Friday, July 10th. A number of special observances are held in July — three of them seem just right for summer. It’s not only National Grilling Month but also National Hot Dog Month and, since 1984, National Ice Cream Month. Whether we call them frankfurters or just plain hot dogs, Americans eat some 7 billion of them during the summer months, grilled, microwaved, or boiled. While more hot dogs are consumed during the season, they are popular all year round — part of nearly $44 billion of processed meats sold in the U.S. each year. And when it comes to ice cream, we especially savor the cold treat during the summer and scoop it out all year long. Americans consume a per capita average of 22 pounds of frozen dairy products annually. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, July 11th. The distant reaches of planet Earth came into focus for the average American on this date in 1962 with the successful relay of a transatlantic signal by Telstar, the first privately owned satellite launched the day before. While a major communications advance and a sensation of the day, Telstar did not last long. It failed in December, was restored briefly, and then went dead in February 1963. Today, dozens of communications satellites allow television signals, telephone calls, and computer hookups to all points of the Earth, and we take such instant communications for granted. Across the U.S., there are some 8,200 people employed in 552 firms providing satellite telecommunication services. The value of satellite telecommunications is over $6.7 billion annually. Profile America is in its 19th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Sunday, July 12th. A romantic but controversial period of American history ended, semiofficially, on this date in 1893. That’s when University of Wisconsin historian Frederick Jackson Turner delivered an academic paper in Chicago. Based on 1890 Census data, Turner declared that the closing of the American frontier ended the formative national experience. Turner said that migration from the East, the building of railroads and hundreds of new towns had combined to forge a single nation from coast-to-coast. The most recent census showed that the West is still a magnet for growth. Between 2000 and 2010, Nevada was the fastest growing state at 35 percent. Other states that grew more than 20 percent were Utah, Texas, Idaho, and Arizona. The nation as a whole grew 9.7 percent. Profile America is in its 19th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.