Friday / Weekend Open Lines


Friday, May 22nd. We take for granted the many entertainment options so readily at hand because of the World Wide Web. Yet it can bring you up short when you realize how new this experience is. It was just 22 years ago on this date that a movie was digitized and loaded onto the Internet. In 1993, just under 23 percent of U.S. households had computers, and a negligible number accessed the Internet with early browsers, searching a mere 600 websites. As theoretically infinite as it is, the Internet doesn’t suffer from lack of content. Across the U.S., there are about 13,500 film and video production establishments, employing over 133,000 people. You can find current data on the country’s economy by downloading the America’s Economy mobile app at <www.census.gov/mobile>.

Saturday, May 23rd. There are few bonds in nature to rival that between pets and their owners. Most pets are rewarded for their loyalty and devotion with shelter, food, and welcome attention. Though less welcome, they are also rewarded with medical care. Pets commonly make several visits a year to the veterinarian for annual shots and a checkup. Of course, they also go to the vet if they get sick or hurt. The first state sponsored veterinary school in the U.S. opened on this date in 1879 at Iowa State College — now university — in Ames, Iowa. Today, there are over 30,000 veterinary establishments located around the U.S. Their 310,000 veterinarians and staff take care of the nation’s domesticated 70 million dogs, 74 million cats, 8.3 million birds and more than 4.8 million horses. Profile America is beginning its 19th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sunday, May 24th. In a way, today marks the 171st birthday of the World Wide Web. Only it was electro-mechanical, not digital. On this date in 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse activated the first telegraph line, sending a dots-and-dashes code message from the U.S. Capitol building to a receiver in Baltimore. The ability of the telegraph to communicate quickly over long distances of land made it an immediate success. By the late 1850s, the first telegraph cable had been laid across the Atlantic Ocean, and in 1861, the telegraph spanned the continental United States. Over the ensuing decades, the wires wrapped around the world. From the 1844 demonstration, telecommunications today as grown into a $547 billion a year industry, and employs more than 1.1 million workers in over 50,000 industry establishments. Profile America is beginning its 19th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.