Category: Quick hits

As a year draws to a close, it is common to reflect on the passage of time. How history will judge 2014 is not yet known, but this year’s anniversaries are woven into the fabric of today. Two-hundred years ago, we experienced a foreign invasion and occupation, as British troops captured Washington, DC and burned the White House. One-hundred years ago, Henry Ford set an eight-hour workday, while President Woodrow Wilson signed a Mothers Day proclamation. Fifty years ago, we …

Yesterday was the 33rd birthday of Elizabeth Comeau, formerly Elizabeth Jordan Carr. Her birth in 1981 was notable because her delivery by cesarean section marked the success of the country’s first in-vitro fertilization, so both her conception and birth involved technology. The in-vitro fertilization technique, sometimes described as implanting a test-tube baby, was first used in England in 1977, with Louise Brown being born in late July of 1978. Elizabeth Comeau is now a journalist and a mother herself. Her …

The millions of Americans who for nearly a century and a half have enjoyed well-brewed coffee can direct their gratitude to James H. Nason of Franklin, Massachusetts. He received the nation’s first patent for a coffee percolator on this date in 1865. Now, not only does just about every home in the U.S. have a coffeemaker, but many also grind their own fresh from coffee beans. The percolator still has a market niche, but since the 1970s has been overtaken …

Today is Christmas Day — a joyous religious observance for many, but for almost everyone, one of the happiest days of the year. Outside or indoors, whether in balmy or snowbound climates, children are busy trying out their shiny new treasures, ranging from traditional bikes to the latest marketing craze. Inside, others are busy with video games and other electronic marvels. Many will have attended church services to honor the day. And in many of the more than 115 million …

This is Christmas Eve, a time of gathering families close together and to wind down from the hectic weeks of shopping and mailing. But it also a night of wrapping presents, especially toys — some of which have to be put together. Some parents will discover to their dismay that some treasure has been overlooked, or that batteries are not included with their purchases and head out into the cold, hoping to find an open store with the right solutions. …

An institution that has been in the news a lot these past few years, and which has come in for its share of criticism during the nation’s stubborn economic problems, observes the centennial of its founding today. The Federal Reserve System, known simply as “the Fed,” came into being on this date in 1913, with the job of keeping the nation’s complex financial system in tune. Acting as the nation’s central bank, “the Fed” influences the lending and investing activities …

One of the most important inventions of modern times dates to this week in 1947. Three Bell Laboratory scientists successfully tested what would become the junction transistor, vital to our information age. The three shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1956. The transistor replaced bulky, fragile vacuum tubes, which generated a lot of heat as they amplified a signal. As a Bell colleague who coined the term “transistor” said, “nature abhors the vacuum tube.” The first application that caught …

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 …