Browsing: Lifestyle

A Brief History On June 27, 1985, US Route 66, known as “The Main Street of America,” was officially taken off the list of US highways.  Established in 1926, it was the main road from Chicago to Los Angeles (Santa Monica).  Spawning a hit song (by Nat “King” Cole) and a hit television series, this route was the American highway, at least until superseded by the Interstate Highway System.  It survives (barely) today in pieces as “State Route 66” in some states and as stretches of a “National Scenic Byway.”  Many other symbols of America have also come and gone, and…

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A Brief History On June 26, 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened for traffic.  (See our other article today.)  The seaway opened the Great Lakes to ocean going freighters enhancing the economy of the region and transportation efficiency for the US and Canada.  Unfortunately, it also brought invasive species.  Sometimes invasive species are brought to a new land or water on purpose, other times by accident.  Often times, the introduction of a non-native species has unwanted consequences for their new home and neighbors, be they plant or animal.  Here we list 10 of the most irritating (to us; it is a…

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A Brief History On June 26, 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened for commerce, bringing ocean going ships access to the Great Lakes.  Consisting of a series of canals and 15 locks to bypass rapids on the river and Niagara Falls between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, work on the system was started in 1954, although other canals had been dug much earlier. Digging Deeper Passing about 50 million tons of cargo per year, the Seaway has had tremendous positive impact on the industry and commerce of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region.  Unfortunately, it has come at an ecological price.  Opening passage…

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A Brief History On Thursday, June 23, 2016, the voters in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) voted to leave the European Union, throwing the economies of the UK, Europe, Asia, and the United States into a tail spin.  Voters were warned of grave consequences (travel inconvenience and economic) if they voted to leave, but the movement calling itself “Brexit” (Britain-Exit) successfully won the referendum to ditch Britain’s part in the EU. Digging Deeper US stocks fell sharply with the news, over 600 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  Other markets around the world suffered more…

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A Brief History On June 22, 1969, the Cuyahoga River near downtown Cleveland, Ohio caught fire, sparking a story in Time Magazine and becoming the symbol for the ecology movement.  Nature and mankind have worked separately or together throughout history to create environmental disasters.  Here we list 10 of the more spectacular ones, the order of which is the ones we find most entertaining. Digging Deeper 10. Leaded Fuel, 1920’s-1970’s. Discovered to be an effective anti-knock compound for gasoline by Charles Kettering and Tom Midgely in 1921, the compound tetraethyl lead made by Dupont was necessary for engines to operate at higher compression, thus…

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