Category: Open Lines

“This program is brought to you by …” Those words, or ones close to them, were heard on this date 92 years ago in what is believed to be the first commercial broadcast on the new medium of radio. Station WEAF in New York City carried that first ad — not for soap or automobiles — but for a group of apartment buildings in Queens. The cost was $100 for 10 minutes of programming. At the time, there were just …

The U.S. petroleum industry got its start on this date in 1859 when blacksmith William Smith saw a dark film floating on the surface of the water in a hole he was boring near Titusville, Pennsylvania. Rising from a depth of just 69 feet, it was the oil he was seeking for his employer, Edwin Drake. Soon, the nation’s first commercial oil well was pumping out crude oil. Western Pennsylvania was the center of the infant industry, as new uses …

It is said that “every dog has its day,” and according to an animal welfare organization in Oregon, today is it for every dog. Now in its 11th observance, this date is National Dog Day. The occasion has two goals. One is to honor dogs, which serve humanity as companions, watchdogs, herders, and Seeing Eye dogs. They also aid in search and rescue, and in sniffing out explosives and drugs. The second goal is to rescue dogs from neglect and …

The Smithsonian Institution, founded this month in 1846, is the world’s largest museum and research complex, with 137 million artifacts in its collection. One was donated to the museum in August 1985 to mark the 25th anniversary of its commercial debut — the original Xerox 914 copying machine. Weighing in at just under 650 pounds, the 914 could produce seven copies per minute. The principle of xerography — producing images on paper using electricity — was developed in 1938 by …

Two ordinary items found in many or most American households both trace their creation by New York City residents to this date in August. In 1865, the first liquid soap was patented by William Shepphard. His formula flowed from mixing a pound of regular soap with 100 pounds of ammonia solution, then dissolving it in water to the consistency of molasses. And in 1939, Julian Seth Kahn received a patent for an “apparatus for mixing a liquid with a gas” …

The American Bar Association was founded on this date in 1878 in Sarasota Springs, New York. One-hundred attorneys from 21 states were present at its first meeting. The legal profession as we know it barely existed at the time. There was no National Code of Ethics, lawyers generally worked alone and trained under a system of apprenticeship. Today, there are some 1.27 million lawyers in the U.S., as the ever-swelling number of civil and criminal cases, and federal and local …

The nation’s first licensed radio station began broadcasting in Detroit on this date in 1920 — station 8MK, now operating as WWJ. The station was owned by the Detroit News, and for some convoluted reasons, the station operated with an amateur license, which in 1922 was changed to commercial. The first station to receive a commercial license was KDKA in Pittsburgh, which began broadcasting in October of 1920. From these rudimentary early broadcasts, the new medium grew rapidly. In 1922, …

Two geniuses in the field of electronics whose inventions changed pastimes the world over were born in August. One was television pioneer Philo Farnsworth, whose 1906 birthday is noted today. He conceived the idea of television broadcasting while still in high school and realized his dream at the age of 21. The other was Lee de Forest, a Yale Ph.D. in physics. He invented the three-element vacuum tube among his hundreds of patents and was a pioneer in radio, which …

An emotional and legal battle that lasted many decades ended on this date in 1920, changing the course of U.S. social and political history. The event was the certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment prohibits discrimination based on sex with regard to voting — in short, it extended to women the right to vote. Two days earlier, Tennessee had become the required 36th state to ratify the amendment, in spite of last minute efforts by some …

Chairs have a history going back to the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, or even earlier in antiquity. But a couple of variants that no one was anxious to try out debuted this month in the 19th century. In 1890, the electric chair was used for the first time in Auburn, New York, to carry out a death sentence. Scarcely more alluring, a special dental chair was patented on this date in 1848 by Waldo Hanchett. His innovation was a wooden recliner …

Keeping Social Security strong and solvent is a continuing concern in an increasingly aging America. The demographic profile was different on this date in 1935, when the program was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The program aimed to provide security to retired workers over 65, most of whom had no pension, and life expectancy at birth was just 60 years for males and 64 for females. The first monthly check under the system was for $22.54, issued …

Even in this Internet world, many of us still receive printed catalogs through the mail, especially near the holiday season. The first such catalog — more of a flyer — was sent out by Montgomery Ward late this month in 1872. That first catalog consisted of only one page, featuring 163 items for mail order purchase. The idea was so successful that by 1904, the Ward’s catalog weighed in at four pounds. Montgomery Ward ceased producing its catalog in 1985, …

An invention that has had a profound impact on our use of fabrics and on the nation’s economy was patented on this date in 1851 — the home sewing machine, developed by Isaac Singer. The idea of the sewing machine — and some working models — went back to nearly a century before 1851. But Singer’s simple, sturdy machine was the first to be a commercial success. While far fewer people sew at home as avidly as was done in …

This date 33 years ago immediately preceded the dawning of a digital age milestone. On August 12, 1981, IBM introduced its model 5150 — which soon became known simply as the “PC.” There had been consumer computer models for some years before, such as the early Apple and Commodore, but the IBM machine marked a turning point in acceptance due to the manufacturer’s prestige. The company was famous for its pioneering, large mainframe computers, and even by 1984, barely over …

On this date 40 years ago, President Richard Nixon announced on a nationwide broadcast from the Oval Office his resignation, effective the next day. The resignation and departure from the White House was in response to the long building, wide-ranging Watergate scandal and the recent passage of likely successful articles of impeachment in the House of Representatives. Just 21 months earlier, Nixon had won re-election as President in one of our most notable landslides and still the largest margin of …

On this date 50 years ago, the U.S. Congress passed one of its most controversial joint resolutions — one that was regretted in hindsight and overturned in January 1971. It was the so-called Tonkin Gulf Resolution, authorizing nearly unlimited military action in South Vietnam and leading to quick escalation of our involvement in that country. More than 9 million Americans served in the military during the nine-year Vietnam era, and nearly 2.6 million of them served in South Vietnam at …

Today is one of America’s more obscure and unusual commemorations. It’s National Fresh Breath Day, even if it is not recognized by the greeting card industry. The idea is to make people aware that having fresh breath is part of overall health and wellness, and that the solution to bad breath — technically known as halitosis — can be relatively simple. Sometimes, chronic bad breath can be a symptom of a serious illness. Mostly, it’s one of life’s most personal …

On this date precisely one century ago, American motorists got the green light to confidently proceed through increasingly traveled crossroads. A traffic light system, credited with being the first in the U.S., flashed red and green at the intersection of 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. To further prompt drivers, the words “Stop” and “Move” were emblazoned on the operating red and green lights. At the time, there were about 1.8 million motor vehicles in the U.S., six …

On this date in 1790, the young federal government issued its first bonds, promising to pay between 3 and 6 percent interest. The borrowed money was used for liquidating state debts related to the Revolutionary War and assumed by the new national government. At the time, the national debt was over $71 million. Today, the national debt is put at nearly $18 trillion. But we, the people, have a government reflective of its citizens, as Americans individually carry great debt. …

If you shop the cereal aisle in your supermarket, you’ll see dozens of brands on display, from the sugary and candy-like to high-fiber organic products. One of them has been available for well over 100 years. It was on this date in 1893 that a Denver restaurant owner, Henry Perky, received a patent for the creation shredded wheat. By 1901, he had set up an ultra-modern plant at Niagara Falls, called “the Palace of Light,” to make shredded wheat, and …