For well over a century, Americans have been smitten with motor vehicles, and new models have long been a point of interest. Our appetite for cars was put on a crash diet this date in 1942 when the manufacturing of private vehicles was shut down for the duration of World War II. The auto companies instead were retooled to build tanks and planes and — of course — jeeps for the GIs. Sedans, trucks and ambulances were also made for military use. Production for civilian-use cars and trucks surged back to over 4 million units in 1946. Lately, America’s 278 automobile and light-duty motor vehicle manufacturing establishments employ over 120,000 workers, and sell about 12 million passenger vehicles and trucks yearly. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Sunday, February 9th. An event long regarded as a cultural milestone occurred on this day 50 years ago — as the Beatles, a British rock group, appeared on the Ed Sullivan television show. Preceded by a surge of publicity and curiosity, the band played five songs on the live show. Instead of the 50 million who usually watched Ed Sullivan each Sunday, that night, more than 70 million people came together to view the British phenomenon. The result was a sensation that changed the direction of music — and men’s hairstyles — in America and the world. In 1964, Americans spent about $5.5 billion on records, radio and television. Now, we spend almost $7 billion each year on sound recordings alone, bought online, or from America’s nearly 4,000 record stores. Profile America is in its17th year as a Public Service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Saturday, February 8th. Even in a world increasingly reliant on digital files and printouts, there’s still a great need for photocopies. What is now old school was a breakthrough invention of a man named Chester Carlson, born on this date in 1906. In 1938, he developed a method of making dry copies of documents on plain paper, known as xerography — which we take for granted in using photocopiers today. Before his invention, copies were made either by using carbon paper when typing or a mimeograph machine for large numbers of copies. Both were messy and not always legible. The first commercial copiers became available in 1959. Now, making copiers is a $2.2 billion a year business for some 230 companies in the U.S. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.