One of the most distinctive and near universal American colloquialisms — the affirmation “OK” — appeared in public for the first time this week in 1839. There have been claims that “OK” derives from languages as diverse as Greek and Choctaw and that it appeared in earlier American documents, but it was first published in a Boston Morning Post story, with a brief definition. While “ok” took off around the country and eventually the world, time ko’d the Boston Post, which folded in 1956, after 125 years of publication. Today in the U.S., there are nearly 8,500 newspaper publishers still doing okay in this digital age. You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy from the American Community Survey at <www.census.gov>.
Sunday, March 24th. Today marks the birthday in 1899 of Dorothy Stratton, who left her position as Dean of Women at Purdue University in 1942 to take a commission in the Navy. Transferred to the Coast Guard, she organized and directed that service’s women’s reserve, which she named the SPARS. After the Second World War, Stratton was an official at the International Monetary Fund, and then was executive director of the Girl Scouts for 10 years. She died at the age of 107. In the U.S. military today, there are about 205,000 women on active duty. Of that total, over 38,000 are officers, and some 164,000 are enlisted. And there are 1.6 million female veterans. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, March 23rd. The ingenuity of one man helped to change the very shape of America’s cities — and indeed, those around the world. On this date in 1857 in New York City, Elisha Otis installed the first passenger safety elevator. His invention meant that riders were safe, even if the hoisting cable of an elevator broke. Within a short time, architects began to design increasingly taller buildings. And reversing centuries of practice, the elevator made the upper floors of a building more desirable for owners and renters than the lower ones. Making and installing elevators and escalators is a $2.6 billion a year business in the U.S., providing jobs for more than 9,500 people. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Eva (or as I prefer Evil) Clayton our former congresswomen will be interviewed today on WUNC’s radio program at noon. The ad’s for the interview praise her for using (wasting) millions of government dollars to build Soul City. In my view there is more negative to say of her than positive. Health Co was shuttered because those with allegiance to her diverted millions in government funding for personal purposes. What about her close ties to federal felons Frank and Gary Balance. There are also the unanswered questions of the activities of Charles Worth(less).
Anonymous is correct about Soul City and had it not been for Senator Jesse Helms, millions of more dollars would have been wasted on this dreadful project.
As Pete Townsend once said: “Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, OK!”