Joe Dimaggio created what is probably unbreakable record by hitting in 56 straight games in the majors.
But when he was playing in the Pacific Coast League San Francisco Seals, he put together a 61-game hitting streak, still the PCL record.
Al Smith and Jim Bagby Jr. pitched for the Cleveland Indians at Municipal Stadium in the July 16, 1941 game in which Joe DiMaggio’s remarkable 56-game hitting streak came to an end. The feat is referred to in the 1988 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Big Goodbye.”
Unlike many towns and cities in North America, Cleveland in Ohio is not named after the older English town with the same name. Cleveland, in Yorkshire, Northeastern England, means literally “cliff-land”, referring to its hilly southern areas, which rise to nearly 1,500 ft. Cleveland, Ohio, was originally “Cleaveland” after its founder, General Moses Cleaveland.
“Border Song” was Elton John’s first song to chart in the United States, reaching #92 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October, 1970. The song was covered by Aretha Franklin that same year, with the parenthetical subtitle “Holy Moses” (referring to a lyric from the song’s chorus); Franklin’s version was even more successful, hitting #37 on the Billboard chart in December, 1970.
During her career, Aretha Franklin had 73 entries on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. However, she only had two #1 songs: ‘Respect’ in 1967, and a 1987 duet with George Michael, ‘I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)’.
Franklin is a town in Hancock County, Maine. According to Wikipedia: Principal products (in chronological order) have been ship masts, railroad ties, granite, blueberries, and Christmas
TLTE: . . . trees.
Christmas trees are grown and harvested in all fifty states including Alaska and Hawaii. However, the two states of Oregon and North Carolina are #1 and #2 in tree production, and were responsible for 61% of all natural Christmas trees sold in 2012 (the most recent year for which government data is available). Michigan came in a distant third, producing about 10% of the nation’s supply in 2012.
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According to a 2019 survey by the American Christmas Tree Association, 77% of American households display a Christmas tree during the holiday season. However, only 18% of Americans’ Christmas trees are now natural trees; the remaining 82% are artificial trees.
The first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany during the 19th century. These were made from goose feathers dyed green and attached to wire ‘branches’. In 1930, a British company created the first artificial Christmas tree made from brush bristles, using the same machinery that it used to manufacture toilet brushes. Today, most artificial Christmas trees are made from PVC plastic.
IATA airport codes are unique three-letter codes used to identify airports. IATA, the International Air Transport Association, was formed in Cuba in 1945. Today its headquarters is in Montreal.
Some IATA codes are:
SFO, San Francisco International Airport
LAX, Los Angeles International Airport
PVC, Provincetown Municipal Airport
The IATA airport code for Gateway Airport at Sioux City, Iowa is the snigger-inducing “SUX”. For decades, city fathers have moaned about the label. In 2002, the mayor labeled it “an embarrassment.”
Unlike some other residents though, David Bernstein has taken to heart the old adage about what to do when life hands you lemons. He’s making T-shirts, emblazoned with two words: “Fly SUX”. And yes, they are also available online if you don’t want to travel to western Iowa yourself.
Other airports with less-than-flattering codes include Fresno, CA (FAT); Perm, Russia (PEE); Vanta Airport in Helsinki, Finland (HEL); and Shepperton, Australia (SHT).
And then there’s Japan’s third-busiest airport, in the city of Fukuoka. Many a traveler must snicker as his or her luggage is tagged for … well, let’s just leave it up to your imagination.
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More IATA:
GRR — Grand Rapids, Michigan
BRR — Barra, Scotland
IOU — Île Ouen, New Caledonia
WOW — Willow, Alaska
GAG — Gage, Oklahoma
OMG — Omega, Namibia
IDK – Indulkana, Australia
BOO – Bodø, Norway
DOH – Doha, Qatar
With a population of over 200,000, Grand Rapids is the second-largest city in Michigan. Located 30 miles east of Lake Michigan on the Grand River, Grand Rapids is home to five of the world’s leading office furniture companies, and is nicknamed “Furniture City.”
Grand Rapids is the childhood home of U.S. President Gerald Ford, who is buried with his wife Betty on the grounds of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in the city.
Among the largest family owned companies in the world are Wal-mart (Walton), Volkswagen (Porsche), Berkshire Hathaway (Buffet), and Ford.
Warren Buffet, who will turn 90 later this month, has an estimated net worth of 71.8 billion dollars. This makes him the fourth-richest person in the world, behind Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Bernard Arnault.
60 percent of all U.S. currency and almost 80 percent of all $100 bills are now overseas.
The number of outstanding U.S. $100 bills has doubled since the financial crisis, with more than 12 billion of them across the world, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve.
There are more C-notes in circulation than $1 bills.
A million dollars would fit in a standard attache case, The US C-note is almost the largest bill in the world, after the 100-euro and 500 Swiss franc. In the 1995 film “Father of the Bride Two”, Mr. Habib is sen paying for George’s house with $10,000 bills. But formal use was discotinued in 1969. Last time I handled a large bill was a Canadian $1,000, which were common in 1978.
George Washington’s country estate Mount Vernon, is near Arlington, Va., just down the Potomac River from the capital city named after him. It is the custom of the U.S. Navy that any ship passing the house renders honors to the memory of the first President of the United States.
Canadian actor John Vernon had a long career, frequently playing villains or antagonistic characters, including the mayor of San Francisco in Dirty Harry. Vernon is likely best-remembered for his role as Dean Vernon Wormer of Faber College, the foe of the members of Delta House, in National Lampoon’s Animal House.