Today is the 161st birthday of a German-American whose name may not be familiar, but whose invention had a profound impact on the reading habits of all Americans, and indeed, the world. His name was Ottmar Mergenthaler. His invention, the linotype, allowed one person to set type for printing by simply pressing keys on a keyboard, bypassing four different operations at much greater speeds. It was first used in 1886 by the New York Tribune and remained in industry use into the 1980s. By 1890, about 8.4 million Americans read a daily paper. Now that figure is over 44 million. Printing and related support activities engages well over 27,000 establishments in a nearly $83 billion a year business. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.