This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

Once upon a time there was a boy named Friedrich Frobel.

His early life reads like one of those dark old German fairy tales. His mother died in 1783, right

after he was born. And so Friedrich Frobel had a lonely childhood. He spent his days in the

woods looking at trees and rocks and

flowers, wandering the dense forests of Thuringia and what was then Prussia.

It's a lush region, sometimes referred to today as

Das Grun-hertz Deutschlands, the green heart of Germany.

That's Kurt Colstadt. He produced this story.

I actually lived near Thuringia when I was a kid,

and the forests there are

Einfachtsauberhoft. Simply magical. And I can really see how Frugal became

enthralled. He looked at rocks, he studied the trees, he worked with a forester for a while, he was an apprentice forester.

That's Norman Brosterman. He's an author who studied Friedrich Froppel for years.

Brosterman says that Frobel worked for a time as a land surveyor and even served in the military.

He was skilled at drafting and geometry and at one point became convinced he should be an

architect.

He did everything you need to become an architect. He took all the

right classes. But he didn't become an architect. A friend convinced him to become an educator

instead. And in changing course, Frobble arguably ended up having more influence in the world of architecture and design than any single architect.

And that's because Friedrich Frobel created kindergarten.

I believe kindergarten had a tremendous influence on the 20th century.

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