One of the most devastating public health crises in history hit the U.S. on this date 95 years ago — and experts are still studying it, hoping to head off a similar global pandemic. The first cases were reported among soldiers at Fort Riley, Kansas. By October, the worst month, 195,000 Americans perished. By 1920, nearly one-in-four Americans had suffered from this strain of the flu, killing about 575,000. Worldwide, estimates put the death toll between 30 to 50 million. Even less dramatic forms of the disease are deadly. Producing vaccines, is a nearly $7.4 billion a year business in the U.S. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Sunday, March 10th. For many Americans, trying to envision life without our various telephones would be like trying to live without indoor plumbing. The telephone is 137 years old today. That’s when Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Over a wire to his assistant in the next room, Bell said, “Mister Watson, come here; I want to see you.” Only when Bell improved his invention to carry a voice for several miles did the public discover a need for them. Now, the public has an insatiable appetite for phones and uses them in ways Bell could not have foreseen. Over 97 percent of America’s nearly 115 million occupied households have phone service. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, March 9th. This is National Peanut Month — celebrating one of the nation’s favorite foods. They are enjoyed in many ways — roasted in the shell as a snack, used in salads and stir-fry recipes, in cookies and of course, ground into peanut butter. The idea of honoring the peanut has been a monthlong observance since 1974. Americans eat an average of more than six pounds of shelled peanuts a year, about half in the form of peanut butter. Even the shells are used in such products as kitty litter, wallboard, and artificial fireplace logs. American peanuts have a global customer base. Just last November, over $38 million worth were exported; about 25 percent of that to Canada. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.