Still, if you are celebrating the best of America this weekend, with your diverse & inclusive group of friends, you can hit the DOTD archive and grab our recipe for an Americano cocktail or a Red, White, & Blue Layered Cocktail both of which are excellent drinks for celebrating what America could & should be.

For us? We’re puttin’ this one in the bag. 😜

HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL PLASTIC BAG FREE DAY

International Plastic Bag Free Day, celebrated on July 3, is a global initiative that aims to eliminate the use of plastic bags. Plastic bags may seem like a grocery shopping convenience, but they are also a huge strain on the environment. It can take up to 500 years for plastic bags to disintegrate, so they make up a large portion of what stays in our landfills and pollutes our waterways.

For most of human history, single-use products were blasphemous. But through the end of the Industrial Revolution and into the modern era, plastic became a cheap and plentiful resource. Plastic bags are just one perfect example.

From birth to ban, the history of the plastic bag has impacted our world. In 1933, polyethylene, the most commonly used plastic, was created by accident at a chemical plant in Northwich, England. While polyethylene had been created in small batches before, this was the first synthesis of the material that was industrially practical, and it was initially used in secret by the British military during World War II.

By 1965, the one-piece polyethylene shopping bag was patented by the Swedish company Celloplast. Designed by engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin, the plastic bag quickly begins to replace cloth and plastic in Europe. After controlling 80 percent of the bag market in Europe, plastic bags went abroad and were widely introduced to the United States in 1979. Plastic companies began to aggressively market their product as superior to paper and reusable bags.

It wasn’t until 1997 that sailor and researcher Charles Moore discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the largest of several gyres in the world’s oceans where immense amounts of plastic waste have accumulated, threatening marine life. It was discovered that plastic bags are notorious for killing sea turtles, which mistakenly think they are jellyfish and eat them.

Bangladesh become the first country in the world to implement a ban on thin plastic bags in 2002 after it was found that plastic bags played a key role in clogging drainage systems during disastrous flooding. Other countries quickly followed suit, such as South Africa, Rwanda, China, Australia and Italy.

International Plastic Bag Free Day looks for safer alternatives to demonstrate that a world without the use of so much plastic is possible. It is part of the Break Free from Plastic Movement, which began in September 2016, and has been joined by nearly 1,500 different organizations. The movement is looking for solutions to the plastic pollution crisis, to make the planet safer for humans, the environment and wildlife.

INTERNATIONAL PLASTIC BAG FREE DAY FAQS

Which countries charge for plastic bags?

Bangladesh was the first country to ban plastic bags in 2002. China, Israel, South Africa, the Netherlands, Morocco, Kenya, Rwanda, Mauritania, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Albania and Georgia have since implemented similar bans.

How much does it cost to make a plastic grocery bag?

Humans have made a lot of plastic bag litter — which, the E.P.A. says, can take 1,000 years to decompose. One reason for the abundance of plastic bags is economic. A standard plastic grocery bag costs about a penny to produce, according to the plastics industry, compared with 4 cents to 5 cents for a paper bag.

Which state first banned plastic bags in India?

India’s efforts to ban certain single-use plastics began in 2009, when the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India became the first to ban plastic shopping bags. Delhi, India’s capital city, adopted a more expansive ban that included bags, cutlery, cups, and plates in 2017.

HOW TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL PLASTIC BAG FREE DAY

Stop using plastic bags.

The best way to celebrate is also the easiest to do. Wherever you find yourself on July 3rd, from the grocery store to the park, to a restaurant, make sure not to use and not to ask for any plastic bags.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle!

Another spectacular way to celebrate is to recycle and upcycle the things around you. Even if you have some plastic bags lying around, don’t throw them away. You can use them as extra trash bags or an alternative to a lunchbox as just a few examples.

Practice your green thumb.

Use your day to give Mother Nature a helping hand (or thumb). It’s the perfect time to finally plant a new tree or plant some nice flowers. The planet and the wildlife around your house will thank you!

Have a drink.

We all know, cleaning up all this plastic will be a monumental task. So pace yourself, and if the idea of it overwhelms you, have a drink, like today’s Drink Of The Day, a Fancy Free Cocktail.

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World UFO Day

“I want to believe.” These are the words of notorious X-Files hero Fox Mulder, who convinced an entire generation that the truth is out there – we just have to find it. But today, it’s not only sci-fi enthusiasts trying out their ET sleuthing skills, but everyone on Earth who can celebrate World UFO Day.

UFOs have been the stuff of legend for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that freaky flying saucers grabbed national and international mainstream attention. Since then, UFOs have captured the minds of old and young alike, and witness’ stories have proliferated around the world. World UFO Day serves as a way for everyone to come together and watch the skies on the same night in search of UFOs, but that’s not its only purpose.

Many also see the holiday as a way to spread knowledge and awareness of UFOs, making a case for their existence, and hoping to make disciples out of the dubious. So why July 2? For many, this date represents the anniversary of the famed and all-but-confirmed 1947 incident in Roswell, New Mexico. Believers claim a UFO crash landed here, deep in the American southwest, but that the government has been covering it up ever since.

WORLD UFO DAY ACTIVITIES

Have a “Welcome to Earth” party

In case you needed a reason to throw a party, there’s plenty of opportunity here. Alien and UFO costumes are simple and funny, while the food ideas are endless. Alien cupcakes with green icing, red jello with rocket ships suspended in the middle or even prepackaged moonpies are all great ideas. For an older-earthlings party, try mixing vodka, blue curacao, grenadine, cranberry juice and sours for a Purple People Eater cocktail.

Have a UFO movie marathon

Depending how far you want to go back, try watching a few UFO films from different eras. The Flash Gordon-types of the 30s were genre-defining. The Martian marauders story typical of the 50s and 60s may be a bit campy for you, but you could have some friends over to watch them a la Mystery Science Theater 3000, and let the heckling begin. Or settle in for the visually stunning films of the last few decades - take your pick, sit back, and blast off. You could even go to a theatre and watch Steven Spielberg’s latest movie, Disclosure Day.

Do some “investigative research”

There are more than enough stories, legends and actual scientific findings on UFOs and space exploration to keep you busy for a day. Use the power of the internet to separate fact from fiction, and try coming up with your own theories on whether the truth really is out there. Finish the evening by gazing up at the stars before going to bed. You never know what you might see.

Have a UFO-related cocktail

Because, of course. After all, this is The Politics Bar, and you’re reading the Drink Of the Day. So let’s make a Test Pilot Cocktail to celebrate World UFO Day!

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What Is SOS?

SOS is a universal distress signal, derived from Morse Code, and composed of three dots, three dashes, and three dots, like this: • • • ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ • • •

Before SOS became the world's most famous distress signal, ships used a variety of different emergency calls. This created confusion, especially as wireless communication became more common.

The idea for a universal distress signal had been discussed, but in 1905, the German government formally proposed that SOS be used. It was discussed over the next year by radio telegraphers, and was adopted globally at the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention in Berlin in November 1906. The agreement to use that signal officially took effect worldwide on July 1, 1908, & soon became the recognized standard distress signal around the world.

Why Use 3 Dots-3 Dashes-3 Dots For SOS?

The choice to use the three dots, three dashes, and three dots signal had nothing to do with a phrase in any language. Although people later invented phrases like “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls” to match the letters SOS - what’s sometimes called a backronym - ironically, one of the most famous “acronyms” in history was never meant to be an acronym at all. SOS was originally chosen purely for practical engineering reasons.

The biggest reason was that the Morse code pattern for those three letters, S O S, is symmetrical, simple, & distinctive: three dots for “S”, three dashes for “O”, and three more dots for “S”. It’s a signal easy to identify and difficult to misunderstand, even when radio signals were weak or interrupted, a common problem at the beginning of the 20th century. In short, SOS was simply the clearest distress signal engineers could come up with.

In technical terms, SOS is a Morse “procedural signal“ or “prosign”, used as a start-of-message mark for transmissions requesting assistance when loss of life or catastrophic loss of property is imminent. Other prefixes are used for mechanical breakdowns, or requests for medical assistance, as well as a relayed distress signal originally sent by another station. SOS remained the maritime radio distress signal until 1999, when it was replaced by the communication protocols of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), a worldwide system for automated emergency signal communication for ships at sea developed by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO).

SOS is still recognized as a universal standard distress signal that may be used with any signaling method. It has been used as a visual distress signal, consisting of three short/three long/three short flashes of light, such as from a survival mirror. In some cases the individual letters “S O S” have been spelled out, for example, stamped in a snowbank or formed out of logs on a beach. “S O S” being readable upside down as well as right side up (as an ambigram) is another advantage of the signal, for visual recognition.

The Deeper History That Lead To SOS

Radio telecommunication (initially known as “wireless telegraphy”) was developed in the late 1890s, and was quickly recognized as an important aid to maritime communication. Previously, seagoing vessels had adopted a variety of standardized visual and audio distress signals, using such things as semaphore flags, signal flares, bells, and foghorns. However, cooperation in standardizing radio distress signals was initially limited by national differences and rivalries between competing radio companies.

In 1903, an Italian representative at the Berlin Preliminary Conference on Wireless Telegraphy, Captain Quintino Bonomo, discussed the need for common operating procedures, including the suggestion that “ships in distress ... should send the signal SSS DDD at intervals of a few minutes”. However, procedural questions were beyond the scope of this conference, so no standard signal was adopted at the time, although Article IV of the conference’s Final Protocol stated that “Wireless telegraph stations should, unless practically impossible, give priority to calls for help received from ships at sea”.

Without international regulations, individual organizations were left to develop their practices. On January 7, 1904 the Marconi International Marine Communication Company issued “Circular 57”, which specified that, for the company’s worldwide installations, beginning February 1, 1904 “the call to be given by ships in distress or in any way requiring assistance shall be C.Q.D.“ An alternative proposal, put forward in 1906 by the U.S. Navy, suggested that the International Code of Signals flag signals should be adopted for radio use, including “NC” which stood for “In distress; want immediate assistance”.

Germany was the first country to adopt the SOS distress signal, which it called the Notzeichen signal, as one of three Morse code sequences included in national radio regulations which became effective on April 1, 1905. In 1906, the first International Radiotelegraph Convention met in Berlin, which produced an agreement signed on November 3, 1906 that became effective on July 1, 1908. The convention adopted an extensive collection of Service Regulations, including Article XVI, which read: “Ships in distress shall use the following signal: • • • ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ • • •, repeated at brief intervals”.

In both the April 1, 1905 German law and the 1906 international regulations, the distress signal is specified as a continuous Morse code sequence of three dots / three dashes / three dots, with no mention of any alphabetic equivalents. However there was a convention in International Morse whereby three dots comprise the letter “S”, and three dashes the letter “O”, and it soon became common to informally refer to the distress signal as “S O S”, with the January 12, 1907 Electrical World publication stating that “Vessels in distress use the special signal, SOS, repeated at short intervals.” In American Morse code, which was used by many coastal ships in the United States through the first part of the twentieth century, three dashes stood for the numeral “5”, so in a few cases the distress signal was informally referred to as “S 5 S”.

The first ships that have been reported to have transmitted an SOS distress call were the Cunard ocean liner RMS Slavonia on June 10, 1909 while sailing the Azores, and the steamer SS Arapahoe on August 11, 1909 while off the North Carolina coast. The signal of the Arapahoe was received by the United Wireless Telegraph Company station at Hatteras, North Carolina, and forwarded to the steamer company’s offices. However, there was some resistance among Marconi operators to adopting the new signal, and as late as the April 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, the ship’s Marconi operators intermixed CQD and SOS distress calls. In the interests of consistency and maritime safety, the use of CQD appears to have died out thereafter.

Later developments

Additional warning and distress signals followed the introduction of SOS. On 20 January 1914, the London International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea adopted as the “Safety Signal” the Morse code sequence “TTT” ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ (three “T’s” ( ▄▄▄ ))—spaced normally as three letters so as not to be confused with the three dashes of the letter O( ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ )—and used for messages to ships “involving safety of navigation and being of an urgent character” but short of an emergency.

“Mayday” voice code

With the development of audio radio transmitters, there was a need for a spoken distress phrase, and “Mayday“ (from French m’aider “help me”) was adopted by the 1927 International Radio Convention as the spoken equivalent of SOS. For “TTT”, the equivalent spoken signal is “Sécurité“ (from French sécurité or “safety”) for navigational safety, while “Pan-pan“ (from French panne “breakdown”; Morse “XXX”) signals an urgent but not immediately dangerous situation.

World War II suffix codes

During World War II, additional codes were employed to give users immediate details about attacks by enemy vessels, especially during the Battle of the Atlantic. The signal “SSS” signaled attacked by submarines, while “RRR” warned of an attack by a surface raider, “QQQ” warned of an unknown raider (usually an auxiliary cruiser), and “AAA” indicated an attack by aircraft. They were usually sent in conjunction with the SOS distress signal.

If you’re ready for a drink, there’s no need to signal for it. We’ll teach you how to make today’s Drink Of The Day, a Three Dots and a Dash Cocktail, below!

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The Evolution of Superman’s Origin

Most of us know that the Man of Steel’s first appearance was in the pages of 1938’s Action Comics #1…but what about his superhero origin story? We’ve heard the tale of how baby Kal-El, powered by the Earth’s yellow sun and raised by farmers named Jonathan and Martha Kent, would ultimately grow up to become Superman. However, did you know that hasn’t always been the case? For example, some comics depicted Clark growing up in an orphanage or in the city of Metropolis itself?

To make sense of all this, let’s dive into the Man of Steel’s archives and track the evolution of his origin. When was Krypton first named? When did we find out that Superman’s powers came from a yellow sun? When did he first become a farmer? Who the heck are Eben and Sarah? Let’s dive in.

1938 - Action Comics #1

Superman’s first appearance devotes a single page to his origin. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster originally had an extended sequence detailing the Man of Steel’s origin, but it was ultimately cut for space. The details of Superman’s backstory are brief, establishing the bare basics. Readers see a panel of Krypton during its final moments, but the planet is unnamed. A caption tells us that the planet is dying of old age, so a scientist puts his son in a “hastily devised space-ship” which is then launched towards Earth.

The scientist is unnamed. The narration tells us that a “passing motorist” discovered the child and dropped him off at an orphanage. This moment isn’t seen, and the Kents are not named. We then see a panel of baby Clark Kent lifting furniture at the orphanage, much to the surprise of his minders, followed by a panel where an adult Clark is seen showing off his powers. This seems to imply that he grew up in the orphanage, which is a bit depressing.

The one-page origin story goes on to state that everyone from Clark’s unnamed home planet had the same super-strength he did. Siegel and Shuster show their work by saying that ants and grasshoppers can lift things larger than they are and jump great distances. If you were a kid in 1938, that explanation was all you needed. There is no mention of Earth’s yellow sun powering Clark.

1939 - The Superman Newspaper Strip

In 1939, McClure Syndicate commissioned a Superman newspaper strip. This gave Siegel and Shuster a chance to expand on the origin and use some of the scenes they had to cut from Action Comics #1. There is an extended sequence on Krypton, which is named for the first time. Once again, we’re told that the planet is full of supermen. Jor-L and Lora are seen for the first time (note the original spelling), and we learn that Superman’s birth name is Kal-L.

Jor-L learns that Krypton is going to explode and tries to warn the Council, but the Council doesn’t believe him, forcing Jor-L to plan his own contingency. This exchange between Jor-L and the Council would become an essential part of the origin story in subsequent retellings. Earth is chosen as Kal-L’s destination because of its ability to support life.

The “passing motorist” mentioned in Action Comics #1 is seen rescuing the child from the rocket. This could technically be considered the first appearance of Jonathan Kent. However, the rest of the strip once again implies that Clark grew up in an orphanage.

1939 - Superman #1

When Superman got his own title, his origin was expanded once again. Jor-L and Lora aren’t seen, but we get more panels focusing on Clark’s childhood. The “passing motorist” is given a wife, and we learn that their family name is Kent. The wife is identified as Mary, but the husband isn’t given a first name.

In a key difference, the Kents still turn the baby over to the orphanage, but quickly return to adopt him. This story establishes that Clark got his moral compass from his foster parents, a key theme that would carry over in subsequent retellings. However, the panels depicting Clark’s childhood show the young boy growing up in a metropolitan city, rather than a smalltown farm. When the Kents pass away, Clark makes the decision to become Superman.

1940 - The Adventures of Superman Radio Show

In 1940, the Man of Steel began starring in his own radio drama. The serial’s script took some interesting deviations from Superman’s previously established origin. For example, Krypton was in the same solar system as Earth, on the other side of the sun. When baby Kal-L’s rocket arrives on Earth, he emerges as a full-grown man, already in a Superman costume. He takes the name Clark Kent because a young boy suggests it to him.

Needless to say, these additions to the origin didn’t stick around.

1942 - The Adventures of Superman by George Lowther

In 1942, George Lowther, one of the writers on the Adventures of Superman radio show authored a prose novel about Superman. Although the book has been mostly forgotten today, it made some very big lasting contributions to the origin story. The novel renames Lora to Lara and changes the spelling of Jor-el’s name. (Still, note that Jor-el is missing his traditional capitalization.)

Clark’s Earth parents here are named Eben and Sarah Kent. The novel also establishes that Clark was Sarah’s maiden name, a key piece of lore that would carry over in multiple retellings. The book presents the Kents as farmers for the first time, which would go on to become a defining aspect of Superman’s background.

In the novel, Clark’s powers slowly manifest as he grows up. This is in contrast to previous versions of his origin, where Clark had all of his abilities as a baby. This idea was abandoned in future retellings, but would later be adopted again for modern versions of the character.

1944 - More Fun Comics #101

This issue of DC’s debut series introduced a retcon, establishing that Clark operated as Superboy during his youth. The origin story is retold again, and in the process, Jor-El and Lara are seen in a comic book for the first time (previous appearances were in radio, newspaper strips and the prose novel). In addition, Jor-El’s name is given its traditional capitalization for the very first time.

Previous depictions of Krypton presented the world as a race of supermen, but this comic was the first version of the origin to establish that Kryptonians were powerless on their homeworld. According to this version of the story, the Earth’s gravity gave Superboy his extraordinary powers. This change addressed why the Kryptonians didn’t use their superpowers to escape their planet’s destruction.

1948 - Superman Movie Serial

In 1948, Columbia Pictures produced a 15-part Superman film serial. This is the first version of the origin where Mrs. Kent sews Clark’s Superman costume, using material from the baby blankets found in his rocket.

1948 - Superman #53

DC Comics celebrates Superman’s 10^th anniversary by retelling his origin. Clark’s Earthbound parents are renamed John and Mary Kent.

1949 - Superboy #2

Smallville is named for the first time. Prior to this issue, the setting of Clark’s childhood years was inconsistent. In fact, some early Superboy stories erroneously stated that Clark grew up in Metropolis.

1949 - Superman #61

Superman learns about his Kryptonian origins firsthand as he travels back in time and observes Krypton’s final days. As a time-traveling phantom, Kal-El is unable to interact with the world around him, but he’s able to observe it. He learns his birthname, who his parents were and where he came from. Previously, these facts had been known to the readers but not to Superman himself.

1950 - Superboy #12

Mary Kent is renamed Marthe. Close, but not quite right yet.

1951 - Adventure Comics #169

WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?! Marthe Kent is renamed Martha Kent.

1960 - Action Comics #262

This issue introduced the idea that Superman gets his powers from Earth’s yellow sun while his home planet of Krypton orbits a red sun. This became the permanent explanation for Superman’s powerset going forward.

1978 - Superman: The Movie

In addition to being a groundbreaking superhero movie, 1978’s Supermanalso added some key elements to Superman’s origin. The movie establishes that the S on Superman’s chest is a family crest representing the House of El. The film also places Smallville in the state of Kansas for the first time.

Superman presents the Fortress of Solitude as a giant crystalized structure containing a living recording of the Man of Steel’s parents and all of Krypton’s history. In this version of the origin, Superman learns about his heritage from a living recording of his father Jor-El, which probably makes more sense than time travel. The relationship between Superman and his “ghost dad” would become a key part of the mythos.

1986 - The Man of Steel

After the reality warping events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, comic book writer and artist John Byrne famously retold Superman’s origin in a groundbreaking limited series. This version of the origin combined elements from the Golden Age and the 1978 film, creating a new comprehensive version of Superman’s backstory. Clark’s history as Superboy was erased, and the Kents survived to see their son become Superman.

This time around, Clark didn’t develop his powers until his adolescence, erasing the idea that Clark was super-powered as a baby and bringing back the status quo established in the George Lowther novel. The origin presented in The Man of Steel would become the gold standard going forward, with most retellings building off its concepts and themes.

Superman’s origin keeps on reinventing itself, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Still, it’s great to consider how much it’s evolved already. The next time you see the Kent farm on a Superman TV show or movie, think of the George Lowther novel. When you watch the Martha scene in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, think of Adventure Comics #169. Superman’s origin is a constantly changing story, building off everything that came before it. That’s one of the things that makes his legacy so special.

As a salute to Superman - and of course, journalist Clark Kent - we give you today s Drink Of The Day, a Journalist Cocktail & Mocktail!

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San Francisco: History in Overview

Perched atop hills and filled-in marshland at the entrance to one of the Pacific Ocean’s largest natural harbors, San Francisco has had an outsized influence on the history of California and the United States. Originally a Spanish (later Mexican) mission and pueblo, it was conquered by the United States in 1846, and flooded by an invading army of prospectors following the 1848 discovery of gold in hills around the Bay Area. The Gold Rush made San Francisco a cosmopolitan metropolis with a frontier edge. The great 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed much of the city but barely slowed its momentum; San Francisco barreled through the 20th century as a center of wealth, military power, & progressive culture, and has come out in the 21st century as a center for high technology.

San Francisco: Prehistory and Founding

The first inhabitants of the San Francisco area arrived around 3000 B.C. By the 16th century, when the first Europeans sailed along the California coast - somehow always missing the Golden Gate Strait, due to fog - the area was inhabited by the Ohlone-speaking Yelamu tribe. The first westerners to see the bay were members of the 1769 Portola expedition. Seven years later, Juan Bautiza de Anza marched north from San Diego with a settlement party, and on June 29, 1776, Spanish settlers officially founded the Presidio of San Francisco and the Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores)

By 1808 Mission San Francisco de Asis was the center of spiritual and material life for more than 1,000 people drawn from local tribes.

San Francisco: Mexican Rule, American Takeover

In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain, officially ending the mission era. In 1835 an American, William Richardson, became the first permanent resident of the Spanish settlement of Yerba Buena, which would later be re-named to San Francisco. By the 1840s dozens more Americans came to California and began agitating for independence. After a briefly declared “California Republic,” they welcomed the arrival of James B. Montgomery, a U.S. Navy captain who came ashore on July 9, 1846, to raise the U.S. flag in the plaza - what would become today’s Portsmouth Square - at the heart of San Fransisco.

San Francisco: Gold Rush and Rapid Growth

On January 24, 1848, the first gold was found at Sutter’s Fort, in the California foothills. Within months, San Francisco (renamed from Yerba Buena in 1847) became the central port and depot of the frenzied Gold Rush. Over the next year, arriving “forty-niners” increased the city’s population from 1,000 to 25,000.

In 1849 San Francisco’s harbor was filled with abandoned ships, whose crews had deserted to head for the gold fields. Many of the vessels were used as raw materials for the city’s harborside expansion.

The city was lawless and wild, its Barbary Coast district full of prostitution and gambling. Six major fires broke out between 1849 and 1851. In 1859 the silver boom of Nevada’s Comstock Lode again filled the city’s docks and lined its pockets. Construction of the Central Pacific Railroad—funded by the “Big Four” businessmen Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington and Leland Stanford—drew thousands of laborers from China. Although many were later forced to leave by exclusionary U.S. immigration policies, San Francisco’s thriving Chinatown quickly became the largest Chinese settlement outside of Asia.

San Francisco: The Cable Car Era Begins

Andrew Smith Hallidie was an American entrepreneur and engineer who is widely celebrated as the inventor of the first practical cable car system. Born in London, he immigrated to California during the Gold Rush, where he used his engineering background to design wire suspension bridges and overhead tramways for mines.

Hallidie tested the first cable car at 4 o'clock in the morning on August 2, 1873, on San Francisco's Clay Street. His idea for a steam engine-powered, cable driven rail system was conceived in 1869, after witnessing an accident in which a streetcar drawn by horses over wet cobblestones on a steep stretch of Jackson Street slid backwards, killing the horses.

Hallidie’s Clay Street Hill Railroad was the sole San Francisco cable car company for four years, though many others would soon develop. Eventually, San Francisco cable car companies laid down 53 miles of track stretching from the Ferry Building to the Presidio, to Golden Gate Park, to the Castro, and to the Mission.

During the 1940s, the “Great American Streetcar Scandal” - a real cabal of big oil, big automotive, & tire corporations - tried to kill off streetcar systems around the country, and replace them with buses. In many cities they were successful, though not San Francisco. The people of San Fransisco rallied in 1947, passing ballot measure 10, which saved their streetcars, and forced the big corporations to back off.

Their iconic cable cars were officially designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1964, becoming the first moving National Historic Landmark in the United States. Today, there are only three cable car lines left, all of which are operated by the SFMTA (San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Authority)

San Francisco: Earthquake, Fire and Recovery

On April 18, 1906, the San Andreas Fault slipped more than 10 feet, unleashing a massive earthquake later estimated at 7.8 on the Richter scale. The tremors broke water mains and triggered fires that raged for four days, killing 3,000 people, destroying 25,000 buildings and leaving 250,000 homeless. The city rebuilt quickly with an improved city center and hosted the lavish Panama International Exposition just nine years later.

The 1930s saw growth both in the city and its outlying communities, with the construction of the iconic Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay Bridges.

San Francisco: World War II and the Cold War

San Francisco was the main point of embarkation for World War II’s Pacific theater, and the region became a major arms production center. Embarrassingly, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the city’s Japanese residents were forced into internment camps far inland. Their abandoned neighborhood was soon filled by African-Americans arriving from the South to work in the war industries.

The city also played a key role in the transition from World War II to the Cold War, hosting the 1945 conference at which the U.N. Charter was drafted and continuing to draw workers to develop technologies for the nuclear age. In the decades following the Cold War, U.S. government defense spending & foundational work by technology researchers—such as the creation of the silicon transistor—began to establish the wider Bay Area as a hardware, software, technology, & research mecca.

San Francisco: Counterculture

While it’s technology future was beginning to develop, San Francisco also became the center of cultural bohemianism. In earlier years, it had drawn writers from Mark Twain to Jack London, and it became a center for the 1950s beat poets and for the Haight-Ashbury hippie counterculture that peaked with the 1967 “Summer of Love.”

Long a hotbed of environmental, labor, and women’s rights activism, the city also gained a reputation for welcoming gays and lesbians, and its Castro District became a center of the gay rights movement. In the 1980s, the city worked hard to respond to the challenges of chronic homelessness and the AIDS epidemic.

San Francisco’s Rise As A Tech Center

On October 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the city, damaging buildings, collapsing freeways, killing 67, and injuring nearly 4000 people . A decade later, a regional economic boom centered on Internet technology began, based in large part on the tech roots that had been planted there during the Cold War, and the crowded city’s population, steady for decades, began to rise again.

During the second half of the 1990’s, commercialization of the internet drew a wave of optimistic, web-first startups into the city, as the first Dot Com boom grew. After the first Dot Com bust happened, around 2000, San Francisco & the Bay Area began growing again, with the advent of mobile apps, cloud computing, and social networking. Giant corporations like Twitter and Salesforce defined this period, bringing thousands of jobs directly into downtown San Francisco.

San Francisco - a city worth celebrating!

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A Brush With History

By the time Emperor Hongzhi, the tenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China, had invented the toothbrush, most societies around the world had already worked out some way of cleaning their teeth. Methods across various societies included toothpicks, frayed sticks, cloths and rags, knives, and substances including bicarbonate of soda rubbed straight into the teeth with a finger.

However, the Emperor’s invention, a combination of bristles and handle, was completely new. His invention used bristles from a pig affixed to a handle made of bone or bamboo, enabling him to reach the parts of his mouth that other cleaning devices could not reach. One of the other key notes in history about Emperor Hongzhi - whose personal name was Zhu Youcheng - was that he was the only Chinese Emperor known to be monogamous. His impeccable dental health may have had something to do with that.

The idea of teeth brushing took a good couple of centuries to catch on in the West, not least because European societies were generally not big on washing of any kind during the 1500s. Also, as the joke goes, if the tool invented by Emperor Hongzhi had instead been invented by a European hillbilly with questionable hygiene, it would have originally been called a “tooth brush” and not a “teeth brush,” for obvious reasons.

Still, consider this little brush and the habit that goes with it —so important for health and happiness—and how it came into our lives. From ancient China, through the trade routes of the Middle East, the tool & habit of brushing one’s teeth traveled with traders along the Silk Road, and eventually arrived in the West, specifically in France.

Although French men and women were likely no more fastidious than other Europeans, France was the first country to have a dedicated dentist - rather than just a simple tooth puller - who cared for teeth and promoted dental hygiene. In 1649, a wealthy Englishman living in Paris, Sir Ralph Verney, wrote in his diary that members of the French aristocracy had “little brushes for making cleane of the teeth, most covered with sylver and some few with gold and sylver Twiste.”

Nicholas Lemery, a French chemist who served as apothecary to the French King in the late 1600s. was one of the first to recommend rubbing one’s teeth with dentifrice - a powder used for cleaning - along with a brush for the teeth, and then a rinse with claret.

Thomas Hearne, an English historian & antiquary in the early 1700s. was one of the first Europeans to popularize the “innovation” of teeth brushing to the masses. noting in his work detailing Islamic traditions that “making clean their teeth with a brush” had been a ritual part of Muslim post-prayer ablutions for average people for hundreds of years.

The Compleat Housewife, a popular book first published in London in 1741, included a recipe for an “admirable Powder for the Teeth.” It also advised using a cloth on the finger, as “The too frequent use of the tooth-brush makes the teeth become long and deformed, altho’ it be a good instrument, and the moderate use of it proper enough.” A similar recipe for teeth cleaning powder can be found in Martha Washington’s manuscript Cookery Book, though as we all can guess, George apparently never read that tome.

Advertisements for dentists and dental products began appearing in several newspapers published in the British colonies of North America during the 1750s. One such ad in The South Carolina Gazette (Aug. 26, 1756) offered toothbrushes, “galenical medicines,” surgical instruments, and Greenough’s tincture for the teeth—for which Thomas Greenough, of London, had obtained a British patent in 1743. Another advertisement in The Pennsylvania Gazette (Nov. 27, 1760) was posted by John Wilkins, a Philadelphia craftsman who made toothbrushes, scrubbing brushes, and such, and who offered ready money for hog bristles.

There are even records of our American forefathers using toothbrushes. George Washington (who eventually lost all his teeth) bought toothbrushes in Williamsburg and in Philadelphia when he was younger. Thomas Jefferson once asked a colleague in London to purchase “½ doz. tooth brushes, the hair neither too strong nor too weak, without spunges. ½ doz. do. with the strongest hair, such as hog’s bristle, without spunges also. A silver tooth pick case, the smallest possible, such as you may have seen me use, if you should happen to have noticed mine. They cost about a dollar.” Archaeologists digging in Williamsburg in 1988 found a bone handle, perhaps for a toothbrush, inscribed “th. Jefferson.”)

The use of dental products exploded around the world in the 1800s, especially in the United States. One key factor for that growth here was a growing middle class with disposable income. Another was a growing dental profession. A third was a growing commercial culture that brought toothbrushes, pastes, and powders to shops in communities across the country.

Today, the U.S. oral hygiene industry is a multi-billion dollar sector, valued at approximately $12 to $15 billion annually, and heavily driven by preventive care, including the act of brushing one’s teeth. And all of it began with Chinese Ming dynasty Emperor Hongzhi, who just wanted to have a clean mouth to kiss his one & only sweetheart.

With that in mind, let’s celebrate National Teeth Brushing Day with today’s Drink Of The Day, a Sweetie Pie Cocktail.

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National Catfish Day

Catfish are a diverse, highly adaptable group of ray-finned fish named for the prominent, whisker-like sensory organs on their faces, near their mouths, known as barbels. They are typically bottom-feeders in freshwater (although they can be trained to eat from the surface when farmed), and many species are farmed or fished for food.

Who would have known that there would actually be an entire day devoted to celebrating these fish with whiskers? Well, now is the time to not only celebrate National Catfish Day but also to tell a friend about it.

Happy National Catfish Day!

History of National Catfish Day

The origin of this unique holiday began on June 25, 1987, when President Ronald Reagan issued Presidential Proclamation 5672, and gave a presidential address on the catfish.

Although this probably feels like a really strange topic for a presidential speech, there was a purpose to it. Reagan explained how catfish farming was able to create both a stable income for catfish farmers as well as an affordable and healthy food source for the American people. He then announced that Congress had passed a joint resolution to celebrate the economic & agricultural value of the U.S. farm-raised catfish industry.

National Catfish Day is now traditionally celebrated on the anniversary of President Reagan’s address. It is observed primarily in the United States, by preparing and eating catfish, as well as with a few catfish festivals that are hosted in various cities at different times of the year.

How to Celebrate National Catfish Day

There are a lot of way to celebrate this holiday: Cook up some catfish at home, visit a catfish festival, or find a local restaurant serving this tasty fish to make the most of National Catfish Day. We’ve got a whole list of things you could do.

Learn a Bit About Catfish

Many people aren’t really aware of much about this ray-finned fish, like the fact that their name comes from the barbels prominent on the sides of their faces that resemble the whiskers on a cat. Other interesting facts about this nocturnal fish include:

• At least 2900 different species of catfish can be found in rivers or coastal waters on all of the continents on the planet except for Antarctica.

• Depending on species and location, a catfish in the wild could live up to 60 years. That’s quite a lifespan for a fish!

• Catfish are prolific breeders. In fact, a single catfish can lay up to 4000 eggs per pound of its body weight each year.

• Catfish are the 5th most popular fish to be eaten in the United States, and they are farmed in freshwater ponds that are only between four and six feet in depth.

Put Catfish on the Menu at Home

Making catfish at home can be fairly simple. Many people like to grill or fry it with a simple breading made of flour or cornmeal. But catfish doesn’t have to be boring! Try out these unique ideas for an adventurous culinary experience surrounding this fish:

• Pretzel Crusted Catfish. The pretzels in the breading bring out a unique, salty flavor that works well with the white fish.

• Blackened Catfish with Mango Avocado Salsa. A healthier way to cook catfish, instead of frying it in oil, is blackening it on the grill. Serve it with a healthy fruit salsa that brings out the natural tastiness.

• BLT Catfish Sandwiches. Catfish can have a whole new lease on life when added to a traditional bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Serve with mayonnaise or sweet chili sauce for an extra zing.

• Cajun Baked Catfish. Another healthier alternative to frying is baking catfish. And adding cajun-type spices to a cornmeal breading is simply to die for.

• Oven-Fried Catfish - Check out this simple & healthier version of catfish.

Head South for a Catfish Dinner

To find the best that catfish has to offer, it might be necessary to take a trip down to the southern parts of the United States, where catfish hails from.

The fish is likely to be fresher and the chefs are likely to be more adept at cooking this southern specialty. Give these southern restaurants a try in celebration of National Catfish Day:

• Jerry’s Catfish House, Florence, MS. Might as well start in Mississippi, where the catfish are prolific. Jerry’s is one of Florence’s oldest catfish houses and they are a well-kept secret (without any social media presence). But their catfish, hushpuppies and coleslaw are to die for.

• Johnny’s Catfish & Seafood, Shreveport, LA. Moving over to the bayou state, the owners here are generous with portions and even sell big bags of their cornmeal and flour breading for folks to make their own catfish at home.

• Paramore Too Restaurant, Blountstown, FL. Getting way down south, this restaurant might look ho-hum from the outside, but the huge portions and delicious fresh fish make it worth a visit to this cash-only restaurant.

• Catfish Kitchen, Benton, KY. A truly down-home place, this unassuming southern catfish restaurant lets guests feed the turtles in the back pond. Order the catfish fried as it is usually served or call ahead to have it baked in advance.

Join in on a National Catfish Day Festival

Several American cities now have festivals known as “National Catfish Days” in late July, featuring sporting events, fairs, parades, fun runs, beauty pageants and other family-friendly activities.

• Belzoni, Mississippi is the home of “The World Catfish Festival” which boasts a 65-mile radius where around 60% of America’s farm-raised catfish are grown. They’ve been holding the catfish festival here annually since at least 1975. This was at least ten years before President Reagan and Congress made National Catfish Day official–so Belzoni was certainly ahead of the game.

• Kingsland, Georgia, another southern town has been hosting their annual Kingsland Catfish Festival since 1983 (often happening later in the year). They have arts, crafts, live music, food vendors, a beauty pageant, a 5K fun run, and more as part of their Catfish Festival. Of course, one of the most important events is a Catfish Cookoff!

• Another National Catfish Days celebration can be found in Wilmington, Illinois. Even though it’s located in the northern part of the U.S., this farming community just southwest of Chicago is known by some as “Catfish Town.”

Laugh Out Loud with Catfish Jokes

Put a smile on someone’s face and share these silly catfish jokes with friends, family or coworkers to get into the spirit of National Catfish Day:

• What do you call a catfish that doesn’t want to take the bait? Standoff-fish.

• What’s the best way to communicate with a catfish? Drop it a line.

• What kind of fish chase mice? Catfish, of course.

• What did the catfish say when he posted bail? I’m off the hook!

• “Have you ever seen a cat-fish? No. I didn’t realize they could bait a hook!”

Have A Catfish-Related Drink

Of course, we think an excellent way to celebrate this holiday is to have a catfish-related drink, like today’s Drink Of The Day, a Swampwater cocktail!

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U.S. Air Force Says ‘Nothing To See Here’

On June 24, 1997, almost exactly fifty years after the original Roswell incident, U.S. Air Force officials released a 231-page report dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell, New Mexico, which reportedly happened the first week of July 1947.

Public interest in Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, first began to flourish in the late 1940s, after the end of World War II, when developments in space travel and the dawn of the atomic age caused many Americans to turn their attention to the skies. The town of Roswell, located near the Pecos River in southeastern New Mexico, became a magnet for UFO believers due to the strange events of early July 1947.

That’s when ranch foreman W.W. Brazel found a strange, shiny material scattered over some of his land. He turned the material over to the sheriff, who passed it on to authorities at the nearby Air Force base. On July 8, Air Force officials announced they had recovered the wreckage of a “flying disk.” A local newspaper put the story on its front page, launching Roswell into the spotlight of the public’s UFO fascination.

The Air Force soon took back their story, however, saying the debris had been merely a downed weather balloon. Aside from die-hard UFO believers, or “ufologists,” public interest in the so-called “Roswell Incident” faded until the late 1970s, when claims surfaced that the military had invented the weather balloon story as a cover-up. Believers in this theory argued that officials had in fact retrieved several alien bodies from the crashed spacecraft, which were now stored in the mysterious Area 51 installation in Nevada. Seeking to dispel these suspicions, the Air Force issued a 1,000-page report in 1994 stating that the crashed object was actually a high-altitude weather balloon launched from a nearby missile test-site as part of a classified experiment aimed at monitoring the atmosphere in order to detect Soviet nuclear tests. Unsurprisingly, that report didn’t satisfy those who believed aliens had really crash landed at Roswell

So on July 24, 1997, barely a week before the extravagant festivities planned for the 50th anniversary celebration of the Roswell Incident, the Air Force released yet another report on the controversial subject. Titled “The Roswell Report, Case Closed,” the document stated definitively that there was no official evidence that any kind of life form was found in the Roswell area in connection with the reported UFO sightings, and that the “bodies” recovered were not aliens but dummies used in parachute tests conducted in the region. Any hopes that this would put an end to the cover-up debate were in vain however, as furious ufologists rushed to point out the report’s inconsistencies.

In the years since, thanks to conspiracy theories, the Internet, and the marketing of the town and local businesses there, Roswell New Mexico continues to thrive as a tourist destination for UFO enthusiasts far and wide, hosting the annual UFO Encounter Festival each July (happening this year July 2-4) and welcoming visitors year-round to its International UFO Museum and Research Center.

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History Of The Reflecting Pool

The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., is a 2,028-foot-long water basin. Designed by architect Henry Bacon, it was completed in 1923 to beautifully connect the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

As the blog “Ghosts of DC” notes, the pool was also built on a marshy strip of land that was originally a tidal mosquito swamp, located between the foot of the Washington Monument and the Potomac River. To create the land area that’s now known as West Potomac Park, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ran dredgers through the river - for over forty years, starting in 1870. By August 30th, 1911, they had moved more than 12 million cubic yards of mud out of the Potomac and dumped it where the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool now stand.

Unlike the Lincoln Memorial, which sits on top of 122 concrete pillars driven 44 to 65 feet into the earth, the Reflecting Pool was built with no foundation. Its bottom was laid in asphalt and tile, and placed directly on the soft, dredged riverbed. No underlying support structure. No pilings. And nearly seven million gallons of water sitting in a concrete basin, made of multiple parts, on ground with the consistency of wet sponge, for about a century.

After having the above information, and looking at the two pictures below, it should be blindingly clear that the Reflecting Pool, while pretty, was also poorly constructed from the start. When DC residents say this place is a swamp, it’s not just a metaphor.

Something Else Obama Had To Fix

By the late 2000s, the pool was losing roughly 500,000 gallons of water per week to cracks, leaks, and evaporation. That was simply an unsustainable loss. So while President Obama & Democrats were not only expected to save the U.S. banking system & world economy from disasters handed to them by Republicans, while trying to overhaul the massively corrupt U.S. health care insurance system - they also had to save one of the most iconic pieces of infrastructure in DC. No pressure.

In November 2010, using $30.74 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, the National Park Service tore out almost every part of the Reflecting Pool that had been built and modified over the previous century. In May 2011, contractors began driving 2,113 wood pilings, each 40 feet long, into the marshy clay below. They then built a new bottom for the pool on top of the pilings, that was supposed to retain water, and stabilize the infrastructure for decades to come. The Reflecting Pool reopened to the public on August 31st, 2012.

Within weeks an algae bloom covered the surface of the pool, and the U.S. Park Service had to drain it again. Because it’s a freakin’ swamp, people.

Donald Makes It Worse, As Always

As David Fahrenthold and Luke Broadwater of the NY Times wrote in early May, Trump’s desire to have the National Mall be picture perfect for his celebration of the 250th birthday of the U.S. is part of what drove him to focus on trying to clear up the Reflecting Pool. But as their story makes clear, from the illegitimate, overinflated, no-bid contract given to the cigar-puffing crony of Trump’s, to the sealant used by the company (which was for truck beds, not granite), to their use of hydrogen peroxide to try to kill the algae - which is also similar to paint thinner and breaks down the sealant coating they used - everything Trump has demanded to be done to the pool has only made things worse.

As you can see in this series of photos (Courtesy of ABC news), the Reflecting Pool has only gotten greener, not bluer.

As Hayes Brown of MSNOW noted this week, the Reflecting Pool disaster caused by Trump is a perfect - and perfectly ugly - metaphor for Trump’s entire second regime. Donald Trump has a hubristic habit of claiming he’s getting things done that nobody has before, rushing through the efforts, breaking laws & rules bullying everyone — and then blaming others when things go south. With this project, it’s no different.

Still, while we may all know how much of a failure Donald Trump is, it should be noted that the area where the Reflecting Pool is located has been swampy marsh flats for almost as long as the U.S. has been a nation. That he couldn’t fix it right away shouldn’t surprise anyone, even discounting his graft & incompetence. It’s a pool of water that’s 2,028 feet long, 167 feet wide, 18 inches deep at the edges and 30 inches in the middle, filled with water that’s supposed to remain still as it’s baked by the sun, during Washington DC’s 90+ degree summers. Of course it’s going to grow algae! It’s a freakin’ swamp!

Still, since you requested it, and we aim to please, in honor of the mess Trump has made of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, today’s Drink of The Day is a Trumped Up Reflecting Pool Cocktail & Mocktail! Drink up!

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National Limoncello Day is marked every year on June 22. The day symbolizes the idea that even the most difficult situations can be turned into positive experiences. When life hands you lemons, it means you’re in a challenging situation. The importance of turning such events or situations into something good and positive is symbolized by National Limoncello Day.

History Of Limoncello & National Limoncello Day

Limoncello is an Italian liqueur made from the zest of lemons, water, sugar, and alcohol - usually vodka or grappa. The exact origin of limoncello is heavily debated, with the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, and the island of Capri all claiming to be its birthplace. The Italian industry trade group that regulates limoncello agrees traces its roots to the early 1900s, when an Italian woman named Maria Antonia Farace first produced and served the sweet, citrusy liqueur on the island of Capri.

Limoncello is traditionally made with Femminello St. Teresa lemons, which are native to the Italian Sorrento Peninsula. This sweet and sour beverage is popular all over the world, but it is primarily produced in Southern Italy, particularly in the Capri region, the Sorrentine Peninsula, and the Amalfi Coast. Limoncello production necessitates a great deal of attention and precision. Lemons are harvested during the summer months, from February to October. They are hand-picked to avoid contact with the ground at all times.

Limoncello is the second-most popular liqueur in Italy and is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestif. It is also a popular homemade liqueur, with various recipes available online and in print.

American Marie Barber and her husband are credited with beginning the holiday of National Limoncello Day, After they were confronted with a difficult situation on June 22, 2017, they chose to take a positive spin on the event, based on the old adage “turning lemons into lemonade.” They decided to modify the phrase to “turning lemons into limoncello” and make their own annual tradition to celebrate overcoming adversity. They shared their experience on the internet, and every year since on June 22nd, National Limoncello Day is observed.

National Limoncello Day FAQs

Where does limoncello come from?

Southern Italy. Limoncello is a lemon-flavored Italian liqueur. It’s mostly made in Sorrento, Capri, along the Amalfi Coast in Southern Italy.

What type of lemons are used in limoncello?

Traditionally, limoncello is made from the zest of Femminello St. Teresa lemons, also known as Sorrento or Sfusato lemons. Lemon zest, or peels without the pith, is steeped in rectified spirit until the oil is released.

What is the difference between limoncello and limoncino?

In short, regional language usage. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur mainly produced in Southern Italy, especially in the region around the Gulf of Naples, the Sorrentine Peninsula, the coast of Amalfi, and the islands of Procida, Ischia, and Capri. In northern Italy, the liqueur is often referred to instead as Limoncino.

Five Interesting Facts About Lemons

Lemons are berries

Botanically speaking, lemons are berries. They fit the scientific definition of a berry because they develop from a single ovary and contain seeds. Specifically, lemons are a specialized type of berry with a leathery rind and a juicy interior divided into segments, known as a hesperidium. But in common parlance, lemons are considered citrus fruits.

Lemons have anti-bacterial properties

Lemon juice in hot water can help with a sore throat because lemons have antibacterial properties.

Lemons can be used to dye hair

Apply lemon juice to your hair every day and sit in the sun for a week to get some natural highlights.

Lemons help to burn excess fat

Due to their acidic nature, lemons can burn calories and reduce fat.

They also have antioxidant properties

Other fruits can be kept from turning brown by sprinkling lemon juice on them.

Ways To Celebrate National Limoncello Day

Treat your friends with lemon drinks or food

Everyone enjoys a refreshing beverage, so why not treat your friends to one? Beat the heat by getting together with friends and having a refreshing glass of limoncello.

Of course, you may want to have something tasty to serve them, like this simple recipe for Easy Lemon Bon Bons!

Enjoy a cool drink of limoncello

Sip an ice-cold glass of limoncello on this sunny day and think about how you can turn the lemons in your life into limoncello. What better way is there to spend a lazy afternoon?

Make a fresh limoncello cocktail

Sure, you could just drink limoncello. Or? You could make a great limoncello cocktail, like the Bon Bon Cocktail, today’s Drink Of The Day!

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The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth

Emancipation Day celebration, June 19, 1900, held in “East Woods” on East 24th Street in Austin, Texas. Credit: Austin History Center.

For those who are unfamiliar with this day & its history, Juneteenth - also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day - is an annual holiday commemorating the day enslaved African Americans in Texas were finally freed from slavery.

More specifically, Juneteenth marks the date in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, to announce that the Civil War had ended and that all enslaved people were free - a fact that had been kept from the enslaved people of Texas by the pro-Confederate residents for almost two years.

Freedom’s Eve, Watch Night, & A Crucial Delay

During the heat of the U.S. Civil War, in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued an ultimatum to the traitors of the United States, in the Confederate-held territories. Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, following the decisive win by Union forces at the Battle of Antietam. that proclamation declared that slaves in all states still rebelling 100 days later, on January 1, 1863, would be freed, unless the Confederacy laid down its arms and rejoined the Union by the start of the new year. The traitors in the South refused.

So on the eve of January 1, 1863, also known as “Freedom’s Eve,” enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes all across the country, don an evening known as “Watch Night,” awaiting news that Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. At the stroke of midnight, their prayers were answered, as all enslaved people across the United States - including in the Confederate-held states - were declared legally free.

The next day, Union soldiers, many of whom were black, marched onto plantations and across cities in the South, reading aloud to groups of slaves from small copies of the Emancipation Proclamation, and spreading the news of freedom to the Confederate-held states.

Understanding the Significance of June 19, 1865

Unfortunately, not everyone in the U.S. would immediately be free. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective on January 1, 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate-controlled state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later.

In fact, while Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia in April 1865, officially ending the U.S. Civil War, slavery remained relatively intact in Texas as the state had been largely untouched by the war and had avoided Union military occupation. In fact, many former slavers from elsewhere in the South had moved to Texas, specifically to continue their ownership of other human beings.

Freedom finally came to Texas though on June 19, 1865. That’s when General Gordon Granger, Under orders from Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, along with some 2,000 Union troops. Granger was charged with bringing Texas to heel under United States federal control. Granger began his tenure in Texas on June 19, 1865 by issuing five General Orders, the most famous of which was General Order No. 3 which stated the following:

“The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor….”

General Order No. 3 brought Black freedom to Texas two-and-a-half years after it had been issued by Pres. Lincoln. As a result of the order, jubilant celebrations erupted in Galveston and rippled across Texas as the news of the Union’s military occupation and enforcement measures swept the Lone Star state. Granger and his U.S. Army troops continued to spread the word that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state of Texas were, like all other enslaved people in the U.S., free by executive decree. This day came to be known as “Juneteenth,” by the newly freed people in Texas, and was a key moment in the Reconstruction era.

Reflections on Emancipation and Reconstruction

The post-emancipation period known as Reconstruction (1865-1877) marked an era of great hope, uncertainty, and struggle for the nation as a whole. Formerly enslaved people immediately sought to reunify families, establish schools, run for political office, push radically progressive legislation, and even sue slaveholders for compensation.

Given the 200+ years of enslavement at that point in time, such vast & rapid changes were nothing short of amazing. Not even a generation out of slavery, African Americans were inspired and empowered to transform their lives and their country.

Juneteeth - A Celebration of Freedom

Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day. Although it has long been celebrated in the African American community, this monumental event remains largely unknown to many Americans, though that’s changing as more Americans become aware of historical facts they were never previously taught.

The historical legacy of Juneteenth shows the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times. We thank the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC for much of the history we’re using here today.

And now, let’s raise a glass in salute with today’s Drink Of The Day, a Burning Bright Cocktail!

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The Brief History Of The Amazing Drinking Bird

While Miles Sullivan is credited with getting the U.S. patent that allowed this toy to become a nationwide sensation, the knowledge of thermodynamics involved in this toy go back much farther.

While humans have used heat for millennia to cook or run rudimentary steam machines, the scientific equations that govern energy, heat, and their transfer, were discovered and codified in the 1800s. By the early 1900s, a similar Chinese drinking bird toy called ‘The Insatiable Birdie’ was described in the book Physics for Entertainment by Russian science writer Yakov Perelman. In 1922, when Albert Einstein and his second wife Elsa visited Shanghai, China, they saw one of these little birdies, operating on the exact same thermodynamic principles as Sullivan’s toy, and were fascinated by it.

Thermodynamics & How The Bird Works

The drinking bird is a mesmerizing little science toy that has fascinated young and old alike for more than a century. Also known as the happy bird, the dippy bird, the happy dippy bird, and other similar variations, this toy is a perfect example of how thermodynamics - the branch of physics that studies the relationships between heat, work, temperature, and energy - actually works.

The drinking bird operates based on the principles of thermodynamics and fluid dynamics. At its core, the bird consists of two sealed glass bulbs connected by a single tube. The lower bulb is partially filled with a scientifically “volatile” liquid, usually methylene chloride, which evaporates at a relatively low temperature. When the beak of the bird is moistened, water is absorbed in the material around the head bulb. As the water evaporates, it cools, causing the temperature in the head bulb to drop. This temperature difference creates a pressure difference between the two bulbs, causing the liquid to rise up the tube. As the liquid shifts, the bird becomes top-heavy and tips over, dipping its beak into the water and restarting the cycle.

How It Works, In Detail

The only way any substance can pass between the two bulbs is through the narrow glass tube at its center, that connects two bulbs - one on top, and one on the bottom. The top bulb is covered with a porous felt like material that also makes up the beak. On top of the head is a plastic top hat, which is only for decoration. Taped to the bottom chamber are tail feathers, which help it to maintain balance. The whole thing is suspended from plastic legs, with a horizontal piece of metal that acts as a pivot, allowing it to bob up and down. Inside, the drinking bird is a highly volatile liquid known as methylene chloride (CH₂Cl₂).

Since methylene chloride is colorless, coloring must be added to enhance the visual effect. This liquid is also highly volatile, meaning it evaporates rapidly due to weak intermolecular bonds in its liquid state. Its boiling point is 39.7 °C (103.5 °F), and its vapor pressure at room temperature is 46 kilopascals (compared to only 3 kPa for water). Methylene chloride is somewhat toxic, so if a drinking bird breaks, care must be exercised in cleaning it up. Methylene chloride is commonly used as an industrial cleaner, degreaser, and paint remover. After the methylene chloride is added by the manufacturer, most of the remaining air is then vacuumed out.

Because a near vacuum now exists within the bird, the highly volatile liquid readily evaporates until the space above the liquid is saturated with vapor. At this point, a dynamic equilibrium is established within the bird between the liquid and the vapor above it. Once equilibrium is established, anytime a molecule evaporates, another molecule will condense, resulting in an overall constant amount of vapor within the bird as long as the temperature stays constant.

To activate the drinking bird, his head is dipped into a glass of water, or other evaporative liquid, and he is then set upright in such a position that when he tips his beak, he will be able to reach into the glass of water. Once the head is wet, a strange thing immediately begins to happen. Like magic, the fluid begins to rise upward into the head, until his head fills with liquid. The head then becomes top heavy as the center of gravity of the bird is raised. The bird then topples over, takes another drink. As the bird tips over, the liquid flows back to the bottom bulb, restoring the low center of gravity. The bird resumes its upright position, beginning the whole process all over again.

To understand what makes the fluid rise within the bird, think about what happens whenever your own head gets wet. As long as the relative humidity is not 100%, the water will immediately begin to evaporate. And evaporation always causes cooling, because it is an endothermic process. That’s why you sweat when you get hot; it’s not the sweating itself that cools you, but rather the evaporation of the sweat from your body. Any phase change that requires bond breaking will be endothermic, because energy is required to break bonds. This energy is drawn from the surroundings, thereby causing the temperature of the surroundings to decrease. Because water evaporates from the head of the bird, the head immediately begins to cool. This is the most crucial point in understanding how the drinking bird works.

Cooler Heads Prevail

If you could cool the head another way, the drinking bird would work just the same. When the head begins to cool, some of the vapor within the head will condense into tiny droplets of liquid. A similar process occurs at night when water vapor condenses out of the air as it cools, forming dew on the ground. Because some of the vapor condenses within the top chamber of the bird, there is now less vapor pressure in the top bulb. Less vapor means less pressure. But the vapor pressure within the bottom bulb has not changed. Because the vapor pressure in the bottom bulb is now greater than the pressure in the top bulb, the liquid is forced upward into the top chamber. (Don’t say the liquid is sucked up into the top chamber—science never sucks!) Once the bird tips over, vapor from the bottom travels to the top until the pressure in both spheres equalizes and the bird begins the process all over again.

To understand how a pressure differential causes fluid within the bird to rise, consider what happens when you use an ordinary drinking straw. When you suck fluid up into the straw, you create a region of reduced pressure within the straw. Because outside air pressure is greater, it pushes downward on the surface of the fluid, forcing it upward.

Drinking Bird Toys, In The Wild

Not only is the drinking bird educational, but it can also provide hours of entertainment. Many science museums feature displays of drinking birds. No science classroom would be complete without one. The amazing drinking bird has even appeared in a 1995 episode of The Simpsons, where Homer positions a drinking bird in front of his keyboard to help monitor the controls at the Springfield nuclear power plant. The artist Daniel Reynolds spent a small fortune and several years developing an art exhibit comprising a whole flock of giant 6½ feet tall drinking birds, each weighing 3,000 times more than an original drinking bird. They had to be made with a special vacuum attachment in order to work properly.

There are many variations on the drinking bird. They come in a variety of styles and sizes. There is even a drinking giraffe! The very popular, but falsely named “hand-boiler” is nothing more than a drinking bird that is stripped down to the bare essentials. It works either by cooling the top or warming the bottom.

The next time you need a unique gift for the person who has everything, consider a drinking bird toy. A quick search on the Internet will reveal a plethora of sellers willing to help you with your gift-giving. They especially make great gifts for science teachers!

And on that note, let’s dip out own beaks in today’s Drink Of The Day, a Salty Bird Cocktail!

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Creating the Statue 1865 - 1886

The Early Stages

In 1865, a French political intellectual and anti-slavery activist named Edouard de Laboulaye proposed that a statue representing liberty be built for the United States. This monument would honor the United States’ centennial of independence and its friendship with France. French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi supported de Laboulaye’s idea and in 1870 began designing the statue of “Liberty Enlightening the World.”

While Bartholdi was designing the Statue, he also took a trip to the United States in 1871. During the trip, Bartholdi selected Bedloe’s Island as the site for the Statue. Although the island was small, it was visible to every ship entering New York Harbor, which Bartholdi viewed as the “gateway to America.”

In 1876, French artisans and craftsmen began constructing the Statue in France under Bartholdi’s direction at his studio in Paris. The arm holding the torch was completed that first year, 1876, shipped to the United States, and shown at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

The head and shoulders were completed in 1878 and displayed at the Paris Universal Exposition.

The entire Statue was completed and assembled in Paris between 1881 and 1884. Also in 1884, construction on the pedestal began in the United States.

Crossing the Atlantic

After the Statue was presented to Levi P. Morton, the U.S. ambassador to France, on July 4, 1884 in Paris, it was disassembled and shipped to the United States aboard the French Navy ship, Isère.

The Statue arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885, and was met with great fanfare. Unfortunately, the pedestal for the Statue was not yet complete and the entire structure was not reassembled on Bedloe’s Island until 1886.

Assembling the Statue

Once the pedestal was completed in 1886, the Statue was reassembled with surprising speed by a fearless construction crew - many of whom were new immigrants.

The first piece of the Statue to be reconstructed was Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel’s iron framework. The rest of the Statue’s elements followed without the use of scaffolding - all construction materials were hoisted up by steam-driven cranes and derricks. In order to sculpt the Statue’s skin, Eiffel used the repoussé technique developed by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. This technique was the process of molding lightweight copper sheets by hammering them onto the Statue’s hallowed framework.

Although Fort Wood remained on Bedloe’s Island, it was not an obstacle in the design, construction, or reassembly of the Statue of Liberty. Instead, the star-shaped structure became a part of the Statue’s base - the pedestal sits within its walls.

The Statue Unveiled

On October 28, 1886, the statue of “Liberty Enlightening the World” was officially unveiled. The day’s wet and foggy weather did not stop some one million New Yorkers from turning out to cheer for The Statue of Liberty. Parades on land and sea honored the Statue while flags and music filled the air and the official dedication took place beneath the colossus “glistening with rain.” When it was time for Bartholdi to release the tricolor French flag that veiled Liberty’s face, a roar of guns, whistles, and applause sounded.

As a salute to Lady Liberty, and all those responsible for bringing her to the U.S., we raise a glass of today’s Drink Of The Day, a New York Sour!

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Inspiration: Haulin’ Coal - & Haulin’ Ass Too

In 1827, the Mauch Chunk and Summit Railroad - also known as the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway - was the second permanent railroad constructed in the United States and the first over five miles long. It was never intended to become a tourist attraction. It was built by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company to carry coal out of rugged mountain mines located along a nine mile stretch in Eastern Pennsylvania. The rail line was not only constructed to carry coal down the mountainside, but also carry miners up, to help them return to their homes.

While primarily gravity powered, like its rival the B&O Railroad, the Mauch Chunk at first partially used animal power. Mules & asses hauled the empty coal tubs to the summit and then were sent down in the last batch of cars; the return trip required 4–5 hours. Crews would send down groups of 6–8 coal cars under control of a brakeman, and once 40–42 cars were down, send down the special “mule cars” with the animals, thus having just enough animals to return all the cars back to the top. In 1846, animal power was replaced by two two steam-powered funicular systems to haul the cars uphill, but travel downhill continued to rely on the power of gravity.

A more efficient rail line was built in 1872 and the Mauch rail line was purchased by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) in 1874. Seeing the commercial value of offering rides to the general public, 19th-century entrepreneurs Theodore and H.L. Mumford leased the rail line from the CNJ and began operating the railway as a tourist attraction until the Great Depression forced its closure in 1932.

Considered to be America’s first roller coaster “thrill” ride, the Mauch Rail Line began taking on passengers in 1874 and was an immediate success. Passengers would board at a station in Mauch Chunk (now called “Jim Thorpe”) before ascending 664 feet to the top of the Mount Pisgah incline, and then pass an engine house at the top of the incline before traveling down by gravity along five miles to the foot of the Mount Jefferson incline, where they would travel back upwards before plummeting once again. On long stretches of straight track, the cars were reported to reach speeds exceeding fifty miles per hour.

A talented young inventor rode the Mauch line, and it changed both his life and the path of American entertainment. That young man’s name was LaMarcus Adna Thompson. Born in Licking County, Ohio on March 1, 1848, Thompson is often referred to as “the Father of the Modern American Roller Coaster”. Throughout his lifetime, he held over thirty patents relating to roller coaster technology.

By John Frato, Carousel Operations Coordinator, Cleveland History Center

America’s First Intentionally Constructed Roller Coaster

It was no coincidence that the attraction in Coney Island was also called “Switchback Railway” - its designer, LaMarcus Adna Thompson admitted that he based his design, at least in part, on the popular railway ride in Pennsylvania. Thompson was also working off of another inventor’s patent that was filed in 1878. That other inventor, Richard Knudson, called his version of a gravity roller coaster the “Inclined Plane Railway” and it is strikingly similar to Thompson’s final design.

Thompson’s original “Switchback Railway” ride debuted at Coney Island on June 16, 1884, and holds the distinction of being the first roller coaster type ride designed and built for the purpose of amusement rather than an existing rail line converted for that purpose. The ride consisted of two sets of parallel tracks descending in opposite directions from elevated towers. To complete their round trip, riders had to get out of their cars after they came to a stop and ascend a second fifty foot tower to board cars to head back.

The novelty of the new ride far surpassed any problems riders had with exiting their cars, re-boarding, or climbing the second set of stairs to the top of the tower to return. Initially riders were not seated directly in front of one another as they are on modern roller coasters, but were seated in benches parallel with the track facing outward. Even with all of its shortcomings, the ride was immensely popular and reportedly paid for itself during its first month of operation.

The original cost for the heart pounding six mile per hour ride that lasted one minute was five cents. Thompson’s later rides were often referred to as “Scenic Railways” since they gave riders a panoramic view of the landscape as they traversed the tracks from one end to the other. His later designs had elaborate backgrounds of exotic foreign locales painted along the length of the tracks. The immense popularity of the new ride led to the formation of the L. A. Thompson Scenic Railway Company that oversaw the construction of rides across the country. Given Thompson’s home state was Ohio, it should come as no surprise that when rides were first added to Euclid Beach, Ohio in 1896, a LaMarcus Thompson Gravity Roller Coaster was their choice.

The Switchback Railway at Euclid Beach had a little over one thousand feet of track. Riders climbed stairs to the top of the tower where they boarded a car that was manually pushed out of the loading platform and hopefully gravity took the passengers to the opposite end of the tracks where the other tower was located. There they would disembark and the ride operators would push the car up to the loading platform in that tower. Once they were again seated, they would be pushed out onto the track for the return trip to the first tower…a truly exhausting amount of labor for a six mile per hour trip. The ride was dismantled and removed from the Park when the Figure Eight ride was installed in 1904.

The big question some folks may have is… Can you still ride a Switchback Railway today? The answer is sadly, no - but you could as recently as August 205.

A modern version of the switchback coaster opened at a small amusement park located between San Antonio and Austin Texas in the small town of Seguin, Texas in 2015.

“The Famous Switchback Railway “ as it was called, was designed by the Ohio-based Gravity Group for the Texas ZDT Amusement Park and was the first new wooden “shuttle coaster” built anywhere in the world in more than a century. Here’s a first person example of what it was like to ride this unique coaster:

Like the old Switchback at Euclid Beach Ohio, it reverses course mid-way. However, unlike the ride at Euclid Beach it retraces its way back to the loading station backwards rather than forward. The \new Switchback began with a sixty three foot tall lift hill rather than a friendly push by Park employees, reached speeds up to forty five miles per hour, and ascended a sixty four foot tower before rocketing back to the station along 1,980 feet of track (actually only about 1,000 feet of track but you travel it twice). A brake run at the bottom of the lift hill along with a section of switch track allowed the coaster to safely operate two trains.

Rising operational costs forced ZDT’s Texas Amusement Park to close its doors permanently on August 17, 2025. Following the closure, the Switchback coaster was placed on the market by International Rides Management so it could potentially be relocated to a new theme park.

While the Switchback ride may be gone now, the evolution of roller coasters began with that ride - and that’s worth raising a glass to, in our book.

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National Smile Power Day

National Smile Power Day is the perfect excuse to flash your pearly whites and show off those dimples. National Smile Power Day traces its roots to a grassroots movement started in 1988 as a way to promote joy and positivity. It should not be confused with similar observances like National Smile Day (May 31), founded by dentists Dr. Tim Stirneman and Jim Wojdyla, or World Smile Day (the first Friday in October), created by smiley-face artist Harvey Ball, and his Smiley Company, which sells a brand of merchandise featuring the little yellow smiley face.

Smiling isn’t just cosmetic. Smiling triggers the release of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, which instantly improve your mood and relieve stress. When these chemicals flood our brains, they can act as mild pain relievers or antidepressants and help reduce stress and lower our blood pressure. In general, smiling helps people feel happier, more confident, and more relaxed.

The smile is also considered a symbol of happiness and vitality in most democratic nations today. Further, smiling generally has a positive contagious effect effect on others. When we smile at others, it often generates a smile in them, offering them an opportunity to get those same stress-relieving & mood-improving effects, which they can then pass on to others.

Even faking a smile can help. Psychologists describe this idea as the “facial feedback loop” which has proven in studies that making a facial expression can influence emotion, as well as reflect it, to varying degrees. That being said, smiling can only do so much and is no permanent solution for serious depression or other mental health issues that require assistance from trained mental health professionals. So a deliberate smile may give a slight lift in mood for some people, but it is not a cure‑all and works best alongside other healthy habits and support mechanisms.

If nothing else, smile because it may make others confused and wonder what you’re smiling about. And if that thought makes you smile? Then you can see there’s power in smiling than you may have thought.

National Smile Power Day Timeline

• 1700 BCE: The First Smiling Emoticon (Kinda) Was On An Ancient Pot

Archaeologists working at the ancient city of Karkemish on the Turkey–Syria border uncovered a Bronze Age ceramic vessel dated to about 1700 BCE that bears a simple design of two dots and an upturned curve interpreted as a smiling face.

While not directly linked to modern emoticons, it is one of the earliest known artifacts to use a minimal dot‑and‑arc face to convey a cheerful expression.

• 1872: Charles Darwin Analyzes the Expression of Emotion As A Biological Signal

Charles Darwin publishes “The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals,” arguing that smiles and other expressions are biologically based signals shaped by evolution rather than arbitrary social habits.

• 1963: Harvey Ball Designs the Yellow Smiley Face

The round yellow smiley that now symbolizes happiness worldwide began as a low-key corporate commission. In 1963, in Worcester, Massachusetts, graphic artist Harvey Ball was paid $45 to design a morale-boosting button for an insurance company who was merging offices.

His quick sketch with two oval eyes and a wide, asymmetrical grin was never trademarked, but copies of the image spread so widely that it became one of the world’s most reproduced symbols.

• 1971: Paul Ekman Demonstrates Cross-Cultural Recognition of Smiles

Psychologist Paul Ekman publishes research showing that people in Papua New Guinea and the United States both reliably recognize facial expressions of happiness, supporting the idea that smiling is a near-universal signal of positive emotion.

• 1982: The First Digital Smiley Emoticon Was A Campus In‑Joke

The sideways smiley made from punctuation marks :-) originated in an early online message at Carnegie Mellon University in 1982, when computer scientist Scott Fahlman suggested using “:-)” and “:-(” on bulletin boards to distinguish jokes from serious posts.

His note, recovered from backup tapes decades later, is the earliest known written proposal to use ASCII characters as faces, paving the way for modern emoticons and eventually emoji.

• 2003: Meta-Analysis Reveals Gender Differences in Smiling

Psychologists LaFrance, Hecht, and Paluck publish a meta-analysis indicating that women smile more often than men across many social situations, highlighting how smiling reflects social roles as well as inner feelings.

• 2019: Facial Feedback Effects on Emotion Quantified

A meta-analysis by Coles, Larsen, and Lench reports that adopting facial expressions such as smiling produces small but reliable shifts in felt emotion, lending measured support to the facial feedback hypothesis.

How to Celebrate National Smile Power Day

Smile at Yourself

If you want a little boost to your self confidence - for example, if you’re waiting on an impending job interview - you might want to smile to yourself beforehand. Smiling in the mirror at yourself can often instill a sense of self-confidence. Remember to carry that smile with you into your interview, as you continue with a sense of calmness and confidence.

Notice the Smiles of Others

National Smile Power Day will also make you question just how much you smile as well as who around you takes the time to smile too.

A recent study found that children laugh and smile about 400 times in 24 hours, while the average adult smiles or laughs about 20 times a day, and those who consider themselves happy smile 40-50 times a day.

So aim to be child-like - and remember, smiling can be contagious! So if you notice other people smiling, you may find yourself smiling more too.

Do Things To Help You Smile

Taking actions that we enjoy often helps generate smiles. Here are some actions you might take that may help you smile more:

• Enjoying some time outdoors

• Seeing an old friend

• Looking at pictures

• Exchanging compliments with others

• Eating comfort food

• Doing a good deed for someone

• Hugging a loved-one

• Watching funny animal videos

Scientists have proven staying active helps improve your mental health, and when we feel better, we tend to smile more. Stay active - it helps your smile!

Commit to Smile More!

Challenge yourself, not just on National Smile Power Day but also on other days of the year, to smile at least once to yourself, to a stranger, or to a family member.

See the response it has and the connection it forms; especially if you take time to let the smile last a little longer than usual. Remember, we all need a bit of encouragement at times.

Share That It’s ‘National Smile Power Day’ with Others

National Smile Power Day is meant to be shared with loved ones and friends alike. So do that!

You could go out to a stand-up comedy show with your friends, eat smiley-glazed cupcakes, paint smileys on crafts, send smiley emojis to friends - even drink some smiley cocktails, which is what we suggest, and why we’re giving you the recipe for today’s Drink Of The Day, a Royal Smile cocktail & mocktail.

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Three Ghosts And A 64 Year Mystery

Some national parks are reminders of America’s more lawless past. Though it served as the first lighthouse on the West Coast, as a Civil War fortress, and most recently, as the birthplace of the American Indian Red Power movement, Alcatraz Island is best known as the site of an infamous federal prison.

The end of Prohibition and the era of The Great Depression in America necessitated the creation of additional penitentiaries, and in California, one with maximum security. So in 1934, Alcatraz Federal Prison opened in what once was the island’s former Army post and prison. The newly founded super-prison was meant to keep the worst criminals away from communication with the outside world.

Between 1934 and 1963, only the worst crimes led to imprisonment at Alcatraz. Gangsters like Al Capone and the notorious murderer, Robert Stroud - known by most as the “Birdman of Alcatraz” - lived on “The Rock.” Despite 42 inmates attempting to escape through the years, no prisoners ever successfully escaped & survived… except, potentially, three robbers in the 1960s.

Frank Morris was considered highly intelligent by federal officials, with an I.Q. of 133. He was born in Washington and orphaned at the age of 11. Moving between foster homes, he was convicted of his first crime at the age of 13 and continued to add to his record after with many more charges for robbery and possession of narcotics. Eventually, Morris landed in Louisiana State Penitentiary, sentenced to a 10-year incarceration for a bank robbery. He escaped but was caught again for a burglary in 1960. This time, officials sentenced Morris to serve 14 years at Alcatraz.

The sons of poor Georgian farmers, the Anglin brothers were 2 of 14 children. The brothers had a proclivity for burglary, landing themselves in jails throughout Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. They often attempted escapes and ultimately found themselves at Alcatraz after a 1958 bank holdup in Alabama.

While serving time on The Rock, Morris, the Anglin brothers, and Allen West (a fourth prisoner, convicted of car theft and transferred to Alcatraz after an unsuccessful escape attempt from another state prison) began to realize a plot for their escape.

Equipped with spoons from the dining hall and a drill they’d fashioned from a vacuum cleaner, West and the Anglin brothers slowly worked their way through the concrete walls of their cells to a nearby chute. Morris’s evening accordion practice masked the noise of their work. Each of the men also created a papier-mâché-like dummy head to stage in their beds for the night of their escape.

Late on the evening of June 11,1962 or early in the morning of June 12, three of the four men made a break for it. West was unable to leave his cell in time, staying behind as the other three prisoners followed tunnels to freedom.

After sneaking along an unused utility corridor, Morris and the Anglin brothers descended along a 50-foot wall by passing through a kitchen vent pipe, then climbed two 12-foot, barbed wire fences, before they departed the island and were never heard from again.

All that remained were the dummy heads, made of cotton sheets, soap, paint, and human hair.

A shoddy raft made of raincoats eventually washed ashore on a nearby island, as well as a plastic bag within a plastic bag, which held a mail order receipt, pictures, and addresses of the convicts’ families. No other traces remained.

Though the FBI declared the men dead from drowning in 1979, they remain on America’s most wanted list, and the U.S. Marshals case remains open today. For years it was assumed that the men had drowned in the bay, but some theories suggest that the brothers survived the passage and lived out their days on a farm in Brazil.

Eventually, Alcatraz prison was found to be too costly, given its crumbling infrastructure, and so the prison closed in 1963. Today, the island preserves a slew of different histories spanning two centuries. In addition to self-guided tours of Alcatraz, the U.S. National Park Service offers numerous free programs to dig deeper into the island’s past - including the only three escapees from Alcatraz that may have lived.

We salute the mystery of the Alcatraz escapees (though not their crimes), with today’s Drink Of The Day, a Grape Escape cocktail & mocktail

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The Trojan War

The Trojan War is a legendary - and likely mostly fictionalized - conflict between the early Greeks and the people of Troy in western Anatolia, in what is modern day Türkiye, dated by later Greek authors to have occurred in the 12th or 13th century BCE, or roughly 3200 years ago from 2026.

The war, one of the key events in Greek mythology, stirred the imagination of the ancient Greeks more than any other event in their history and was celebrated in the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, as well as a number of other early works now lost, and frequently provided material for the great dramatists of the Classical Age (5th and 4th centuries BCE). It also figures in the literature of the Romans (e.g., Virgil’s Aeneid) and of later peoples down to modern times.

In the traditional accounts, Paris, son of the Trojan king, ran off with Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, whose brother Agamemnon then led a Greek expedition against Troy. The ensuing war lasted 10 years, finally ending with the sack of Troy by the victorious Greeks. This version was recorded centuries later; the extent to which it reflects actual historical events is not known.

The Mythical Cause Of The War

By many accounts, including the Iliad, the Trojan War was orchestrated by Zeus as a scheme to reduce the human population. It germinated in the “Judgment of Paris,” in which the Trojan prince was appointed by Zeus to judge a divine beauty contest that began at the wedding of the Nereid Thetis and the mortal Peleus, parents of Achilles. All the gods and goddesses were invited to attend the wedding with the exception of Eris, the deity of discord. True to her nature, Eris appeared at the beauty contest before the wedding with a golden apple to be awarded “to the fairest.” Three goddesses tried to claim the prize —Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. The Trojan prince Paris picked Aphrodite as the winner after she promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world—Helen. Paris contrived a diplomatic visit to Sparta and, once there, eloped with Helen to Troy.

An allied Greek force was consequently assembled to wage war against Troy for the recovery of Helen, whose honor and marriage to Menelaus was what many of the Greek kings (her former suitors) had sworn to defend. The Greek pantheon was divided in its loyalties, with Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, and Artemis taking the side of the Trojans, while Athena, Hera, Poseidon, and Hephaestus sided with the Greeks. The gods intervened frequently by protecting and guiding their chosen champions and occasionally participated in the actual fighting.

The Trojan Horse & The Fall Of Troy

While the stories of the Iliad and the Odyssey are dramatic & complex, the biggest element that is remembered in popular culture happened near the end of the war.

Troy was captured by the Greeks in the 10th year of war, as had been foretold by an oracle. To secure a victory, the Greeks had to fulfill certain conditions—the shoulder bone of Pelops (grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus) was to be brought to the Greek camp, Neoptolemus was to be recruited into the Greek side, the arrows of Heracles (owned by Philoctetes) were to be pressed into service, and the Palladium (a statue of Pallas Athena) was to be removed from Troy. These tasks were duly completed (accounts vary on whether Pelops’ remains were actually brought to the camp), with Odysseus and Diomedes stealing the Palladium.

The Trojan horse, the stratagem that enabled the final breach of Troy’s fortifications, was devised by Odysseus. The Greeks pretended to withdraw and left behind a hollow wooden structure in the shape of a giant horse that concealed an elite team of warriors within. A soldier named Sinon, left behind by the retreating Greeks, persuaded the Trojans that the horse was an offering to Athena and to wheel it into the city.

The raiding party hidden within the Trojan horse included Odysseus, Menelaus, Diomedes, Ajax the Lesser, and Neoptolemus. The Odyssey relates that Helen identified the horse as an ambush and tested the concealed warriors by imitating the voices of their wives; many of them attempted to reveal themselves but were prevented from doing so by Odysseus. At night the Greeks emerged from their hiding place and admitted the rest of the army into Troy. The devastation that followed left few survivors.

The Reality Of The War

Most archeologists & historians agree that the prevalence of such a story in multiple cultures around the Mediterranean lend credence to a great early Bronze Age battle being fought between early Greeks and peoples that lived in the area that is now Turkey. Archeological & historical evidence also lends credence to the idea that ancient Troy was to be found at what’s now known as Hisarlik. Troy was, in fact, real.

There’s even evidence of a great fire at the location thought to have been Troy that dates back roughly to the time period when the war is said to have happened.

All that said, the Trojan War that we know is likely a blend of Bronze Age geopolitics & mythological storytelling. Rather than a dispute over Helen of Sparta or the meddling of gods, the “real” Trojan War was likely driven by economics, expansion, and competition for resources in the region. With Troy’s likely position at the mouth of the Dardanelles—a vital strait connecting the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea— it would have been a prime strategic target for control of trade, and of course, a major source of wealth.

It’s important to remember, the stories surrounding the Trojan War were passed down at a time when oral histories dominated, and few if any written records still exist. Over hundreds of years, storytellers embellished these historical skirmishes into a grand, 10-year conflict, adding legendary heroes, divine interventions, and the famous Trojan Horse to make the tales more entertaining – but likely losing many key facts along the way.

Still, the stories surrounding the war have been told and retold many, many times over the centuries because they are exciting - a brand new version of The Odyssey is set to be released in theatres on July 17, 2026.

The true history of the Trojan War may never really be known. But it’s certainly fun to speculate, and of course, to drink to, like our Drink Of The Day for today, a Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing cocktail.

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Andrew Jackson’s Profane Parrot

While Donald Trump is clearly the worst president in U.S. history, Andrew Jackson is definitely a close second.

Like Trump, Jackson was a racist, a misogynist, and a bigot. Also like Trump, Jackson was volatile & vengeful, and weaponized the federal government against his perceived enemies. Jackson was also massively corrupt, and favored violence & cruelty, like Trump. The two men were even alike in their responsibility for mass casualties - Trump’s through mismanagement of a pandemic, destruction of USAID, and unnecessary military actions in Afghanistan & Iran; Jackson’s through the infamous state-sponsored forced march & relocation of Native Americans, which culminated in the Trail of Tears.

So both men have caused a great deal of swearing by good Americans.

But unlike Trump, Jackson had a pet. Even birds can’t stand Donald Trump.

Marsha Mullin, the authority on all things Andrew Jackson at The Hermitage, the home of the seventh president, directed historian and writer Mark Cheathem to writings confirming the unique story that President Andrew Jackson’s pet parrot started uttering obscenities during the former president’s own funeral and had to be removed. Jackson bought Poll, an African grey parrot, for his wife, Rachel, but took care of the bird himself after she died, up until his own death.

According to the records of the Rev. William Menefee Norment - found in Volume 3 of Samuel G. Heiskell’s Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History - as Norment was presiding at the service, he reports a bit of chaos occurred at Jackson’s funeral service:

“Before the sermon and while the crowd was gathering, a wicked parrot that was a household pet [of Jacksons’] got excited and commenced swearing so loud and long as to disturb the people and had to be carried from the house.”

The Rev. Norment goes on to report that the presidential parrot was “excited by the multitude and … let loose perfect gusts of ‘cuss words.’” Norment also noted, “The Negro slaves of the General were horrified and awed at the bird’s lack of reverence.”

The last quotation is interesting for more than just Poll’s swearing. Norment’s claim that the slaves’ “wailing” set off Poll’s blue streak, and that the slaves were “horrified and awed” by the parrot’s “lack of reverence” presents a view of slaves as being more pious than their southern slave owners. That’s an interesting perspective, but it isn’t surprising. White views of African Americans were complicated during and after slavery, and in many cases, remain so today.

Mark Smith‘s How Race Is Made: Slavery, Segregation, and the Senses (2006) offers the simple, yet powerful, argument that southern whites of that time viewed African Americans as dirty and loathsome, at the same time that they allowed them in their homes as servants and nannies or, in the case of some white masters and slave women, had sex with them. The same dichotomy holds true for African American morality and religion: Whites believed slaves practiced a heathen African religion (not religions), yet they also thought slaves often possessed a spirituality that gave them greater moral insight and wisdom than their white Christian masters.

In the case of Jackson’s funeral, the perception of Rev. Norment is that Jackson’s slaves were appalled by his parrot Poll’s language, which the bird presumably learned from Jackson or other whites on the plantation, because the slaves were too moral to have used that language themselves.

Parrots are highly intelligent birds that can live to be 75 years old, and are known for their ability to learn words and to mimic other sounds they hear, including phones ringing and babies crying. While parrots can mimic speech, they don’t technically talk, as they don’t have vocal cords, but instead produce sounds by pushing air out of their tracheas.

Scientists now confirm that parrots, in general, possess cognitive abilities and problem-solving skills rivaling those of a 3- to 5-year-old human child. They exhibit abstract reasoning, emotional complexity, tool use, and the unique ability to understand and use human speech to communicate with humans.

For what it’s worth, Jackson - also known as “Old Hickory” - was far tougher than Trump. Not only was Jackson a war hero - no bone spurs there - but when a man tried to shoot him at a speaking engagement and the gun misfired, President Jackson, 67 at the time, beat the would-be assassin almost senseless with his walking stick.

Jackson outfitted the White House with a dozen spittoons, fought duels, and was the first president to open the White House for public visits. So it seems natural that his language might have been kind of, um, salty — but what did his parrot say exactly? No one seems to $%¢&ing know.

Other U.S. Presidents Who Have Had Pet Birds

Andrew Jackson wasn’t the only American president to have a bird as a pet. The long list includes:

• George Washington’s wife had a parrot

• Thomas Jefferson had a mockingbird named Dick

• James Madison’s wife kept a macaw

• For a short time, John Tyler had a canary named Johnny Ty

• Franklin Pierce owned two Japanese birds

• James Buchanan is said to have had a pair of bald eagles

• Abraham Lincoln’s son Tad had a turkey named Jack

• Ulysses S. Grant reportedly also had a parrot

• Rutherford B. Hayes apparently had a mockingbird and four canaries

• Grover Cleveland’s wife had mockingbirds and canaries too

• William McKinley had a Mexican parrot named Washington Post

• Teddy Roosevelt had a couple of parrots, and his son had a pet macaw

• Woodrow Wilson kept songbirds

• Warren Harding’s wife, Florence, had canaries

• Calvin Coolidge’s pet canaries were named Nip and Tuck; plus Coolidge had a white canary named Snowflake and a mockingbird

• For a short time, Dwight Eisenhower had a parakeet Gabby, buried in 1957 at the southwest corner of the executive mansion

• John F. Kennedy had a canary named Robin and two parakeets named Bluebell and Marybelle

• Lyndon Johnson had lovebirds

While it’s been nearly 50 years since a pet bird called the White House home, there likely isn’t a decent American who hasn’t thrown a bird finger - or thought about doing it - towards Donald Trump. So maybe that counts for something.

Either way, in the spirit of birds and profanity, we give you today’s Drink Of The Day, a Potted Parrot Cocktail,

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Fred Waring was once known to many Americans as “The Man Who Taught America How to Sing” for his nearly 70 year career as a choral conductor and showman. Beginning in 1922, and for almost seven decades, Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians entertained audiences throughout the world on stage, radio, records, television, in motion pictures, and live on tour in America and other countries. Later in his career, Waring became an expert in choral music as well, teaching his unique techniques to tens of thousands of singers & music teachers over four decades.

But music was not the only interest of Fred Waring —he was also a dreamer with an extremely active mind and a deep interest in mechanical gadgets, since he was a kid. He studied Architectural Engineering at Penn State, and engineering continued to play a role throughout the rest of his life. He created many devices for stage and television throughout his career that utilized his engineering talents. He also invested in the devices of others, specifically the legendary blender that still bares his name.

Contrary to popular belief, Fred Waring did not invent the Waring Blendor, though he did help develop and promote it – and in a marketing twist, put the “o” in the word “Blendor” for his unique version of this machine. But before we get mixed up in that part of the story, it’s important to know where we started.

The Invention Of The Blender

This part of the tale starts in 1904 with four men: Fred Osius, George Schmidt, Louis Hamilton, and Chester Beach. Osius was a prolific inventor & engineer, and Schmidt an engineer & businessman. The two men went into business together creating the Arnold Electric Company in Racine, Wisconsin, to make household appliances at the beginning of the 1900s. This was a time known to electrical engineers & historians as the era of the ‘War of the Currents.’ We talked about this a bit when we published our DOTD on Nikola Tesla back in February 2026.

This was a time when cities all over the U.S. were still debating between which of the two major types of power delivery systems their city should invest in: Thomas Edison and his DC (Direct Current) system, or George Westinghouse and his AC (Alternating Current) system. It was an especially difficult time to be an electrical inventor like Fred Osius: Which system should his new company develop products for?

Thankfully, Osius & Schmidt made some wise hires: Chester Beach, an inventor & electrical engineer, and Louis Hamilton, an advertising & sales manager. In 1905, Beach invented a lightweight “universal” motor, that could operate on either AC or DC power. Hamilton reportedly suggested the name for their new company that would produce household appliances that used this motor: “Hamilton Beach.” It was a company name that, like Beach’s motor, would be universal. Having no “ethnic” ties, the name was likely to be accepted by more people, and would be far easier to market products under. As neither Osius & Schmidt liked their names, the new company’s name was born.

The Hamilton Beach company was officially registered in 1910 and began to produce electric motor-driven appliances. In 1919, Polish-American engineer Stephen Poplawski, owner of the Stevens Electric Company, designed the very first countertop blender, specifically for mixing malted milk drinks at soda fountains. Poplawski developed his blender under contract with the Arnold Electric Company, which was still owned by Fred Osius & George Schmidt. Poplawski’s blender was a huge step forward in household appliances, though it was somewhat underpowered, and only really designed for limited applications.

In other words, it couldn’t have made a daiquiri very well, if at all.

Fred Waring’s “Blendor”

In 1936, Fred Osius - an avid fan of Fred Waring - brought a new design for the blender to Waring, looking for investment in his company. Reportedly, Osius talked his way into Waring’s dressing room after a radio broadcast and told him of the new design of the blender, having heard that Waring liked frozen daiquiris. Osius insisted this new version could handle the needs of bartenders better than the poor blenders they were then using. Osius had even secured a patent for the new design in 1933. Unfortunately, as they were all in the middle of the Great Depression, Osius had yet to find investors willing to put their money behind this new design. Waring was intrigued and decided to help Osius with ideas, money, and marketing.

Over the next few months, Waring analyzed and studied Osius’ prototype. He decided it needed sealed ball bearings for the bottom drive, propeller-like blades, and a cloverleaf-shaped jar to throw the contents back down. A buddy at the Chrysler Corporation secretly helped Waring solve the ball-bearing problem. Waring also had input from another engineering friend, who’d suggested the new design should use reinforced Pyrex glass for its bell container. Finally the Waring Mixer, as it was then called, was ready to be presented to the world. Fred Osius unfortunately didn’t live to see public acceptance of this new appliance, though he’d made a royalty arrangement, inherited in trust by his widow, and already had made his own mark in history with the Hamilton Beach Company.

Selling the public on the idea that this new blender was worth shelling out money for was a major hurdle, especially since sophisticated marketing techniques were still years in the future. Fred became the machine’s biggest promoter — making the machine as visible as possible and persuading everyone to sample its products.

The members of the Pennsylvanians, who played the role of collective guinea pigs for Fred’s concoctions, referred to the newly named “Waring Blendor” as the “thing.” It traveled with them in its own converted wardrobe trunk filled with lemon squeezer, can opener, cutting utensils, glasses, ice, strainers and measurers. It was accompanied by another trunk containing canned goods ranging from sauerkraut to mangoes.

Waring not only involved the Pennsylvanians in tasting his creations but in promoting them as well. His musicians would demonstrate the device in department stores across the country, like Macy’s, Gimbel’s, or Bloomingdale’s, and tell everybody how wonderful it would be to make fresh vegetable and fruit drinks. The popular singer, actor, and bandleader Rudy Vallee also became a big promoter of the Blendor. Once Waring showed Valley how fast and easy it was to make a frozen daiquiri with the Blendor, he became the device’s best salesmen — trying to sell it to every bartender in the United States.

Indeed, bartenders became some of the biggest evangelists of the Waring Blendor, because it was a durable machine. Because of the heat-resistant borosilicate Pyrex glass, bartenders could easily and safely blend both steaming hot and freezing cold ingredients without the container cracking, a major selling point at the time. Because of the blades, high-powered motor, and smooth bearings, the Waring Blendor could crush ice & blend ice cream into drinks of almost any type. The design also made it able to be washed quickly, so that other blended drinks could be made rapidly, in succession.

The impact of the Waring Blendor reached far beyond everyday kitchen use for food and drink. Years before antibiotics were in common use, Waring was asked to produce a sealed, stainless steel container for scientific laboratories. Also, a special Waring Aseptic Dispersal Blendor was used by Dr. Jonas Salk to prepare culture media used in developing the polio vaccine.

Today, the Waring Blender, as it is now called, is still manufactured at a plant in McConnellsburg, PA and the Waring Company remains one of today’s leading manufacturers of professional appliances for the foodservice and laboratory industries, though the Waring family no longer owns the company.

So if you like blended drinks of any kind, like today’s Drink Of The Day, the Papa Doble cocktail & mocktail - also known as the Hemingway Daiquiri - you have entertainer & entrepreneurial investor Fred Waring to thank for it.

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That may seem confusing, but as with so many Hollywood stories, there’s the main story, and the back story - so let’s start with the main backstory, before we head to California.

We start in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where German immigrant Carl Laemmle was then living with his wife. Laemmle had arrived in the United States in 1884 at the age of 17, and by early 1906 had become the manager of the Continental Clothing Company, a prominent retail men’s clothing store in Oshkosh. Laemmle was well-known as a shrewd businessman with a penchant for successful advertising and marketing - but he wasn’t making much money. In short, he was a big fish in a small pond.

Laemmle faced the realization that his work selling clothing would never bring him a fortune - and he wanted more for his life. So Carl Laemmle convinced his wife to take their savings and move to Chicago in search of a new opportunity, and she agreed.

According to film scholar Prof. Leslie Kreiner Wilson of Pepperdine University, when Laemmle got to Chicago, he thought he would enter the five and dime store business. But after observing the foot traffic into a nickelodeon - the very first type of indoor, permanent movie theaters - and talking with the proprietor, Laemmle decided it would be far more lucrative to go into the film & movie distribution business.

Most nickelodeons were simply converted storefronts that showed early silent films for a nickel - but Laemmle knew it wasn’t just about the nickels. As Prof. Kreiner Wilson noted, Laemmle did a great deal of math, and talked with a number of people, including Robert H. Cochrane owner of the Cochrane Advertising Agency in Chicago, before he made his investment.

Laemmle and Cochrane decided to team up to invest their modest nest eggs in a single nickelodeon, and their initial partnership quickly expanded. Recognizing the business potential in the motion picture industry, they soon formed the Laemmle Film Service in Chicago, for their growing stable of nickelodeons, which also allowed them to rent prints to other exhibitors.

Laemmle and Cochrane had big dreams for their growing business, but they began to run into a major monopoly problem - Thomas Edison & his Motion Picture Patents Company, better known to many as “The Edison Trust.” Hollywood historian, and grandniece of Carl Laemmle, Anotnia Carlotta, has the next chapter of the story…

Even as Laemmle and the Cochrane Brothers tangled with Edison’s greedy monopoly, they were growing their film business. Both men having moved to the New York City area, like many early movie companies, they set up a studio in Fort Lee, NJ.

The wily and impish Laemmle formed Independent Moving Pictures Company ( or IMP) in 1909 to produce his own movies, outside of the Edison monopoly system. The company began gaining legitimacy with actors in 1910 when they began paying actors more, & featuring the names of lead actors on screen during the openings of their films. They singed rising star Mary Pickford to an exclusive contract, who we wrote about recently in another DOTD, which further cemented their power, and helped to break the Edison monopoly. What Laemmle began to create with Pickford would later be called the “star system” for major motion picture actors, which had it’s benefits over the previous system, but as we noted in the Pickford DOTD, had it’s own problems.

To further blow up Edison’s monopoly, on June 8, 1912, budding moguls Laemmle and Cochrane formed the Universal Moving Picture Company, merging IMP with five other major New York area movie companies: Pat Power’s Picture Plays Studios, David Horsley’s Nestor Film Company, Adam Kessel and Charles Bauman’s New York Motion Picture Company, Champion Film Company, and the Rex Motion Picture Masterpiece Company.

While several of Universal’s member companies shot out of studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, some already operated out of the Los Angeles area. The NYMPC produced its Bison westerns at an Edendale California Studio, and Nestor Films shot some of their pictures outside a converted tavern at Sunset and Gower. To save money, Laemmle decided to consolidate the studios’ many different divisions in California.

In August 1912, Laemmle’s Universal leased the Providencia–Oak Crest Ranch at what is now Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills as a production facility, building outdoor sets, stages and an Indian village, as well as permanent housing for 65 families. That December, the company invited local and state politicians, rival photoplayers and the general public to celebrate its opening..

The studio executives worked out a deal with Los Angeles County to create a quasi-legal community named “Universal City” at the ranch on July 10, 1913, which they described as the “Most Unusual City in the World” in trade ads. A 1913 Motion Picture Story magazine article reported, “Cucumbers, tomatoes, green peas, asparagus, strawberries, and films are some of the crops of Universal City.” In September 1913, Universal offered its first studio tour, organizing bus excursions from Los Angeles.

Intending to build the world’s most elaborate film studio, Universal attempted to buy out the entire Providencia Ranch but found itself rebuffed. Laemmle bought a full-page advertisement in the February 19, 1914, Los Angeles Times, noting the company spent $1 million annually to produce films and offered employment to hundreds, asking what inducements cities would offer in exchange for studio construction. The ad further stated, “We want a ranch of 600 to 1,200 acres on which to produce moving pictures.”

Motion Picture News reported on March 7, 1914, that Universal spent $160,000 to purchase the Taylor, Boag, Hershey, and Davis ranches located within 200 feet of the streetcar line and adjacent to the Los Angeles River, across the road from the Campo de Cahuenga, where the peace treaty with Mexico that paved the way for California and the West to become part of the U.S. had been signed in 1847.

Architects S. Tilden Norton and Frederick Wallach designed the massive project, with construction beginning on June 18, 1914, for a power plant, water supply, sanitation, hospital and infirmary, zoo, bungalows and other facilities, including a gigantic open stage that could accommodate eight film productions shooting simultaneously. Other buildings soon followed: a $25,000 laboratory, $30,000 administration building, dressing rooms, wardrobe building, shops, cafeteria, Indian village and 30 bungalows for employees. The Spanish Colonial administration building even included a stained glass window in the shape of the Universal logo over the front entrance, designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany - yes, that Tiffany, of Tiffany Glass.

Universal lavishly promoted the studio’s grand opening by purchasing full-page ads in trade magazines and newspapers, urging Americans to attend the celebration for the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” The studio organized an exclusive Chicago-to-Los-Angeles “Universal Special” train trip to attend the celebrations.

The opening extravaganza kicked off at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 15, 1915, with Laemmle presenting a gold key valued at $1,255 to open Universal City’s gate before the studio band played “The Star-Spangled Banner” as United States and Universal flags soared up the flagpoles. City officials welcomed the 10,000 guests. Visitors witnessed stunt shows, a rodeo, an aerial flyover, filming and the flooding of a Western town that swept away sets and reached guest areas.

For everyone else around the country, the company created the one-reel behind-the-scenes film A Tour of Universal City, showing its striking new property and film stars. After opening day, studio visitors paid 25 cents to tour the property, watch filming and eat a boxed lunch.

The growing company blossomed, with the January 1, 1916, Los Angeles Times reporting that Universal City employed 2,000 people and spent $4,000 a day in operating expenses. Unlike most other film studios, the progressive company even featured 11 women as directors, including superstar Lois Weber, considered one of the top three directors in the industry along with Cecil B. DeMille and D.W. Griffith.

By the 1920s, however, Universal lagged behind most major film studios in revenue because it failed to purchase a theater chain. Though Universal released prestigious pictures like the Erich von Stroheim film Foolish Wivesand the horror classics The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney, the company mostly focused on producing westerns and more middle-of-the-road product for rural audiences. Universal staved off bankruptcy after the stock market crashed in 1929, barely hanging on. With the advent of sound, the studio discontinued its tours (though they would return in the future).

Universal’s well-received horror films of the 1930s, like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man and The Mummy, helped keep it afloat for a time before Laemmle was forced to borrow $750,000 in 1935 from Standard Capital to stay in business, giving a purchase option on his personal stock as collateral. In 1936, the company exercised its option, purchasing Laemmle’s shares and forcing him out. It signed teenage singing sensation Deanna Durbin to a contract in March, and the revenues from her films put it back on sound financial footing. The studio once again offered occasional tours to special groups.

Universal changed hands a few times from the late 1940s through the early 1960s, due to technological advances and the Paramount decree breaking up distribution practices. Owners like Decca Records began focusing more on genre pictures and television production. Talent agency Music Corporation of America (MCA), which began diversifying across the entertainment field in the late 1940s, eventually purchased the Universal lot in 1958 to host its massive television production under the name Revue Studios. In 1962, Decca and MCA merged, with the agency gaining control of the new Universal Studios.

In 1961, studio president Albert Dorskind reintroduced formal studio tours to boost profits to the studio commissary, turning over organization and details to Gray Line Tours. Once Dorskind recognized its profitability, however, Universal regained control. Executives realized the value of making it a destination for tourists, allowing them behind-the-scenes access to the studio and giving Universal the opportunity to cross-promote its product and sell souvenirs.

After the loss of the MCA talent agency business and its huge profits in 1964 due to antitrust laws, the new Universal Studio Tour premiered on July 15, 1964, to bring in additional revenue, with a 90-minute tour of the backlot costing $2.50 on colorful open-air trams. Sets from Psycho, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein greeted early guests, who relished the chance to tour an actual movie studio.

To keep tourists and their steady stream of income coming back, the studio upgraded what came to be known as Universal Studios Hollywood, adding a stunt show, animal attraction, the chance to watch actual production and special-effect “surprises” along its route. Eventually Universal introduced characters from its films — such as Bruce the shark from Jaws — to help sell consumer products and studio blockbuster movies, attracting more guests. Enthusiastic fans quickly made it California’s third most popular theme park.

Keeping it fresh to remain competitive and to add value, Univeral continually replaces rides and attractions based on older products with those highighting newer properties, switching out rides based on E.T., Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, Terminator, Shrek, The Fast and the Furious and Despicable Me as new blockbusters grab the popular imagination. Just a few years ago, Universal licensed rights to the Simpsons characters and the Harry Potter series, creating elaborate lands celebrating their entertainment universe.

Hoping to make the park more of a destination hub, Universal constructed hotels, followed in 1993 by developing CityWalk, an outdoor mall of stores, restaurants and movie theaters. Besides attracting tourists, the area serves as a magnet for local residents drawn by its goods and services.

Always diversifying, upgrading and refreshing, Universal Studios has survived for more than a century as one of the region’s largest employers, offering diverse forms of entertainment for residents and visitors alike.

Universal City has grown and expanded from a simple moving-picture studio into what the company now calls “the entertainment capital of L.A.”

As Universal City celebrates its 111th anniversary this year, it remains one of the San Fernando Valley’s largest employers and one of California’s most popular tourist attractions.

So today, we raise a toast with our Drink Of The Day, a Californian Martini inspired by the birth of Universal Pictures.

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