Category: Quick hits

Many Americans are dedicated to staying fit. Often, they have exercise equipment at home, and many hotels maintain workout rooms for their traveling guests. But most people interested in fitness plan their busy schedules to include exercising at a local gym on a regular basis. Along with a variety of equipment, these facilities usually offer professional instruction, either to groups or individuals. The first gymnasium to offer systematic instruction was started this month in 1823 by the Round Hill School …

As National Hispanic Heritage Month winds up, a good deal of attention is being focused on the role members of this growing community play in the country’s business world. There are 2.3 million Hispanic-owned firms in the U.S., an increase of almost 44 percent in a recent five-year period. These companies generated nearly $351 billion in annual revenue — up more than 58 percent in the same period. New Mexico led the rest of the states in its proportion of …

Munich, Germany has its more famous Oktoberfest, but in Denver today, the record setting Great American Beer Festival is in the second day of its annual three-day meeting. The get together highlights some 1,884 different beers from all across the nation — the largest number gathered in one place anywhere in the world. Awards will be given to the best beers in 75 different categories. By the time it closes, some 46,000 people are expected to have visited the festival, …

A long-running part of the nation’s communications technology passed into history this week in 1983 — as the last hand-cranked telephone system in the country converted to direct dialing. The place was Bryant Pond, Maine, and the old system still had about 400 subscribers, using equipment that had served rural customers since the turn of the century. That equipment, including hand-cranked magneto switchboards, is now on display at museums. For decades, most of the nation’s households dealt with a near …

An annual event celebrating the simple pleasures of toys from the past is centered on Burlington, Wisconsin, today. The focal point of International Top Spinning Day will be the Spinning Top and Yo-Yo Museum. There, visitors can see more than 2,000 displays of tops, yo-yos and gyroscopes. The tops range from modern to antique, and come from around the world. There are tops that spin for hours, and even one that spins for days. Youngsters can learn about the physics …

The first superhighway in America opened this month in 1940 — the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The highway utilized roadbed and unfinished tunnels from an abandoned railroad project of the 1880s to make the nation’s first limited access, divided highway. The original road ran for 160 miles and featured seven tunnels, 10 service plazas, and 11 interchanges. In the years since, the turnpike — now part of the interstate highway system — has seen many improvements and is twice its original length. …

This is National Fire Prevention Week — a time to look around the house with the idea of keeping the risk of fire to a minimum. It’s also a good time to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors. Two of the worst fires in U.S. history broke out on this date in 1871. One was the famous fire in Chicago. The second fire that day was much worse, but has faded into history. A dry summer and high winds …

U.S. based manufacturers receive new orders every month worth close to a half-trillion dollars. To underscore the health and prospects of this closely watched economic sector, today is Manufacturing Day, with activities staged across the country by American companies. The main focus is a series of open houses to show that the words “Made in America” are still a powerful sign of innovation and quality. These open houses will enable the public to see for themselves that American manufacturing is …

Tomorrow marks the birth in 1882 of a man who ended up being called “The father of the space age” — Robert Goddard. He was just 17 when he climbed a tree to think about his future and decided to dedicate his life to developing rockets and space travel. This when America moved by horse and buggy and steam engine. Goddard’s work led to the first liquid-fueled rocket launch in 1926 and, later on, the development of solid propellants. Space …

The way Americans buy a home changed forever this week in 1947. That’s when one of the first communities built by a real estate developer opened for residents to move into — Levittown, on New York’s Long Island. Named for William and Alfred Levitt, the town ultimately contained more than 17,000 Cape Cod and ranch houses, snapped up by servicemen returning from World War II and facing an acute housing shortage. The houses in Levittown had 800 square feet of …