Monday, November 30, 2009

The first stock exchange

The first stock exchange in the United States was established in the city of Philadelphia in 1790. The exchange provided brokerage and equity trading for government and semi-government bonds, public works projects, and fledgling banks. The stock exchange resided in The City Tavern, also known as the Merchants Coffee House, until 1834.
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Sunday, November 29, 2009

PONG

The PONG video arcade game was released by Atari on November 29, 1972. PONG is a video adaptation of tennis where players volley a graphical ball by controlling simple up and down movement of a racquet. PONG was the first video game experience for the masses and was a huge commercial success through the 1970s.
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Saturday, November 28, 2009

Instant camera

Polaroid Corporation founder Edwin H. Land demonstrated the first "instant" camera at a meeting of the Optical Society of America in 1947. The Land camera let users snap a picture, turn a knob, and sixty-seconds later, produce a finished photograph print. The first Polaroid instant camera was sold to the public in November 1948, ushering in a new era of photography for the masses.
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Friday, November 27, 2009

The first World Cup

The first World Cup tournament was hosted by Uruguay in 1930. Thirteen nations participated, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America. Argentina and Uruguay played the first World Cup final. Victoriano Santos Iriarte scored the game winning goal for Uruguay in the 68th minute of the second half. Uruguay won the match 4-2.
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Thursday, November 26, 2009

The NHL

The National Hockey League was founded on November 26, 1917. The teams that played the NHL's first season included: the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas. The Montreal Wanderers defeated the Toronto Arenas 10-9 in the NHL's first regulation game.
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

First motor car race

The Chicago Times-Herald newspaper announced the first motor car race in the United States in June 1895. On November 28, 1895, a field of six vehicles --four gas-powered and two electric-- left Chicago for a 54 mile race to Evanston, Illinois and back. Frank Duryea won the race in just over ten hours at an average speed of about 7.3 miles per hour. Duryea earned $2,000 for the victory.
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

The first pizza

The first pizza was first created by chef Raffeale Esposito in Naples, Italy in the late 1880s. Flat breads called "pizzas" were popular in Italy through the 1800s but were not topped with anything. Esposito formalized the pizza by making a pizza topped with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil for Italian Queen Margherita in 1889, which became one of the queen's favorite dishes.
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