Sixty-five years ago today, one of Broadway’s most memorable plays opened — Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The play, which ran for two years, featured Jessica Tandy as Blanche du Bois and newcomer Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski. Williams won a Pulitzer Prize for drama, and Tandy was awarded a Tony for best actress in a play. The movie version of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” again starring Brando, was also a smash hit. There are just over 3,000 theater companies across the U.S., and their productions sell $5.4 billion in tickets annually. You can find current data on the country’s economy by downloading the new “America’s Economy” mobile application at <www.census.gov/mobile>.
Sunday, December 2nd. During the course of recorded history, men have had to decide how to deal with their facial hair. Styles regarding beards and moustaches come and go but in recent times, most men in the U.S. prefer to shave every day. For centuries, their only recourse was the straight razor, which provided a close shave but had to be handled carefully to avoid cuts. On this day in 1901, an American named King Camp Gillette patented the safety razor, with disposable blades. Then, in 1928, the increasing availability of electricity led to the invention of the electric razor by Jacob Schick. Now, electric razors are part of the $2.6 billion a year electric housewares industry. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, December 1st. Several times a week in firehouses and community centers all over the country, people gather to play bingo. The roots of the game go back to a 16th century Italian lottery game. In the U.S., a toy salesman named Edwin Lowe observed a game at a carnival near Atlanta in December 1929. Players put dried beans on numbered cards and declared “beano” if they completed a line. Lowe took the concept home to New York and refined it. His new “bingo” became a hit almost immediately and has grown into a multibillion dollar a year fundraising tool. Bingo is also played at some of the nation’s nearly 1,500 commercial betting and lottery facilities, which generate revenue of nearly $6.8 billion a year. Profile America is in its 16th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.