Friday, December 11th. Throughout history, debt had been a criminal offense, with penalties ranging from enslavement to mutilation. In Colonial America, some debtors were branded or whipped in public, but most were thrown in jail, debt being the only crime for which long-term imprisonment was common. But this month in 1821, Kentucky became the first state to abolish debtors’ prison. The nation followed with a federal ban in 1832. Americans are fortunate in the more forgiving attitudes toward debt, encouraged by our near universal use of credit. Shortly after the year 2000, nearly three-fourths of U.S. households were indebted. That figure has sunk to 69 percent recently, although the median amount of household debt increased over this period from $50,971 to $70,000 in constant 2011 dollars. Profile Americais in its19th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Saturday, December 12th. Many Americans drive on their vacations, and they often stay at one of the nation’s many motels. The term motel came to have meaning only when the automobile started to dominate the landscape and the term “motor hotel” came into general use. The first motel opened on this date in 1925 in San Luis Obispo, California. It featured a sign with flashing lights that changed the first letter so that it alternated the words “hotel” and “motel. It had accommodations for 160 guests in individual chalets, each with bathroom, telephone, and a garage. Today, there are close to 50,000 hotels and motels across the U.S., employing almost 1.5 million people. With over 4.9 million rooms available, occupancy averages over 62 percent. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Sunday, December 13th. The important holiday business of viewing such classics as “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story” on home TVs owes much to a technological advance this month 77 years ago. In December 1938, Russian-American engineer Vladimir Zworykin was awarded two patents for cathode ray tubes. One was for the iconoscope to capture video images. The other was for the kinescope, which displayed television and computer monitor images for decades until the advent of flat panel screens. Whatever the ills of TV programming, obviously the American people consider it an appliance for a wonderful life. More than 98 percent of U.S. households own at least one set, a percentage that has held steady for years and across all age groups. You can find more facts about America’s people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at <www.census.gov>.