In the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, astronaut Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) disconnects the logic circuits of the HAL 9000 computer, due to HAL’s malfunctioning (and murder of the mission’s other astronauts). As HAL’s consciousness deactivates, he sings the song “Daisy Bell” (“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do”).
This song was specifically chosen by Arthur C. Clark for the scene, as, in 1961, it was the first song ever to be sung by a computer using speech synthesis, by an IBM 704 computer.
The Bowman Gum company was an early manufacturer of baseball cards for bubblegum packs. The first cards came out in 1939 and, after a hiatus during World War II, returned in 1949. The company was bought out by Topps in the mid-50s. Topps later reintroduced the brand.
Topps’ longest-running product isn’t baseball cards. It’s Bazooka chewing gum, which debuted in 1947.
The first set of baseball cards produced by Topps was introduced in 1952. The first card in that set (i.e., the one which was numbered “#1”) was of Andy Pafko, who was, at that time, an outfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Only a handful of 1952 Pafko cards in good condition are known to exist, and there is only one known copy in mint condition; it last changed hands in a private sale in 2007, in which it sold for $250,000.
According to history.com, the four most valuable baseball cards are:
1911 Honus Wagner card, which sold for $6.606 million in August of 2021
1952 Mickey Mantle rookie card, which sold for $5.2 million in 2021
1933 Babe Ruth card, which sold for $4.2 million in an April 2021 auction
2009 Mike Trout card, which sold for $3.0 million in August of 2020
Honus Wagner, who played shortstop in the National League (primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates) from 1897 through 1917, is considered to be one of the best shortstops ever to play the game.
Wagner’s “T206” baseball card is among the rarest, and most valuable, baseball cards in the world. The card, which was originally issued as part of a series of baseball cards in 1909-11 by the American Tobacco Company, was quickly withdrawn from the series at Wagner’s demand. One story about this is that Wagner was a non-smoker, and objected to having a tobacco company issuing a card with his likeness; another story is that Wagner was unhappy with how much he was being paid for his likeness.
Either way, it’s believed that only somewhere between 50 and 200 Wagner cards were issued, and only 57 copies are currently known to exist.
1936 was the Baseball Hall of Fame’s first induction year. Five players, including Babe Ruth, were inducted. But Babe Ruth did not receive the most votes.
The five players with their numbers of votes were:
189 - Walter Johnson
205 - Christy Mathewson
215 - Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner
222 - Ty Cobb
Attending the 1932 World Series game at which Yankees legend Babe Ruth supposedly “called his shot” were Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York, who would be elected President the next month, and future U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, who was 12 at the time. Stevens much later, in an interview, said he was convinced that Ruth did indicate exactly where he intended to hit his home run.
In the 1932 Presidential election, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Governor of New York, handily defeated the incumbent president Herbert Hoover, 472 electoral votes to 59. Roosevelt and his running mate, Speaker of the House John Garner of Texas, won 42 of the 48 states. Hoover and his running mate, Vice-President Charles Curtis, carried only the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
Hoover is a brand of vacuum cleaners, which originated in the U.S. in the early 20th century. The Hoover brand was also very successful in Europe, particularly in the U.K. and Ireland, where “hoovering” became a generic term for vacuuming.
In the U.S., the Hoover brand is now owned by Techtronic Industries; in Europe, where the Hoover brand also makes other household “white goods” appliances, the brand is now owned by Haier.
The vacuum flask was designed and invented by Scottish scientist Sir James Dewar in 1892 as a result of his research in the field of cryogenics. Dewar’s design was quickly transformed into a commercial item in 1904 as two German glassblowers, Reinhold Burger and Albert Aschenbrenner, discovered that it could be used to keep cold drinks cold and warm drinks warm and invented a more durable flask design, suited for everyday use. Burger and Aschenbrenner patented their design and trademarked it with the name Thermos.
New Haven, Connecticut’s Louis Lunch, where the burger was born, only serves onions, tomatoes, and cheese spread as a condiment - maintaining a ban on ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise.
There are a number of competing claims for the origination of the hamburger, all centered in the 1880s and early 1890s, including:
McDonald’s holds the record of selling 300 billion burgers till date. McDonald’s sells 75 or more burgers every second.
McDonald’s colors are red and yellow, which are also (in varying shades) the colors of the Kingdom of Spain, the U.S. Marine Corps, Oberlin College, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the University of Southern California.
Oberlin College, a private liberal-arts college in Oberlin, Ohio (southwest of Cleveland), is the oldest co-educational liberal arts college in the U.S., and the second-oldest continuously-operating co-educational higher education institution in the world.
Oberlin College has had two female presidents since its founding in 1833, the second of whom is the incumbent, Carmen Twillie Ambar, who is also the first person of color to lead the school.
Carmen Twillie was the lead singer for The Lion King’s Circle of Life.
Carmen Miranda was the first Latin American star to be invited to imprint her hands and feet in the courtyard of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, in 1941. She became the first South American to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She is considered the precursor of Brazil’s Tropicalismo cultural movement of the 1960s. A museum was later constructed in Rio de Janeiro in her honor, and in 1995 she was the subject of the acclaimed documentary Carmen Miranda: Bananas is My Business. During her peak in the 1940’s, Carmen was the highest paid woman in the United States.
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood had its grand opening on May 18, 1927. A premiere showing of Cecil B. DeMille’s “The King of Kings" was the highlight, which was preceded by “Glories of the Scriptures,” a live prologue. A 65-piece orchestra and a Wurlitzer organ provided music for the prologue. The theatre opened to the public on the following day.