Sunday, October 31, 2010

Ice cream cones

The first ice cream cone was introduced at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Ernest Hamwi, a waffle vendor at the Fair, began filling his waffles with a nearby ice cream vendor's ice cream. The ice cream cone was born. Hamwi later founded the Missouri Cone Company which grew to be one of the largest ice cream cone makers in the United States.
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Saturday, October 30, 2010

Web pages

Tim Berners-Lee began work on a hypertext browser and editor in October 1990. One month later, he produced the first world wide web server and web page. The first web server was named nxoc01.cern.ch. The first web page was theproject.html. Tim Berners-Lee is credited with inventing the World Wide Web.
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Friday, October 29, 2010

Thomas Edison

On October 28, 1868, Thomas Edison applied for his first patent for the Electrical Vote Recorder. Thomas Alva Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,097 U.S. patents in his name. Edison's famous inventions include the phonograph, the light bulb, and the motion picture camera. He also improved the typewriter and the telegraph.
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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Muhammad Ali

Olympic gold medal boxer Cassius Clay won his first professional boxing match on October 28, 1960 in Louisville, Kentucky. Cassius Clay would later take the name Muhammad Ali and reign as "The Greatest of All Time." Through two-decades the controversial boxing icon brought boxing to new heights in claiming, and reclaiming, the heavyweight title in several classic boxing matches.
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Marijuana

The first known use of Marijuana goes back further than 7,000 B.C. Over the centuries, the hemp plant was used for food and for weaving cloth and making rope. America's first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. The law ordered all farmers to grow Indian hempseed to alleviate a shortage of the essential raw material used for making rope.
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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Poker

The first modern game of Poker was most likely played on Mississippi riverboats during the mid 1830s. The "Cheating Game," played with five cards, was adapted from the three-card bluffing game "poque," introduced to America by the French in the 18th century. Author Jonathan H. Green coined the name Poker in his book about gambling written in the late 1830s.
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Monday, October 25, 2010

The "Anita"

The "Anita" was developed in 1961 by Sumlock Computer LTD of London as the first electronic calculator. Anita stood for "A New Inspiration To Arithmetic." The 33 pound calculator functioned with various electronic components including vacuum tubes. The new electronic calculator era would help transcend the world from mechanical adding machines and slide rules to solid state, electronic devices.
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Sunday, October 24, 2010

Niagara Falls in a barrel

Annie Taylor holds the distinction of being the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. On October 24, 1901, the 63-year old school teacher was strapped into a wooden barrel and dropped into the Niagara River. Taylor emerged from her barrel 17 minutes after the plunge over the Falls, dazed but triumphant.
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Saturday, October 23, 2010

The first lawn mowers

Edwin Beard Budding invented the first grass cutting lawn mower in Great Britain in 1830. Budding developed his idea for the mower after seeing a machine in a local cloth mill with a cutting cylinder mounted on a bench to trim cloth. Budding's lawn mower design required two people: one person to push and one to pull.
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Friday, October 22, 2010

The Lambeau Leap

Green bay Packers safety LeRoy Butler was the first to do the "Lambeau Leap". After taking a lateral from Reggie White and running 25 yards into the end zone, Butler made a spontaneous leap into the arms of fans in the bleachers of Lambeau. Wide receiver Robert Brooks popularized the celebratory move through the rest of the season.
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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Cosmopolitan Magazine

Cosmopolitan Magazine was founded in 1886. Editor Paul Schlicht told his readers in the first edition that his intention was to produce a "first-class family magazine." The magazine featured a department devoted exclusively to the interests of women, with articles on fashions, on household decoration, on cooking, and the care and management of children.
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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Boston Red Sox

On October 20, 2004, the Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees 10-3 in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium. In doing so, they became the first team in Major League baseball post season history to win a seven-game series after losing the first three games. The Red Sox went on to claim their first World Series title since 1917.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The first capital of the United States

New York City was the first capital of the United States. George Washington took the oath of office in New York City to become the first President of the United States. President Washington and the Congress decided that the capital would move to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1791 for ten years and then to a suitable permanent location on the Potomac River.
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Monday, October 18, 2010

Peanuts

The Peanuts comic strip, featuring Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and Snoopy, first debuted in October 1950. The Sunday comic strip was written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. It was published every Sunday until Schultz died in February 2000. The popular comic strip peaked at 355 million readers in 75 countries.
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Sunday, October 17, 2010

The first iPod

The first iPod was released by Apple in October 2001. Starting in early 2001, Apple Computer developed the business idea to take an MP3 player, build a music sale service to complement it, and build a company around it. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was highly involved with the project since its inception and molded the device's shape, feel and design.
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Friday, October 15, 2010

Anesthesia

On October 16, 1846, Boston dentist William T.G. Morton made the first demonstrated use of Anesthesia. Using a glass inhaler containing an ether-soaked sponge, Morton administered the anesthetic to a patient undergoing surgery to remove a vascular tumor on his jaw. Upon waking up after the successful removal of the tumor, the patient informed attending physicians and medical students that he had experienced no pain.
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Thursday, October 14, 2010

The microwave oven

Raytheon scientist Dr. Percy Spencer invented the concept of cooking food with microwave energy during radar experiments in 1946. In 1947, the first commercial microwave oven -- standing 5 1/2 feet tall, weighing over 750 pounds, and costing $5000 -- was installed in a Boston restaurant. By 1975, sales of microwave ovens exceeded that of gas ranges.
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Wednesday, October 13, 2010

The first banner ad

The first banner ad appeared on a world wide web page in October 1994. HotWired, an early and prolific website content creator, is credited with inventing the banner ad motif. The first banner ad was a 320 by 40 pixel graphic stating "Have you ever clicked your mouse here?" The clickable ad was linked to the AT&T website.
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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Oktoberfest

The first Oktoberfest was held on October 12, 1810 in Bavaria. Crown prince Ludwig of Bavaria married princess Therese of Saxon-Hildburghausen. The wedding festivities lasted five days and included parades of riflemen, music, eating and drinking. The festivities ended with a horse race held on a green. Over the next several years the festivities were repeated and Oktoberfest was born.
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Monday, October 11, 2010

Saturday Night Live

Live from New York, it's Saturday Night! The late-night comedy sketch television program "Saturday Night Live" made its NBC debut on October 11, 1975. George Carlin was the guest host. Billy Preston and Janis Ian were the music guests. Regular cast members included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, and Garrett Morris.
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Sunday, October 10, 2010

The First Amendment

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
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Saturday, October 9, 2010

Greek Proverb

"First secure an independent income, then practice virtue." -- Greek Proverb.
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Friday, October 8, 2010

World Series perfect game

New York Yankee pitcher Don Larsen pitched the first and only perfect game in a World Series on October 8, 1956. Surprised to be the starting pitcher in game 5 of the World Series, Larson needed just 97 pitches to complete a no-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Dodger pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell was caught looking on the final pitch.
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Thursday, October 7, 2010

The first World Series

In 1903, the Boston Americans played the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first official World Series. The American league Americans defeated the National League Pirates 5 games to 3 games in an eight game series. Players from Boston received $1,182.00 each for the series. Players from Pittsburgh lost the series yet received $1,316.25 each.
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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Mr. October

Reggie Jackson, known as "Mr. October", hit three consecutive home runs, each on the first pitch, off three different pitchers in game six of the 1977 World Series. Jackson set a World Series record by hitting four home runs on four consecutive swings of the bat. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers 4-2 to capture their first World Series title since 1962.
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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Marijuana seller

On October 5, 1937, Samuel Caldwell went into the history trivia books as the first marijuana seller convicted under U.S. federal law. Caldwell was arrested with two marijuana cigarettes. The fifty-eight year old unemployed laborer was sentenced to four years of hard labor in Leavenworth Penitentiary, plus a $1,000 fine.
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Monday, October 4, 2010

The first artificial satellite

The Soviet Union successfully launched the world's first artificial satellite into orbit on October 4, 1957. Sputnik I was roughly the size of a basketball and weighed about 185 pounds. Its first orbit of the Earth took about 98 minutes. This event struck a political nerve in the United States as the Soviets unexpectedly claimed a highly publicized first round victory in the race to space.
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Sunday, October 3, 2010

The first U.S. Open

The first U.S. Open Men's Championship was played on October 4, 1895 on a nine-hole golf course at the Newport Golf and Country Club in Rhode Island. Ten professionals and one amateur competed in four rounds of golf. Englishman Horace Rawlins won the first U.S. Open earning the first place $150 prize.
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Saturday, October 2, 2010

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus first set eyes on the western hemisphere in October 1492. In search for a shorter route from Europe to Asia, Columbus and his crew explored what is today the Bahama Islands, Cuba and Haiti before returning to Spain. Columbus is credited with discovering the "new world." Columbus died in 1506, still convinced that he had reached the outposts of Asia.
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Friday, October 1, 2010

The Pennsylvania Turnpike

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is considered America's first Super Highway. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was established in 1937 to build the highway from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. The highway was partly developed on an abandoned railroad line built by William H. Vanderbilt, including its nearly completed tunnels. The first paying customers drove the Turnpike on October 1, 1940.
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