Category: Open Lines

One of the most familiar and cherished Christmas stories has been around a long time — 171 years in fact. Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” was published this week in 1843. Some sources say the publication was on this date. The first print run of 6,000 copies sold out in a week and the book has never been out of print. The tale about the reformation of Ebenezer Scrooge and his “Bah, humbug!” dismissal of the Christmas season became a …

The satellite Atlas was launched from Cape Canaveral on this date in 1958. The spacecraft would make history the next day, beaming the first voice heard from space — a recording of President Eisenhower with a 58-word Christmas greeting. These words came at the height of the Cold War and the space race with the Soviet Union. Today, satellites daily perform vital functions — tracking the weather, relaying millions of telephone calls and computer links, as well as radio and …

A dream of the ages became reality 111 years ago today on a windswept beach at North Carolina’s Outer Banks. There, the Wright brothers made the world’s first powered, heavier-than-air flight. With Orville and Wilbur alternating as pilot, the plane made four flights that day. The first airplane flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. The longest distance covered that day was 852 feet in 59 seconds — an average speed of 31 miles an hour. In only a …

The holiday season is mostly a time of cheer. But it’s also a time for winter’s most frequent misery — the common cold and the cough that often goes along with it. While science works to find a cure for colds, the rest of us can only try to reduce their symptoms. Before the middle of the 19th century, a restaurant owner in Poughkeepsie, New York, did something to make life a little easier for cold sufferers. James Smith cooked …

America’s first life insurance policy issued by a general insurance company was issued on this date in 1794 in Philadelphia. The Insurance Company of North America was organized two years earlier, with a capital of $600,000. But the life insurance venture proved short-lived, as only six policies were written in five years, and the service was dropped in 1804. The Insurance Company of North America, which still exists as a subsidiary of a multinational insurance group. Now, of course, life …

Many Americans drive on their vacations, and if they don’t stay with relatives 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 …

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 …

“Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question.” That was the observation of Alexis de Tocqueville in his famous 1835 book, “Democracy in America.” Lawyering came early to the United States. In the middle of the Revolutionary War, the College of William and Mary established the first law school this month in 1779. The Williamsburg, Virginia school didn’t hire the professors, as they were paid directly by their …

One of the universal conveniences of modern life, and a boon to those of us with little time to spend grocery shopping and cooking, was developed by a man who was born on this date in 1886. Clarence Birdseye was on a scientific expedition to Labrador early in the 20th century when he noticed that freshly caught fish froze solid almost immediately when exposed to Arctic atmospheric conditions. But when thawed and eaten, the fish still tasted fresh. Birdseye went …

Oberlin College in Ohio has a distinguished reputation among American institutions of higher learning. Its fame would be secure just for its leadership before the Civil War in coeducational instruction and in admitting black students. But Oberlin added to its luster on this date in 1850 when it awarded the nation’s first four-year degree to an African-American woman, Lucy Stanton. She headed the school’s Ladies Literary Society, and her anti-slavery commencement address — titled “A Plea for the Oppressed” — …

After nearly 14 eventful years, Prohibition ended on this date in 1933, and Americans were able once again to legally drink alcoholic beverages. This marked the closing of an unusual chapter in American history, where an amendment to the Constitution was overturned by the subsequent amendment. The 18th amendment, banning nearly all sales and manufacture of alcohol, was ratified in 1919 and took effect in January 1920. The 21st Amendment ratified on this date voided the 18th. After the lifting …

Black Friday is behind us, but the holiday shopping season continues to build. People jamming the malls are rediscovering one of the travails of the season — finding a place to park. When the mall spaces are filled, many turn to commercial garages. One innovative solution opened this week in the Nation’s Capital in 1951. The Park-O-Mat garage was completely automated, and parked 72 cars in 18 levels of space just 25 by 40 feet. Without entering customers’ cars, the …

During the course of recorded history going back to ancient Egypt, men have felt cultural pressures to shave their facial hair. Styles regarding beards and moustaches come and go, but in recent times, most men in the U.S. prefer to shave every day. For centuries, their only recourse was the straight razor, which provided a close shave but had to be handled carefully to avoid cuts. On this date in 1901, an American named King Camp Gillette applied for a …

One of the most important technological breakthroughs was made on this date in 1942, one that would change the course of world history. At the University of Chicago, a group of scientists led by physicist Enrico Fermi succeeded in producing the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. This first simple reactor, built in great secrecy under the stands of the university’s football stadium, helped provide the knowledge that led to the development of the first atomic bombs less than three …

Colleges and universities with both male and female students are the norm today — but in 1833, only a few women went to college and the idea of coed classes was a social innovation. On this date that year, Oberlin College in Ohio opened its doors to both sexes. At the time, the school had 44 students — 29 men and 15 women. Now, Oberlin has a student body of close to 3,000 and boasts one of the most comprehensive …

Given what seems to be the ever-growing profusion of coffee vendors, imagine what a crisis it would be if coffee were suddenly rationed. That’s exactly what happened this month in 1942, because the Second World War had interrupted shipments and people were hoarding coffee. But rationing lasted only until the next summer. It’s thought that coffee was introduced into America by Captain John Smith, one of the founders of the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. Its popularity jumped after both the …

Today is Thanksgiving Day, one of the most traditional of American holidays, thought to have begun in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The holiday became national in scope in 1863, and the fourth Thursday of the month has been the official day since 1941. It’s a time for family gatherings that combines solemnity and joy — and often involves watching football. In many of the nation’s 115 million households, people will share a special meal, typically turkey with all the traditional …

The first traffic signal with indicators for stop, go and caution was patented this month in 1923. The green light went to African-American inventor Garrett Morgan, who decided to do something after witnessing a collision between a car and a horse-drawn wagon on a Cleveland street. At the time, there were already more than 15 million motor vehicles on the nation’s roads. Morgan’s three-position signal was manually operated by a traffic officer during peak hours. This invention, with its staffing …

It’s a time to celebrate one of life’s simple, viscous pleasures — it’s Peanut Butter Lovers Month. The stuff of one of America’s favorite sandwiches, peanut butter was first offered to the public at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. But as we currently know it — with the peanuts roasted and the product churned like butter to be smooth and so the oil won’t separate — peanut butter didn’t appear on grocery shelves until 1922. While we each eat …

This month marks the 150th anniversary of absentee ballot voting in the U.S. This measure was introduced during the Civil War to permit Union army soldiers in the field to choose between re-electing Abraham Lincoln or sending his opponent George McClellan to the White House. But on this date in 1896, Vermont became the first state to enshrine in law the concept of voting away from home, though the voter had to be within the state. All that was required …