbreaking, and she deserves to be remembered, not for her gender, or her race, or her age, but for who she was: an innovative genius who helped thousands of people regain their lives by the capacity of her mind and the devotion to her education.

“The Ball Method remained the primary leprosy treatment until antibiotics were developed in the 1940s” (Krichbaum, 2025).

Additionally, “The Ball Method” also happens to be a short historical-drama film released in 2020, more than a century after, describing the extraordinary life of Alice Augusta Ball as she wrestled with discrimination amid her discoveries.

Her untimely death is nothing short of a tragedy, yet one wonders if the attempted erasure from history speaks to the unfortunate reality that, regardless of the immense work that is conducted, or how talented a person is, they will be defined by things they cannot control.

May the world grant more Alice Augusta Balls, hardworking prodigies, without whose dedication the cure would have remained in the lab coat pockets of those whose credibility was forged through deception.

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Thank you.

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Credits and Resources:

Abebe, D. (Director). (2020). The Ball Method [Short film]. University of Southern California.

American Chemical Society. (n.d.). Alice Augusta Ball: A trailblazing chemist created a viable treatment for leprosy. https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/alice-ball.html

Krichbaum, E. (2025). Alice Ball. National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/alice-ball

The Leprosy Mission International. (n.d.). What is Hansen’s disease? https://www.leprosymission.org/what-is-leprosy/what-is-hansens-disease/

Why do superheroes exist?

Were they created to be a dynamic personification of the American dream, intended for political propaganda? Perhaps to encourage those fighting for democracy?

The distinguishable thing about the United States of America is its unity with contrasting, contradicting, and opposing forces. In the face of uncertainty, it is easy to forget that freedom is promised for those who dare. Not a right by status, but earned by strength of character.

Conversely, the Soviet Union hid its authentic heroes. Ordinary men and women were buried under censorship until they could conjure up a version of the story that was appropriate for the public.

We’re all equal, yes, but we are not the same. Lest anyone discover what they could be, because if they did, well, they just might save the world.

Shavarsh Karapetyan: “He is an 11-time World Record holder, 17-time World Champion, 13-time European Champion, and 7-time Soviet Champion” (Novikov et al., 2015). Yet, Karapetyan isn’t most known for his athletic ability, but rather his selflessness.

On September 16, 1976, Shavarsh was jogging with his brother after swim practice when he saw a trolleybus lunge into thirty-three feet of waste-infested waters.

“Karapetyan swam to the bus, and despite almost zero visibility in the dirty water, broke the back window of the bus with his legs and began pulling people out” (Novikov et al., 2015). Time was running short; he had about thirty seconds to rescue each person. Data is conflicting on whether he pulled out forty-six people or less, but he dove in and out forty times.

Twenty of them survived.

He sustained severe injuries; broken glass had sliced through his leg. After the incident, he suffered pneumonia and sepsis and was unconscious for forty-five days.

“The pain was unbearable… but then I did not think about it, I understood that there was little time” (Fraga, 2026).

No radioactive spiders, no supernatural zaps of power, just an average man with absolute courage, determination, and empathy.

“I knew that I could only save so many lives, I was afraid to make a mistake,” Karapetyan mentioned later in an interview, where he explained that it was so dark that he grabbed the back of a seat instead of a passenger, and the regret of not being able to save an additional person is the thing that still haunts his memory, not the trauma he suffered in his heroic act (Novikov et al., 2015).

The craziest part about this legend’s story is the fact that he did it THREE TIMES. Yes, THREE separate occasions.

1974: While he was on the bus, the driver abandoned the seat to check something with the engine. Consequently, the bus was on its way off of a cliff, had Shavarsh Karapetyan not broken the partition and taken control of the vehicle, saving the lives of the passengers.

1976: The trolleybus incident mentioned above.

1985: Karapetyan happened to be close by a burning building. He immediately assisted firefighters in rescuing several individuals while he suffered through burns and wounds that required hospitalization.

After recovering, Karapetyan returned to training and set one final world record: swimming 0.25 miles with scuba gear in 3 minutes and 6.2 seconds. It was his eleventh world record, but the injuries from the rescue had permanently damaged his health, forcing him to end his athletic career (Novikov et al., 2015).

Still, there’s no series about him. No movie, no book. No entitlement on his behalf, as he perceives his acts as normal things decent people should do.

“Karapetyan’s feat was not immediately and widely recognized. The photos from the accident scene were censored and released to the public only two years later, and the first newspaper article about this accident and Shavarsh’s heroic rescue actions was published six long years after the incident” (Novikov et al., 2015).

So heroes are hidden, villains are emphasized, and those of us who dare to believe in the goodness of people are left searching in the dark for those we can pull out of the sewage-infested waters of corruption and tyranny that try to tell us we are doomed.

No one on that trolleybus had earned the right to be freed from that bus; they were just lucky that Shavarsh Karapetyan was nearby and ready.

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If you enjoyed this story and would like to continue receiving more stories about Cool People every week, then I’d humbly ask for your support at any capacity so I am able to conduct effective research and continue to share the stories of people who really do deserve more recognition for their character. This publication was created for the intention of inspiring and uplifting.

Thank you.

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Credits:

Admin. (2018, June 18). True story of a real life superhero: Shavarsh Karapetyan. PeopleOfAr. https://www.peopleofar.com/2014/02/08/true-story-of-a-real-life-superhero-shavarsh-karapetyan/

Fraga, K. (2026, January 21). The story of Shavarsh Karapetyan, the champion swimmer who saved 20 people from a sinking trolleybus. All That’s Interesting. https://allthatsinteresting.com/shavarsh-karapetyan

Novikov, S., Rosenthal, M., & Pine, R. (2015, October 5). Shavarsh Karapetyan: The underwater battle of the champion. Heroes: What They Do & Why We Need Them. https://blog.richmond.edu/heroes/tag/shavarsh-karapetyan-hero/

“I wonder if anyone has participated in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games?” I asked my sister as we watched the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics of 2026.

“Probably not. These athletes dedicate their entire lives to their sports. It isn’t probable that someone can manage to do both.”

Before her answer settled, Edward Eagan’s name popped up on my Google search.

As it turned out, not only had Eagan participated in both seasons, but he had attained gold in both boxing and bobsledding, which, by the way, was a sport he had never partaken in prior to receiving the offer. As if being the only athlete in the world to win gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics wasn’t impressive enough, Eagan had also served in the U.S. Army as an artillery lieutenant stationed in France during World War I.

Upon his discharge, he entered Yale University. During the initial year of his studies, Eagan participated in the 1919 Amateur Athletic Union boxing championships. “Eddie lost a close decision in the light heavyweight class; however, he returned later that evening and won the heavyweight title” (Welch, 2023).

He decided to come back after dinner and won?!

Eagan had the kind of resilience that would make Superman green with envy. But he didn’t stop there. In 1920, Eddie tried out for the U.S. Olympic boxing team, earning his first gold medal.

After the achievement of a lifetime, Eagan decided to return to the United States and retire… just kidding! He graduated from Yale University and decided to attend law school at Harvard. However, he dropped out in 1924 to try out for the Olympics once again. This time, he didn’t make it past the first round. Later, he was encouraged to attend Oxford University while still actively boxing.

In 1932, at the age of 34, Eagan accepted an offer to join the U.S. bobsledding team in the Winter Olympic Games. After agreeing, I imagine he might have gone home and searched, “What is bobsledding?” because he had never participated in the sport prior to saying yes.

His first and only time bobsledding resulted in his second gold medal.

This doesn’t even sound real; it sounds like a made-up background for some Marvel character. Later on, Eagan entered private law practice and served in World War II. “He was chief of special services in the Air Transport Command and visited nearly every part of the world where American planes were based. He retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel” (Welch, 2023). In 1945, Eagan returned from WW2 and was made the head of the New York State Athletic Commission, which was in charge of boxing.

The thing that stood out to me most about Eddie Eagan, other than the obvious, was his mother: Clara Eagan. A woman who spoke five languages and raised five sons on her own after her husband, John Eagan, had tragically passed away during a railroad accident.

Though not much is said about her as a mother, the circumstantial evidence suggests that Eddie had seen resilience, confidence, and dedication role-modeled for him from a young age. His mother said yes to fighting for her family despite the challenge. Eddie said yes to the opportunities presented to him without certainty of victory.

Rejecting a chance results in immediate defeat.

I wonder how many wins we might have if we blindly, faithfully, and curiously start saying yes to life and no to giving up.

Credits:

U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum. (n.d.). Eddie Eagan. https://usopm.org/eddie-eagan/

Welch, P. D. (2023). Eddie Eagan. EBSCO Research Starters. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/eddie-eagan

Azaryan stepped up as the man of the house when his father passed away. He began working as a blacksmith to support his family while he was still a teenager. When he wasn’t cracking iron beneath his hammer, Azaryan spotted established gymnasts during an exhibition in his city.

Fast-forward to his first Soviet Championships in 1953: Azaryan went viral for holding his body in a perfect Iron Cross, stretching his arms out and suspending his entire body weight between them. The move became his signature, later known as the Azaryan Cross.

The judges, however, didn’t seem too impressed, docking him points for not holding the position long enough. Remaining in perfect form, he turned, smiled, and asked, “Is this long enough for you?”

His provocation, however, was not well received by the judges. He was then docked for smiling and speaking to them. Was it a fair judgment? Maybe. Perhaps he should have grown wings and flown away to impress them. Or maybe, even then, he would have been mocked for the size of his wingspan.

Nonetheless, legends are immortal.

As for the judges? Does anyone even remember their names?

This article was inspired by the links below:

https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=3969484

https://allinnet.info/people/albert-azaryan-is-a-former-soviet-armenian-artistic-gymnast/