Friday / Weekend Open Line


Friday, October 23rd. Everyone is a potential crime victim, and October is when government agencies, civic groups, schools, businesses, and youth organizations join in trying to reduce the threat. This is National Crime Prevention Month, with special awareness and education events planned across the country. During this time, we are all encouraged to help reduce violence, drugs and property crimes with efforts at three levels — family, neighborhood and community. Suggestions include setting up a neighborhood watch program, making sure streets and individual homes are well lighted and locking your car. Such efforts supplement the work of the nation’s 780,000 police officers and detectives, and the 675,000 employees of the nation’s more than 10,000 security guard and patrol services. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Saturday, October 24th. One of the nation’s most successful brand names went on sale for the first time this month in 1913 — Camel cigarettes, the first pre-blended, packaged cigarettes. While machine-rolled cigarettes had been around since 1881, Camel was the first brand to become nationally popular. Coincidentally, Camels pioneered the now almost universal 20-cigarette pack. By 1919, with increasing advertising and product availability, cigarettes overtook pipe tobacco in the number of pounds consumed. Shortly after World War II, about 45 percent of Americans smoked. Now, just under 18 percent do so. Cigarette manufacturing remains a big part of the business for the country’s 120 tobacco manufacturing establishments. Sales exceed $39 billion annually. Profile America is in its19th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sunday, October 25th. A melted candy bar led to the invention of one of today’s most-used kitchen appliances. Percy Spencer of the Raytheon company was working on a military radar device in the mid-1940s when he noticed that his snack had gotten soft. Intrigued, he experimented with irradiating some kernels of popcorn, which promptly burst. Further work led to the first microwave ovens, which cost only a little less than a new car. On this date in 1955, the first consumer models were introduced, but they required installation and cost $1,200. Countertop models came along in 1967. Now, most homes across the country have microwave ovens, and about a half million have only the microwaves for cooking. Manufacturing microwave ovens and other cooking appliances is a $5 billion a year business. Profile Americais in its19th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.