Wednesday, October 26, 2011

NANETTE LEPORE

Nanette Lepore is at the forefront fashion designer in New York city to save the crumbing garments. Lepore cuts, pins, sews, and boxes 85 percent of her line—or 20,000 garments a month—within a few blocks of her office on West 35th Street. But it's more than altruism that motivates her. "We can control our inventory," she told the Nightly Business Report on PBS in March. "We have speed to market. If Saks is selling out of a top, I can re-cut it and have it back in their stores in 10 days to two weeks."



Here are some glamorous big-league fashion brands in front of you. Lets find out the eight popular companies of USA that are keeping home fire burning.

THE ROW
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's American-made line, The Row, isn't your typical celebrity vanity project. Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller were Olsen born June 13, 1986. Both have appeared in television and films since infancy. Both American actresses look similar in appearance.The former Full House child stars have earned critical plaudits, a cult following, and a Council of Fashion Designers of America Award nomination.



RAG & BONE

Founded in 2002, rag & bone had one very clear vision in mind: to make clothes that they and their friends would love to wear every day. Rag & Bone has emerged as a bastion of crisply tailored, modern sportswear. The definition of what clothing can and should be, Rag & Bone produces the majority of their garments in U.S. factories that still sew clothes the same way they did 50 years ago.



OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Oscar de la Renta's luxury threads have been produced Stateside since he arrived in New York City in the '60s. "The nucleus of the Garment Center already broke up a long time ago," he told WWD in May.



NICOLE MILLER

Nicole Miller is willing to fork over a premium in labor costs to maintain strict quality control. CEO Bud Konheim led the charge back to Seventh Avenue by 1982. "It wasn't patriotism. It was just good business sense," he told the New York Times in 1995. "Production became very efficient here, and we ended up with a better net profit. I am one of many people that played out that scenario."



LELA ROSE

The Lela Rose is beautifully classical collection, where embellished fabrics are the foundation of this innovative collection and speak to the elegance of its personality with a nod to the era of glamour.



J BRAND

They may sport fancy imported fabric such as Japanese luxe twill, but J Brand's denim pants and leggings are, for the most part, made in the United States.



JASON WU

Jason Wu debuted his first Ready-to-Wear Collection in 2006 with a unique and distinctive esthetic. Over 85% of the Jason Wu Collection is manufactured in New York City’s Garment District. Through merging American sportswear with old world sophistication he established a supremely feminine and modern sensibility.

“I have always found a woman’s body to be especially beautiful ever since taking my first life drawing class as a teenager. I was drawn to fashion design as it is my passion to create garments that enhance and flatter the female form,” explains Jason.



Source
NANETTE LEPORE

Nanette Lepore is at the forefront fashion designer in New York city to save the crumbing garments. Lepore cuts, pins, sews, and boxes 85 percent of her line—or 20,000 garments a month—within a few blocks of her office on West 35th Street. But it's more than altruism that motivates her. "We can control our inventory," she told the Nightly Business Report on PBS in March. "We have speed to market. If Saks is selling out of a top, I can re-cut it and have it back in their stores in 10 days to two weeks."



Here are some glamorous big-league fashion brands in front of you. Lets find out the eight popular companies of USA that are keeping home fire burning.

THE ROW
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's American-made line, The Row, isn't your typical celebrity vanity project. Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller were Olsen born June 13, 1986. Both have appeared in television and films since infancy. Both American actresses look similar in appearance.The former Full House child stars have earned critical plaudits, a cult following, and a Council of Fashion Designers of America Award nomination.



RAG & BONE

Founded in 2002, rag & bone had one very clear vision in mind: to make clothes that they and their friends would love to wear every day. Rag & Bone has emerged as a bastion of crisply tailored, modern sportswear. The definition of what clothing can and should be, Rag & Bone produces the majority of their garments in U.S. factories that still sew clothes the same way they did 50 years ago.



OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Oscar de la Renta's luxury threads have been produced Stateside since he arrived in New York City in the '60s. "The nucleus of the Garment Center already broke up a long time ago," he told WWD in May. "Whether we have designers still on Seventh Ave. or somewhere else, we are all New York designers, and that’s what matters.”



NICOLE MILLER

Nicole Miller is willing to fork over a premium in labor costs to maintain strict quality control. CEO Bud Konheim led the charge back to Seventh Avenue by 1982. "It wasn't patriotism. It was just good business sense," he told the New York Times in 1995. "Production became very efficient here, and we ended up with a better net profit. I am one of many people that played out that scenario."



LELA ROSE

The Lela Rose is beautifully classical collection, where embellished fabrics are the foundation of this innovative collection and speak to the elegance of its personality with a nod to the era of glamour.



J BRAND

They may sport fancy imported fabric such as Japanese luxe twill, but J Brand's denim pants and leggings are, for the most part, made in the United States.



JASON WU

Jason Wu debuted his first Ready-to-Wear Collection in 2006 with a unique and distinctive esthetic. Over 85% of the Jason Wu Collection is manufactured in New York City’s Garment District. Through merging American sportswear with old world sophistication he established a supremely feminine and modern sensibility.

“I have always found a woman’s body to be especially beautiful ever since taking my first life drawing class as a teenager. I was drawn to fashion design as it is my passion to create garments that enhance and flatter the female form,” explains Jason.



Source
NANETTE LEPORE

Nanette Lepore is at the forefront fashion designer in New York city to save the crumbing garments. Lepore cuts, pins, sews, and boxes 85 percent of her line—or 20,000 garments a month—within a few blocks of her office on West 35th Street. But it's more than altruism that motivates her. "We can control our inventory," she told the Nightly Business Report on PBS in March. "We have speed to market. If Saks is selling out of a top, I can re-cut it and have it back in their stores in 10 days to two weeks."



Here are some glamorous big-league fashion brands in front of you. Lets find out the eight popular companies of USA that are keeping home fire burning.

THE ROW
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's American-made line, The Row, isn't your typical celebrity vanity project. Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller were Olsen born June 13, 1986. Both have appeared in television and films since infancy. Both American actresses look similar in appearance.The former Full House child stars have earned critical plaudits, a cult following, and a Council of Fashion Designers of America Award nomination.



RAG & BONE

Founded in 2002, rag & bone had one very clear vision in mind: to make clothes that they and their friends would love to wear every day. Rag & Bone has emerged as a bastion of crisply tailored, modern sportswear. The definition of what clothing can and should be, Rag & Bone produces the majority of their garments in U.S. factories that still sew clothes the same way they did 50 years ago.



OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Oscar de la Renta's luxury threads have been produced Stateside since he arrived in New York City in the '60s. "The nucleus of the Garment Center already broke up a long time ago," he told WWD in May. "Whether we have designers still on Seventh Ave. or somewhere else, we are all New York designers, and that’s what matters.”



NICOLE MILLER

Nicole Miller is willing to fork over a premium in labor costs to maintain strict quality control. CEO Bud Konheim led the charge back to Seventh Avenue by 1982. "It wasn't patriotism. It was just good business sense," he told the New York Times in 1995. "Production became very efficient here, and we ended up with a better net profit. I am one of many people that played out that scenario."



LELA ROSE

The Lela Rose is beautifully classical collection, where embellished fabrics are the foundation of this innovative collection and speak to the elegance of its personality with a nod to the era of glamour.



J BRAND

They may sport fancy imported fabric such as Japanese luxe twill, but J Brand's denim pants and leggings are, for the most part, made in the United States.



JASON WU

Jason Wu debuted his first Ready-to-Wear Collection in 2006 with a unique and distinctive esthetic. Over 85% of the Jason Wu Collection is manufactured in New York City’s Garment District. Through merging American sportswear with old world sophistication he established a supremely feminine and modern sensibility.

“I have always found a woman’s body to be especially beautiful ever since taking my first life drawing class as a teenager. I was drawn to fashion design as it is my passion to create garments that enhance and flatter the female form,” explains Jason.



Source
NANETTE LEPORE

Nanette Lepore is at the forefront fashion designer in New York city to save the crumbing garments. Lepore cuts, pins, sews, and boxes 85 percent of her line—or 20,000 garments a month—within a few blocks of her office on West 35th Street. But it's more than altruism that motivates her. "We can control our inventory," she told the Nightly Business Report on PBS in March. "We have speed to market. If Saks is selling out of a top, I can re-cut it and have it back in their stores in 10 days to two weeks."



Here are some glamorous big-league fashion brands in front of you. Lets find out the eight popular companies of USA that are keeping home fire burning.

THE ROW
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's American-made line, The Row, isn't your typical celebrity vanity project. Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller were Olsen born June 13, 1986. Both have appeared in television and films since infancy. Both American actresses look similar in appearance.The former Full House child stars have earned critical plaudits, a cult following, and a Council of Fashion Designers of America Award nomination.



RAG & BONE

Founded in 2002, rag & bone had one very clear vision in mind: to make clothes that they and their friends would love to wear every day. Rag & Bone has emerged as a bastion of crisply tailored, modern sportswear. The definition of what clothing can and should be, Rag & Bone produces the majority of their garments in U.S. factories that still sew clothes the same way they did 50 years ago.



OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Oscar de la Renta's luxury threads have been produced Stateside since he arrived in New York City in the '60s. "The nucleus of the Garment Center already broke up a long time ago," he told WWD in May. "Whether we have designers still on Seventh Ave. or somewhere else, we are all New York designers, and that’s what matters.”



NICOLE MILLER

Nicole Miller is willing to fork over a premium in labor costs to maintain strict quality control. CEO Bud Konheim led the charge back to Seventh Avenue by 1982. "It wasn't patriotism. It was just good business sense," he told the New York Times in 1995. "Production became very efficient here, and we ended up with a better net profit. I am one of many people that played out that scenario."



LELA ROSE

The Lela Rose collection is founded on a clear vision to create classic silhouettes with a whimsical twist. Beautifully embellished fabrics are the foundation of this innovative collection and speak to the elegance of its personality with a nod to the era of glamour.



J BRAND

They may sport fancy imported fabric such as Japanese luxe twill, but J Brand's denim pants and leggings are, for the most part, made in the United States.



JASON WU

Jason Wu debuted his first Ready-to-Wear Collection in 2006 with a unique and distinctive esthetic. Over 85% of the Jason Wu Collection is manufactured in New York City’s Garment District. Through merging American sportswear with old world sophistication he established a supremely feminine and modern sensibility.

“I have always found a woman’s body to be especially beautiful ever since taking my first life drawing class as a teenager. I was drawn to fashion design as it is my passion to create garments that enhance and flatter the female form,” explains Jason.



Source
dummies +General Motors donate crash test dummies smithsonian in 2010
Vince and Larry endured countless crashes and made some funny commercials to get people to wear their seatbelts. The gear from the famous duo was donated to this museum.


Here is a look at some of the more eccentric items collected by the Smithsonian, many of which are currently on view.

Dorothy's ruby slippers

There's no place like home -- at the Smithsonian. The iconic shoes from "The Wizard of Oz", worn by this star, are one of this museum's main attractions. The glittering red slippers are worn around the edges, a reminder of all the clicking and dancing they endured.



Teddy Roosevelt's teddy bear. smithsonian teddy roosevelt son Kermit donated teddy bear 1964

This prized possession is the original teddy bear, given to this president after a particular bear-hunting story made its way around. The incident also inspired a popular political cartoon.



Harry Truman's bowling pin

President Harry Truman had a two-lane bowling alley installed in the White House and helped create a White House bowling league. The alley was later turned into a rather boring facility by the next president.



Warren G. Harding's silk pajamas smithsonian warren harding silk pajamas donated 1954

The National Museum of American History displays a rather odd keepsake: former President Warren G. Harding's monogrammed silk pajamas. He must have loved them, because he had a matching set of red ones.



Cher Ami smithsonian cher ami donated

Despite the increasing use of radio during this war, carrier pigeons were still used to deliver important messages. This particular winged friend saved 200 lives and became a war hero.



Spotsylvania Stump

This shattered, bullet-ridden stump is nearly all that's left of this fierce Civil War battle, which took place in Virginia.



Presidential hair +smithsonian president hair 1883

This museum displays locks from the first 14 presidents, a practice of hair preservation that used to be quite common. It's unusual, for sure, but not quite as unusual as this scrapbook.



Crystal skull

One of these quartz craniums arrived inexplicably at the National Museum of Natural History. The latest installment of this popular adventure film series makes the mystery surrounding the specimen even greater.



Shrunken human bodies smithsonian shrunken human bodies donated 1989

The National Museum of the American Indian is home to two of these curios. They were created in the same macabre way in which this ancient tribe shrank human heads.



'Star Trek' phaser smithsonian star trek phaser donated 1987

Trekkies will delight in seeing weaponry from the classic '60s TV show at this museum.



Bubble suit smithsonian bubble suit donated 1986

An unusual procurement for the Smithsonian, this isolation suit helped "the boy in the plastic bubble," who had an immune deficiency, avoid germs. This movie, starring John Travolta, was partially inspired by his story.



'Howdy Doody' puppet

The stunt puppet from a groundbreaking children's TV program is proudly on display at the Smithsonian.



Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves & robe

The Smithsonian displays some of the gear of this great fighter. Despite some controversy, his prolific career inspired this documentary and a biography with the man cast as himself.



$20 gold coin $20 gold coin donated to the Smithsonian in 1967 by Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt

This coin is scarce and precious and was minted during a major prospecting period. It is believed that only two pieces bearing the 1849 date were made, one of which is displayed at this museum.



Soap Man mummy smithsonian soap man mummy donated 1958

The body of this mummified man turned to soap and is being stored and studied at the National Museum of Natural History. He was discovered in the "City of Brotherly Love," which is also home to the soap lady.



Erector Set heart pump smithsonian acquired the heart pump in 1959 from Sewell's mother

Using a classic children's toy set, two college students built one of the first heart pumps. The contraption is a far cry from technology nowadays.



Silly Putty eggs

The "real solid liquid" that has enchanted kids for ages has its own special collection at this museum.



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15. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

There is 13.41% fatality rate in this city out of the total population of 551,789. 74 fatalities were recorded here. 13.5 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



U.S. cities with a population of 150,000 or more were up for consideration, using the most recent motor vehicle crash data available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System and General Estimates System.


14. Birmingham, Alabama

There is 13.55 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 228,798. 31 fatalities were recorded here. 15.2 % fatalities were the pedestrians.

13. Tulsa, Oklahoma

There is 14.00 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 385,635. 54 fatalities were recorded here. 18.5 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



12. St. Petersburg, Florida

Population: 245,314

There is 14.27 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 245,314. 35 fatalities were recorded here. 28.6 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



11. Jacksonville, Florida

There is 14.36 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 807,815. 116 fatalities were recorded here. 13.8 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



10. Lubbock, Texas

There is 14.97 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 220,483. 33 fatalities were recorded here. 15.2 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



9. Memphis, Tennessee

There is 15.08 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 669,651. 101 fatalities were recorded here. 11.9 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



8. Jackson, Mississippi

There is 15.53 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 173,861. 27 fatalities were recorded here. 18.5 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



7. Chattanooga, Tennessee

There is 16.39 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 170,880. 28 fatalities were recorded here. 17.9 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



6. Salt Lake City, Utah

There is 16.51 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 181,698. 30 fatalities were recorded here. 26.7 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



5. San Bernardino, California

There is 17.12 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 181,698. 34 fatalities were recorded here. 15.8 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



4. Little Rock, Arkansas

There is 17.94 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 189,515. 34 fatalities were recorded here. 26.5 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



3. Augusta-Richmond Co., Georgia

There is 19.57 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 194,149. 38 fatalities were recorded here. 15.8 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



2. Orlando, Florida

There is 19.95 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 230,519. 46 fatalities were recorded here. 10.9 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



1. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

There is 22.39 fatality rate per 100,000 in this city out of the total population of 183,126. 41 fatalities were recorded here. 24.4 % fatalities were the pedestrians.



Source
15. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Population: 551,789

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 13.41

Total fatalities: 74

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 13.5



There are many ways one could gauge the danger of driving in a particular city, but this list uses the cities with the greatest number of vehicular deaths as a barometer of the danger level. U.S. cities with a population of 150,000 or more were up for consideration, using the most recent motor vehicle crash data available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System and General Estimates System.
14. Birmingham, Alabama

Population: 228,798

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 13.55

Total fatalities: 31

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 15.2



13. Tulsa, Oklahoma

Population: 385,635

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 14.00

Total fatalities: 54

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 18.5



12. St. Petersburg, Florida

Population: 245,314

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 14.27

Total fatalities: 35

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 28.6



11. Jacksonville, Florida

Population: 807,815

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 14.36

Total fatalities: 116

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 13.8



10. Lubbock, Texas

Population: 220,483

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 14.97

Total fatalities: 33

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 15.2



9. Memphis, Tennessee

Population: 669,651

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 15.08

Total fatalities: 101

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 11.9



8. Jackson, Mississippi

Population: 173,861

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 15.53

Total fatalities: 27

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 18.5



7. Chattanooga, Tennessee

Population: 170,880

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 16.39

Total fatalities: 28

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 17.9



6. Salt Lake City, Utah

Population: 181,698

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 16.51

Total fatalities: 30

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 26.7



5. San Bernardino, California

Population: 198,580

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 17.12

Total fatalities: 34

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 15.8



4. Little Rock, Arkansas

Population: 189,515

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 17.94

Total fatalities: 34

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 26.5



3. Augusta-Richmond Co., Georgia

Population: 194,149

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 19.57

Total fatalities: 38

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 15.8



2. Orlando, Florida

Population: 230,519

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 19.95

Total fatalities: 46

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 10.9



1. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Population: 183,126

Total fatality rate per 100,000 population: 22.39

Total fatalities: 41

Percentage of fatalities that were pedestrians: 24.4



Source
Los Angeles
Memorial Name: LAX “Recovering Equilibrium”

“Recovering Equilibrium” was funded by Los Angeles World Airports, which oversees airports in the city, at a cost $75,000. LAX was the destination for three of the four planes involved in the tragedy.

The 15–foot-diameter, rotating mirror floats above a concrete basin filled with water, where virtues such as forgiveness are inscribed in different languages, representing collective American citizenry. On the lower ring, there are American concepts, such as "Sea to Shining Sea" and "American Dream." The plate is made reflective because designers BJ Krivanek and Joel Breaux want visitors to be able to identify with the victims and their characters.



Click ahead for a collection of memorials that capture the character of the hundreds throughout the nation, and the message they convey from the people behind the effort.

Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Memorial Name: Boston College 9/11 Memorial Labyrinth

The Memorial Labyrinth on the lawn of Burns Library is the brainchild of Father William P. Leahy, S.J., president of Boston College. Fully financed by the university, the 300-yard long, 28-loop labyrinth is an exact replica of the one in the France's Chartres Cathedral, where for centuries pilgrims walk the pathway to pray, meditate and reflect.



Villanova, Pa.
Memorial: 9/11 Memorial Stained Glass Window at Corr Chapel, Villanova University

The bright-colored memorial window at Corr Chapel is to commemorate the 15 Villanova alumni perished in 9/11. Installed in 2006, the glass took 10 months to complete and cost about $25,000 to make, excluding shipping and installing.

The window depicts the sites that marked the 9/11 attacks, the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon, and the field near Shanksville, Penn., as well as four planes hovering over the sky. The window next to it shows the Blessed Virgin Mary in prayer position.



Easton, Conn.
Memorial Name: Christine’s Tree at the Old Academy Nursery School

The Seven Sons Flower Tree was planted by the Old Academy Nursery School kids to honor Christine Hanson, the youngest victim of 9/11. Christine was en route to a California vacation with her parents Sue and Peter, when the tragedy happened. She was then only two and a half years old.



Lower Makefield, Penn.
Memorial: The Garden of Reflection

The Garden and the 64-acre Memorial Park in Lower Makefield, Penn., were built in 2005. Nine people from the town died in the tragedy. Starting as a grassroots effort by family members and volunteers, the “Remembrance Fund” raised more than $1.8 million for design, construction, and maintenance.

The site includes a fragment of the World Trade Center, a Wall of Remembrance with all the victims names etched on glass panels, and twin fountains that represent the rising spirits of those lost in the event.



Athens, Ga.
Memorial: 9/11 Memorial Garden And Trail

After a trip to post-9/11 New York City, Bob Hart, a retired teacher from University of Georgia, came up with the idea to build a memorial on his 18-acre wooded property. The trail is open to public and features 99 poles with all the victims’ names. The names are deliberately arranged in random order, emphasizing the individuality of each person. However, an index box at the beginning of the trail allows visitors to locate any name. The Harts spent $5,000 to $7,000 on the memorial.

About 250 and 400 people attended the memorial service in 2002 and 2006. And Bob is planning another one for the 10th anniversary.



Greenport, N.Y.
Memorial: Osprey Memorial “Morning Call”

By the quiet harbor of Greenport, N.Y., an osprey perches atop a 20-foot tall beam made up of three World Trade Center steel remains. With its wings stretching and its beak open, the osprey is landing to build a nest and crying out for dignity. The sculpture, titled “Morning Call,” is symbolic of rebirth and renewal, while its see-through design is meant to create something quiet but strong.

“My idea is to create in the spirit of rebirth and renewal after the tragedy,” said Roberto Bessin the sculptor, “the site is where the first sunrise hit the State of New York, on the north fork of East Long Island.”

The statue cost $80,000 in total and was financed by the Osprey Memorial Fund.



Brooklyn, N.Y.
Memorial Name: Brooklyn Remembers Memorial “The Beacon”

The 25-foot-tall bronze statue titled "The Beacon" is in the shape of an 18th century speaking trumpet used by firefighters to alert the public of fire. The memorial took three years to complete and is located at Veteran’s Pier at 69th Street in Bay Ridge.

Through public fundraising, Brooklyn Remembers managed to raise $150,000 to build the memorial and another $40,000 to maintain it.



Arlington, Va.
Memorial: Pentagon Memorial

The Pentagon Memorial, located right where the plane crashed, is dedicated to the 184 people at the location who lost their lives on 9/11. Completed in 2008, the construction is estimated to have cost $22 million, with another $10 million in line for future maintenance.



Emmitsburg, Md.
Memorial Name: To Lift a Nation

The memorial named “To Lift a Nation” features three 40-feet high firefighter statues, each weighs more than 5,000 pounds, raising the American flag. It is a recreation of the famous photo by Thomas E. Franklin taken at Ground Zero on 9/11 and is dedicated to all the firefighters that died in the tragedy. The memorial was established in 2007 and is donated by the sculptor Stan Watts at a cost of millions.



Bayonne, N.J.
Memorial Name: To Struggle Against World Terrorism

Located at the eastern tip of Bayonne, N.J., harbor peninsula, the gigantic statue weighs 175 tons and consists of a 40-foot stainless-steel teardrop positioned in the crack of a 100-foot bronze block. The slit with rough edges and the hanging teardrop represents the twin towers that once together had been ruptured in between.

The memorial, named “To Struggle Against World Terrorism,” was dedicated in 2006 as a gift from the sculptor Zurab Tsereteli and people of Russia to America. Fifteen Bayonne residents died in the attacks.



Avon, Conn.
Memorial: Amy Toyen Sculpture

Dedicated in 2002, the piece commemorates the 9/11 victim Amy Toyen, who grew up in Avon, Conn. The project was initiated by Avon High School. Situated outside the Avon Free Public Library, the life-size bronze sculpture depicts Amy as a 5-year-old young girl, in her favorite dress, sitting on a garden bench, with a book in her hands and a Teddy Bear in her arm (two other of her favorite things).



Staten Island, N.Y.
Memorial: 9/11 Memorial “Postcards”

Built in 2004, “Postcards” features two soaring 40-foot high, white wing-like walls that symbolize notes sent to loved ones. The memorial is dedicated to all the Staten Island, N.Y., residents who died on 9/11, each of them honored with a granite plaque with their facial silhouette, name, birth date, and place of work. Ground Zero can be seen between the “Postcards” wings.

The memorial took a year to complete at a cost of more than $2 million.



West Springfield, Mass.
Memorial Name: Eternal Flame

The Eternal Flame burns 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in memory of Melissa Harrington-Hughes, a native of West Springfield, Mass., as well as 92 other Massachusetts residents who died on 9/11. Dedicated in 2003, it represents life and provides the victims' families and the community a peaceful place to contemplate. Powered by natural gas, the Eternal Flame cost $75,000 to build and $300 a month to maintain.



Dunseith, N.D.
Memorial: The International Peace Garden 9/11 Memorial

Located within the 2,400-acre International Peace Garden on the border of the U.S. and Canada, the memorial consists of 10 World Trade Center girders surrounded by a Stroll and Contemplative Garden, built in 2002 and 2010, respectively. The overall memorial covers 20,000 square feet.



Source
1847: The First Stamps
In the postal service's early years, it was not the sender but the receiver who paid for the delivery of the mail. This added to the delivery time and increased the likelihood the mail would be refused. With the introduction of the first stamps in 1847, the service was able to standardize delivery costs and provide more efficient service. The first stamps bore the likenesses of first Postmaster General Franklin, on the five-cent, and first President George Washington on the ten cent.



The US Postal Service can trace its origins to the Revolutionary War, when a mail system was created as an alternate to the royal mail, which the colonists disliked for its higher rates, which they regarded as an unfair tax. In 1775, the year that the war for independence began, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, above, as the first postmaster general. Franklin had experience at the job; he had been the deputy postmaster general of the colonial mail system.

1850: Mailed to Freedom
Over a decade before the Civil War, Henry 'Box' Brown mailed himself to freedom in a three-foot box from Richmond, Virginia to the Anti-Slavery office in Philadelphia. The delivery took 26 hours.



1860: Pony Express
The Pony Express was very improvement over the old route, which required a boat that sailed to Panama, a quick overland passage and then a trip northward on another boat to California. The first Pony Express journey left St. Joseph Missouri and completed the 2,000-mile journey about ten days later, arriving in Sacramento, California with their first parcel. The Express stations were built roughly 10 miles apart so as the horse began to fade, the ride could trade it out for a fresh one.



1870: "Neither Rain Nor Snow..."
A wood engraving of a letter carrier in the Rocky Mountains. The famed "creed" of the U.S. Postal Service is not an official slogan, but an inscription on the James Farley Post Office building in New York. The full phrasing (which was derived from a quote from Herodotus) reads, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."



1910: Horsepower and the Post
The new auto truck put into service by the United States Mail for delivery of parcel post.



1911: Mail Takes Flight
The first efforts to deliver mail by air in the United States date to 1859, when a pilot attempted (unsuccessfully) to carry mail via air balloon from Lafayette, Indiana to New York. Many subsequent air mail deliveries were made, but Earle L. Ovington, above, an aviator and lab assistant to Thomas Edison, is credited with making the first official delivery, carrying a sack from Garden City, New York, to Mineola, New York. When he reached his destination, Ovington circled in the air and tossed the bag over the side of his plane, causing the sack to burst on impact, scattering the letters within.



1915: Rural Delivery
A mail carrier stands with his Wagner 4-11 motorcycle next to a postal box along his route near Newell, South Dakota. The mail is in the sacks on the rear of his motorcycle.



1922: Dead Letter Office
Established in 1825, the dead letter office was used to hold "undeliverable" mail. This photo of a dead letter office was probably taken at a post office in Washington.



1947: Mail Room
Sacks of mail are piled atop each other and emptied into slotted bins in the large, busy mailroom of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.



1953: Postmaster General
Eisenhower's Postmaster General, Arthur Summerfield, poses in a pile of letters, 1953. The position first held by Benjamin Franklin remained a cabinet level job until 1971.



1954: Stamp Dispenser
Vending machines for stamps are believed to date to the late 19th century, when they were developed in the United Kingdom. The machines first appeared in the U.S. in 1908, when private manufacturers began vending stamps from coils.



1955: Morning Rounds
Mailmen leave New York City's General Post Office to begin their rounds at Christmas time.



1959: MIssile Mail
Among the many technologies that the USPS experiemted with was "missile mail." With the goal of creating a faster delviery method, the service teamed up with the U.S. Navy Sub The USS Barbero, which fired a cruise missile with two postal containers in place of ordinance. Though the missile reached its target in Mayport, Florida and its package was delivered successfully, the cost and numerous failures of missile mail ultimately led it to be scrapped.



1959: Heightened Efficiency
Operators working at the new automated post office in Providence, Rhode Island. In the 1960s, the department began to use more and more high-speed equipment to handle tasks which had previously been done by hand.



Under Duress
It was started in 1980s, the postal service endured a spate of workplace shootings. In the public imagination, the violent acts were symbolic of the increasing pressure in American offices and factories to do more, in less time, at less cost and the term "going postal" became associated with any act of extreme anger that led to violence. The photo above was taken in the aftermath of one of the more prominent early postal shootings, in Edmond, Oklahoma in 1986, when Patrick Sherrill, a part-time letter carrier, entered the local post office and fatally shot 14 employees.



2010: Protest
Budget cuts have forced the postal service to make many difficult decisions. The USPS is currently considering terminating Saturday delivery and recently announced the closure of 3,600 postal offices across the United States. In this 2010 photo, American Postal Workers Union members and their supporters protest proposed cutes to Saturday delivery, during a Labor Day parade in Philadelphia.



Source
1847: The First Stamps
In the postal service's early years, it was not the sender but the receiver who paid for the delivery of the mail. This added to the delivery time and increased the likelihood the mail would be refused. With the introduction of the first stamps in 1847, the service was able to standardize delivery costs and provide more efficient service. The first stamps bore the likenesses of first Postmaster General Franklin, on the five-cent, and first President George Washington on the ten cent.



The US Postal Service can trace its origins to the Revolutionary War, when a mail system was created as an alternate to the royal mail, which the colonists disliked for its higher rates, which they regarded as an unfair tax. In 1775, the year that the war for independence began, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, above, as the first postmaster general. Franklin had experience at the job; he had been the deputy postmaster general of the colonial mail system.

1850: Mailed to Freedom
Over a decade before the Civil War, Henry 'Box' Brown mailed himself to freedom in a three-foot box from Richmond, Virginia to the Anti-Slavery office in Philadelphia. The delivery took 26 hours.



1860: Pony Express
Launched as a new way to expedite west coast bound mail, the Pony Express was a vast improvement over the old route, which required a boat that sailed to Panama, a quick overland passage and then a trip northward on another boat to California. The first Pony Express journey left St. Joseph Missouri and completed the 2,000-mile journey about ten days later, arriving in Sacramento, California with their first parcel. This engraving shows the arrival of a pony express courier to a post in the Rocky Mountains. The Express stations were built roughly 10 miles apart so as the horse began to fade, the ride could trade it out for a fresh one.



1870: "Neither Rain Nor Snow..."
A wood engraving of a letter carrier in the Rocky Mountains. The famed "creed" of the U.S. Postal Service is not an official slogan, but an inscription on the James Farley Post Office building in New York. The full phrasing (which was derived from a quote from Herodotus) reads, "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."



1910: Horsepower and the Post
The new auto truck put into service by the United States Mail for delivery of parcel post.



1911: Mail Takes Flight
The first efforts to deliver mail by air in the United States date to 1859, when a pilot attempted (unsuccessfully) to carry mail via air balloon from Lafayette, Indiana to New York. Many subsequent air mail deliveries were made, but Earle L. Ovington, above, an aviator and lab assistant to Thomas Edison, is credited with making the first official delivery, carrying a sack from Garden City, New York, to Mineola, New York. When he reached his destination, Ovington circled in the air and tossed the bag over the side of his plane, causing the sack to burst on impact, scattering the letters within.



1915: Rural Delivery
A mail carrier stands with his Wagner 4-11 motorcycle next to a postal box along his route near Newell, South Dakota. The mail is in the sacks on the rear of his motorcycle.



1922: Dead Letter Office
Established in 1825, the dead letter office was used to hold "undeliverable" mail. This photo of a dead letter office was probably taken at a post office in Washington.



1947: Mail Room
Sacks of mail are piled atop each other and emptied into slotted bins in the large, busy mailroom of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.



1953: Postmaster General
Eisenhower's Postmaster General, Arthur Summerfield, poses in a pile of letters, 1953. The position first held by Benjamin Franklin remained a cabinet level job until 1971.



1954: Stamp Dispenser
Vending machines for stamps are believed to date to the late 19th century, when they were developed in the United Kingdom. The machines first appeared in the U.S. in 1908, when private manufacturers began vending stamps from coils.



1955: Morning Rounds
Mailmen leave New York City's General Post Office to begin their rounds at Christmas time.



1959: MIssile Mail
Among the many technologies that the USPS experiemted with was "missile mail." With the goal of creating a faster delviery method, the service teamed up with the U.S. Navy Sub The USS Barbero, which fired a cruise missile with two postal containers in place of ordinance. Though the missile reached its target in Mayport, Florida and its package was delivered successfully, the cost and numerous failures of missile mail ultimately led it to be scrapped.



1959: Heightened Efficiency
Operators working at the new automated post office in Providence, Rhode Island. In the 1960s, the department began to use more and more high-speed equipment to handle tasks which had previously been done by hand.



Under Duress
Beginning in the 1980s, the postal service endured a spate of workplace shootings. In the public imagination, the violent acts were symbolic of the increasing pressure in American offices and factories to do more, in less time, at less cost and the term "going postal" became associated with any act of extreme anger that led to violence. The photo above was taken in the aftermath of one of the more prominent early postal shootings, in Edmond, Oklahoma in 1986, when Patrick Sherrill, a part-time letter carrier, entered the local post office and fatally shot 14 employees.



2010: Protest
Budget cuts have forced the postal service to make many difficult decisions. The USPS is currently considering terminating Saturday delivery and recently announced the closure of 3,600 postal offices across the United States. In this 2010 photo, American Postal Workers Union members and their supporters protest proposed cutes to Saturday delivery, during a Labor Day parade in Philadelphia.



Source
10. Exxon Valdez
On March 24, 1989, a 987-foot oil tanker, the Exxon Valdez on its way to California through Prince William Sound in Alaska. As Captain Joseph Hazelwood slept off an alcohol-induced bender below decks, his third mate steered the vessel right into Bligh Reef. The error spilled approximately 11 million gallons of crude oil, which eventually covered 1,300 miles of coastline and killed an estimated 250,000 seabirds and other marine life.



Boats have been one of the most efficient ways to transport everything from vital supplies to humans throughout history. But this efficiency can come with a price, as human error and nature’s power sometimes leads to disaster. Here are the top 10 shipwrecks and maritime disasters in or near United States waters.

9. SS Edmund Fitzgerald
On Nov. 9, 1975, the ship departed for Detroit loaded with more than 26,000 tons of iron. The Edmund Fitzgerald ran into a storm early the next morning, and by mid-afternoon, reported encountering 25-foot waves with 50-knot winds.

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank minutes later in Canadian waters 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Bay, Michigan. The entire crew of 29 went down with the ship and no bodies were recovered.



8. SS Andrea Doria
On July 25, 1956, it was headed for New York near the island of Nantucket with 1,706 passengers. At the same time, the 528-foot MS Stockholm was on its transatlantic voyage back to Sweden. Unfortunately, the two ships charted similar courses at full speed completely unaware of each other’s presence. Once the ships spotted each other, it was too late and crucial errors in steering only made it worse. 1,660 passengers were rescued while 46 people died as a consequence of the collision.



7. USS Thresher
The USS Thresher was a 3,700-ton, nuclear-powered attack submarine commissioned in August 1961. On April 9, 1963, the Thresher sailed to an area 220 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and began a series of deep-sea trials. With a fleet of rescue ships that included the bathyscaphe Trieste, the submarine was found broken into six major sections at a depth of 8,400 feet.

6. SS Central America
On Sept. 3, 1857, the ship departed from Panama with 476 passengers and three tons of gold, which included 5,200 newly minted $20 gold pieces from the San Francisco Mint. On Sept. 9, the ship was caught in a Category 2 hurricane off the Carolinas with sustained 100-mile-per-hour winds. With shredded sails, a boiler failure, and a leak in the paddlewheel, the ship began taking on water. After a failed attempt to bail the rising water, the crew flew the ship’s flag upside down (the maritime distress signal). But no one came to their rescue and the ship sank with 426 passengers on Sept. 12, 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The 50 remaining survivors were rescued by a Norwegian vessel five hours later.



5. Texas City Disaster
On April 16, 1947, a 437-foot French-registered vessel was docked in the port of Texas City on the Texas Gulf Coast. Known as the SS Grandcamp, its cargo included 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate that was used for fertilizer and high explosives. After a small fire started in the cargo hold, the captain ordered his men to steam out the fire in order to protect the cargo. The steam actually liquefied the ammonium nitrate and raised the temperature of the hold to 850 degrees Fahrenheit, which caused the water around the ship to boil. At 9:12 a.m., the ammonium nitrate detonated with an explosive force that shattered windows 40 miles away, ignited nearby oil refineries, destroyed hundreds of buildings and even sheared off the wings of overhead planes. The explosion, dubbed the “Texas City Disaster,” injured thousands and killed an estimated 600 people.



4. SS Eastland
On July 24, 1915, the passenger ship SS Eastland was docked on the Chicago River in downtown Chicago preparing to depart for Lake Michigan. The ship had been chartered to take Western Electric Co. employees and their family members on a well-deserved cruise and picnic. As the 2,700 passengers boarded the ship, it began to list while still moored to the dock. Eventually, the weight caused the ship to roll onto its side, spilling hundreds of passengers into the river with the rest trapped underwater in the interior cabins. The disaster killed 844 passengers, mostly women and children. Its center of gravity was simply too high, which made it susceptible to listing.



3. PS General Slocum
On June 15, 1904, 1,358 passengers boarded the ship for an annual church event up the East River. Shortly after launch, a small fire began in the forward section and within the hour, the fire had spread to a paint locker that contained gasoline and other flammable liquids. Unfortunately, the captain had not maintained any safety standards so all of the fire hoses had rotted away, the lifeboats were bolted in place, and life jackets were unusable. To make matters worse, the captain sailed into headwinds that actually spread the fire over the majority of the ship. By the time it sank off the Bronx shore, 1,021 people had died and it was New York’s largest loss of life in a single disaster until the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.



2. SS Sultana
SS Sultana, a steamship that regularly traveled from St. Louis to New Orleans, was commissioned by the war department to transport just-released Union prisoners of war back home. The ship was legally registered to carry a maximum of less than 400 people, but with the government paying $5 per soldier, 2,300 soldiers were packed in so tightly that they could barely stand. At 2 a.m., April 27, three of the ship’s boilers exploded since they were rapidly and poorly repaired in order to get “first dibs” of the POWs. Fire quickly spread throughout the ship and those who survived jumped into the river and drowned. By the time the sun came up, more than 1,700 soldiers were dead and the Sultana sank about seven miles north of Memphis, Tennessee.



1. USS Arizona
Just before 8 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft from six fleet carriers attacked the heart of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet in the port of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The two attack waves destroyed or severely damaged many vessels including several of the U.S. Navy’s prized battleships: the USS Arizona, California, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The Arizona sustained eight direct bomb hits, one of which penetrated the deck and the black-powder magazine. The subsequent explosion and fire ripped through the forward part of the ship. The Arizona sank at its mooring taking the lives of 1,177 of the 1,400 sailors on board making it the greatest loss of life on any warship in U.S. history. Its fires burned for more than two days and oil continues to seep up from the wreckage to this day. In all, 2,402 Americans were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, which came to be symbolized by the destruction of the USS Arizona.



Source
Makin Bacon
One Saturday morning in 1991, eight-year old Abbey Fleck was making bacon with her dad. They’d run out of paper towels, so he put it on the classified section of the newspaper. Mom wasn’t too pleased, prompting dad to growl, “I could just stand here and let it drip dry.”

Ding! Young Abbey thought if they could make a rack to hang the bacon, with a dish underneath, they’d never need paper towels. And so, the Makin’ Bacon Dish for cooking bacon in the microwave was born. Not only does it save on paper towels, it’s healthier because the grease drips out.

Today, the Makin’ Bacon dish costs less than $10 and is sold in Walmart stores — next to the microwaves. Abbey is now 27 and lives in Los Angeles where she works with special children. She’s married to a man who sells the Deflecktor, fuel-saving wheel covers for trucks, that her dad invented.



Did you know that the popsicle, ear muffs AND the trampoline were invented by kids? And, more than a few kids have become rich off of their inventions before they even graduated high school.

“Kids are natural innovators,” said Jon Dudas, who used to work for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office but is now the president of FIRST, an organization designed to help foster innovations by kids in science and technology.

Crayon Holders
Crayon Holders are clear plastic tubes that hold your crayons so they can still be easily used even if they break. Crayon Holders were invented by Cassidy Goldstein at age 11. She was working on an art project and when she went to her box of crayons she realized they were all broken. Cassidy was inspired by the little plastic water tubes that are used to keep roses fresh.

At age 12, she interviewed a bunch of patent lawyers (oh, to be a fly in that room!) and they got her idea patented. Then, they licensed the idea out to another company that handled the manufacturing and marketing. Cassidy’s dad founded a company called By Kids For Kids that helps kids get started inventing and they started selling the crayon holders through BKFK.

The invention earned Cassidy enough money to pay for most of her college education and get her set up with an apartment in New York City after college.

Today, Crayon Holders are sold on BKFK.com for $2 for a pack of two. Cassidy, now 23, works in product development for jewelry designer David Yurman .



Wristies
Don’t you just hate when you’re outside and, even though you’re wearing mittens, the snow gets down the sleeve of your coat?

Most of us just complain about it, but one winter’s day 10-year-old KK Gregory was outside building a snow fort and decided to do something about it. She created the first pair of Wristies — a fingerless glove made of fleece that goes halfway up your arm, keeping your wrists warm and dry. You can wear them with or without mittens.

Wristies were a hit with her Girl Scout troop, so she decided to get a patent and start her own company.

KK’s mom helped her run the company while KK was in school, college, and during years immediately after graduating, when she traveled the world from California to Southeast Asia. KK, now 28, is back in Maine as the president of the company. Wristies are sold for $10 to $25 in select stores, on Amazon.com, Wristies.com, and in Plow Hearth magazine.



Man-Cans
Hart Main’s sister was selling candles for a school fundraiser, but the candles were “really girlie scents” like apple cinnamon, lavender, and cotton, the 13-year-old said. He thought, “Why don’t we make candles people actually want to buy?!” Hart meant it as just a joke, but his parents thought it was a good idea and encouraged him to start making the candles.

And so, Hart created Man-Cans, candles in more “man-friendly” scents, such as coffee, sawdust, dirt, grass, new mitt (for baseball) and campfire that are sold in recycled soup cans. (The “can” in Man-Cans.) The soup is donated to homeless shelters. Hart started the company with $100 he made from delivering newspapers.



Magnetic Locker Wallpaper
Sarah Bucknel invented magnetic locker wallpaper when she was in eighth grade in DuBois, Penn. She wanted a colorful locker that looked like the ones of the kids who starred in TV shows on the “Disney Channel,” but didn’t want to have to deal with peeling off the gummy residue of contact paper at the end of the year.

It just so happened that right around that time, her father became the CEO of a company called MagnaCard, which made magnetic business cards. Sarah asked him if they could make up some of her designs for magnetic locker wallpaper ($7.99 for three sheets) and they were quickly a hit. In the first year, Sarah made more than $1 million. What did she do with the money?


The Workout Kid
CJ Center, at age 9, was flipping through the TV channels with his dad when they came across an infomercial for an exercise video. He turned to his dad and said, “They should make videos like that for kids. Can I make one?” CJ’s dad said sure.

They had a cousin who helped shoot the initial video and eventually, they connected with a professional video-production company that knew a great idea when they saw one. CJ and his family didn’t have the money to start mass producing and marketing the tapes, so the video company put them on a payment plan and helped them get their idea noticed.

They’ve already sold several thousand copies of the video, which features CJ and some of his friends on a funky set that looks like a boy’s bedroom with graffiti-covered walls. It features some of his signature moves such as “Power Jacks” and “The Shredder.”



The Oink-a-Saurus App
It was invented by Fabian Fernandez-Han when he was just 12 years old. He won a contest put on by BKFK and the New York Stock Exchange for the idea. He didn’t really know much about creating an app, but he came up with the concept, the components and design and worked with a team of developers who brought his idea to life.

Fabian got interested in stocks at a young age after looking over his Dad’s shoulder while he was looking at his E*Trade account. Fabian asked if he could buy some stocks with his own money and guess what? His dad said yes. Now, he’s giving his dad stock tips.



Tic-Tac-Tag Game
The Tic-Tac-Tag is a game where players wear a vest with a tic-tac-toe board on the back. Each square has a light on the back that goes on when it is tapped. If you tap three lights in a row on another player’s back, you win!

It was invented by 18-year-old Nicholas Fornario. He won Sports Authority’s “Move It” Challenge, a competition in conjunction with BKFK that was designed to encourage kids to be more active and physically fit. He won $10,000 and Sports Authority is in the process of manufacturing the vests to sell in their stores.



Smart Wheel
The Inventioneers are a group of six teens from LondonBerry, N.H., and, while some of them can’t even drive yet, they’ve invented a device to help curb distracted driving.

It’s called the Smart Wheel and it stands for “Safe Motorist Alert for Restricting Texting, Tweeting, Typing, Touch screens, and Touch ups,” said Tristan “T.J.” Evarts, a 15-year-old member of the Inventioneers. It’s basically a cover for your steering wheel with sensors and LED lights that determines when you don’t have both hands on the wheel.



Popsicle
Sometimes inventions by kids are amazing technological innovations and sometimes they’re just plain practical ideas that make you wonder, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

The Popsicle , that staple of summer, was created in 1905 by 11-year-old Frank Epperson — by accident! Epperson had left a mixture of powdered soda, water and a stick in a cup on his porch overnight — and it was a cold night. He woke up the next morning and it was a frozen treat on a stick, Popsicle.com explains.



Ear Muffs
Wristies may be a modern invention but more than 100 years ago, another kid had an idea for how to keep warm — ear muffs.

The year was 1873 and 15-year-old Chester Greenwood was testing out a pair of ice skates. He was getting frustrated because his ears were so cold. He tried wrapping his head in scarf but it was too bulky and too itchy. So, he took wire and bent it into two round loops, then asked his grandmother to sew fur on them. He connected them with a steel headband and got a patent on his invention — Greenwood’s Champion Ear Protectors, according to Maine.gov .

He sold a ton of them to U.S. soldiers during World War I. To this day, Greenwood’s hometown, Farmington, Maine, is known as the Ear Muff Capital of the World. They even have a parade every December to celebrate his birthday — and his invention.



Trampoline
You know what kids like besides being warm? Jumping!

Try to act surprised — the trampoline was also invented by a kid.

It was 1930 and 16-year-old George Nissen, a member of his high school gymnastics and diving teams, was goofing off in his parents’ garage when he decided to stretch canvas over a rectangular steel frame, using materials he found in a local junkyard, according to MIT . Seven years later when he was in business school at the University of Iowa, he and his gymnastics coach refined the invention with nylon and started a traveling acrobatics troupe called the Three Leonardos.



Bottle-Cap Jewelry
Maddie Bradshaw of Dallas, Texas (pictured left) says her family has always been creative — and into recycling. When she was 10, she wanted to decorate her locker. So, her uncle, who had an old Coke machine, gave her 50 bottle caps. She painted them and put magnets on them, and even gave some to her friends, who loved them. She liked them so much she decided to turn them into necklaces so she could take them anywhere with her.

With the help of mom, Diane, she withdrew $300 she had saved up from birthdays, Christmases and the tooth fairy, and went out to buy supplies. She took about 50 of the necklaces, called “Snap Caps,” to the local toy store, and they sold out in a few hours.



Braille
You might think that a sophisticated system to help the blind read and write would have to be invented by an adult.

But Louis Braille invented Braille, an alphabet using raised dots, at the age of 15. Prior to that, each letter was raised and to read, one had to feel out each letter. The books were heavy and took a long time to read.

Braille was actually born with sight but became blind at age three after an eye injury. At the age of 10, he entered the Royal Institute for the Blind in Paris and five years later, invented Braille. He was offered a full-time teaching job at the institute at age 19. The Braille method didn’t become widely used until after Braille died at the age of 43, according to the Louis Braille School .
Keyboard and Mouse

If you are reading this you are most likely sitting at your computer. Think about how much you type at your computer, sneeze or cough and continue typing without stopping. If you are using a public computer it could be even worse. To rid your keyboard of creepy critters, first use a can of compressed air to loosen trapped debris, and then wipe it down with a cloth dipped in mild soap.



'Of the 60,000 types of germs that people come in contact with on a daily basis … only about one to two percent are potentially dangerous to normal people with normal immunity,'' Tierno told ABC news.

That’s why people invented hand sanitizer and soap, our best defense to date for preventing infection. Now that you know how common germs are, what are the dirtiest things you touch on a daily basis?

Cell Phone

what is an object that many people in the developed world use constantly that comes in frequent contact with both your hands and your mouth? That’s right, you’re cell phone.

Combine all the germs on your hands, with the germs found in your saliva, incubated by the heat your phone generates and you have bacterial paradise.

If you’re worried about keeping your phone free from bacteria, you might want to consider using an antibacterial wipe.



Money

Everyone touches it, from bank tellers to that snot nosed kid down the street. New York Health Commissioners found anywhere from 126,000 to 135,000 bacteria on a single bill. After handling cash be sure to clean your hands with antibacterial soap or sanitizer.

The best way to protect your self from untold amounts of illegal drugs, bacteria and viruses on your cash is to wash your hands.



Light Switches and Buttons

We all flip light switches numerous times throughout the day. One switch can hold up to 217 bacteria per square inch. Wipe switches down with a disinfecting wipe as often as possible to eliminate bacteria growth.

Charles Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona has one good piece of advice for anyone who has to touch one of these items.

''Knuckle it or wait for someone else to push it for you,'' said Gerba.



Remote Control

The remote for the TV just might be one of the dirtiest things you touch all day. It spends a lot of time on the floor, under the couch and stuck down between the cushions, when the dog isn’t sitting on it. People often eat snacks while flipping through the channels.

If someone is sick, they often pull the trash can a little closer to the bed, grab the remote and jump in bed. We won’t even think about the remote in the hotel room.

The best way to keep your remote from making you sick is to give it a once over every week with an antimicrobial wipe. If someone’s sick, it should be done more often.



The Kitchen

If you knew how dirty your kitchen really was, you’d probably never prepare food in there again. The average kitchen sink drain has about half a million bacteria per square inch.

That sponge you used to wash your dishes is just as dirty, if not a little dirtier. It does wipe all the food off your plate and into the drain.

Never fear, all of these potential health hazards are easily remedied. To clean that sink drain just pour half of a cup of baking soda, and a half a cup of vinegar down the drain and rinse it with hot water. To disinfect the sponge, pop it in the microwave for a minute, just be careful when you remove the sponge, it might be really hot. Using a solution of bleach and water can kill the cutting board fecal bacteria.



The Bathroom

While the bathroom might be gross, in many cases it’s a little cleaner than you think, mostly because it is cleaned on a fairly regular basis. Still, I wouldn’t want to take my meals on the throne. The average toilet has 295 bacteria per square inch, and over 3.2 million in the bowl.

The drain in the tub can be just as bad, if not worse than the toilet, mainly because we often touch the drain in the shower or tub, and rarely put our hands in the toilet bowl. Make sure that you hit the drain when you’re cleaning the bathroom.



Shopping Carts

People touch some pretty disgusting things, like money, and then touch shopping cart handles. A University of Arizona study found that shopping cart handles are loaded with bacteria, saliva, and fecal mater. On top of that, the time we spend with shopping carts covers all the most dangerous spots for contamination: hands, faces and food. There is a reason that most major grocery stores provide disinfecting wipes for the shopping carts. I’d suggest using them.



Before OCD Sets In

Now you know how dirty the world and everything you touch is, don’t let it turn you into a total germiphobe. The most important thing to remember is to wash your hands before you eat, drink or touch your face. In all honesty, you should be doing those things anyway. If you keep it up, you’ll cut your risk of infection down to almost nothing.
10. Kansas City, Missouri

Vacancies were higher with 4.5 % in Kansas City prior to the housing crisis, in the second quarter of 2007.



According to 2010 Census, Almost 15 million vacant housing units in the country, with an 11.4 percent gross vacancy rate nationwide. Lets find out the 10 emptiest US cities given below.

9. Houston, Texas



8. Detroit, Michigan
Detroit has 17.2 percent rental vacancy rate, which is the third highest in the country, while homeowner vacancy rate is gradually downing by nearly half from 2008.



7. Dayton, Ohio
Homeowner vacancies are high and rental vacancies are low from an all-time high of 26.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.



6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge has relatively high proportional for both rentals and owned homes in the city’s empty homes.



5. Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta’s homeowner vacancy rate is at 5.4 percent.



4. Memphis, Tennessee
Both rentals and owned homes in Memphis is high with vacancy rate of 13.5 percent, and 4 percent homeowner vacancy rate.



3. Toledo, Ohio
Toledo has rental vacancies at 19.3 percent. Toledo also has a high proportion of empty homes, at 3.6 percent.



2. Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis has 5.2 percent home vacancy rate and 13.5 percent rental vacancy rate.



1. Tucson, Arizona
Tucson has rental vacancies at 15.9 percent and 6.8 percent homeowner vacancy rate.
10. Kansas City, Missouri

Homeowner vacancies were higher in Kansas City prior to the housing crisis, hitting 4.5 percent in the second quarter of 2007.



As of the 2010 Census, there were approximately 15 million vacant housing units in the country, with an 11.4 percent gross vacancy rate nationwide. Lets find out the 10 emptiest US cities given below.

9. Houston, Texas



8. Detroit, Michigan
Detroit also has a 17.2 percent rental vacancy rate, the third highest in the country, but the homeowner vacancy rate is down by nearly half from 2008.



7. Dayton, Ohio
Although homeowner vacancies are at a high, rental vacancies have been down dramatically, falling from an all-time high of 26.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the Census Bureau.



6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Although Baton Rouge, La., doesn’t have some of the most extreme vacancy rates in the country, the proportion of the city’s empty homes are relatively high for both rentals and owned homes.



5. Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta’s homeowner vacancy rate is the fourth highest among other major U.S. cities, standing at 5.4 percent. The rate has been rising since early 2010, when it stood at just 2 percent.



4. Memphis, Tennessee
For both rentals and owned homes in Memphis, the proportion of vacant homes is high compared to most other major U.S. cities. With a rental vacancy rate of 13.5 percent, the city is the 11th highest in the nation, while the 4 percent homeowner vacancy rate ranks the city ninth.



3. Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio, has the highest rate for rental vacancies at 19.3 percent, although in the third quarter of 2010 the rate was much higher, at 24.1 percent. Toledo also has a high proportion of empty homes, at 3.6 percent, which ranks it 17th among major U.S. cities.



2. Indianapolis, Indiana
The 5.2 percent home vacancy rate in Indianapolis ranks it fifth in the country, while the 13.5 percent rental vacancy rate places it 10th.



1. Tucson, Arizona
The emptiest city in the U.S. is the second largest city in Arizona: Tucson. With rental vacancies at 15.9 percent, the city is seventh most vacant among major cities, while the 6.8 percent homeowner vacancy rate is the highest in the country as of the second quarter of 2011.
10. Kansas City, Missouri
Rental vacancy rate: 11%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.7%

Although the Kansas City, Mo., metropolitan area has seen rental vacancy rates drop significantly — from 17.2 percent in the second quarter of 2010 — homeowner vacancies have gone up by nearly 30 percent over the same time. Interestingly, homeowner vacancies were higher in Kansas City prior to the housing crisis, hitting 4.5 percent in the second quarter of 2007.



As of the 2010 Census, there were approximately 15 million vacant housing units in the country, with an 11.4 percent gross vacancy rate nationwide. Every quarter, the Census publishes data on homeowner and rental vacancies in the 75 largest U.S. cities that reveal which metro areas have the highest number of empty homes. Lets find out the 10 emptiest US cities given below.

9. Houston, Texas
Rental vacancy rate: 17.4%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 2.3%



8. Detroit, Michigan
Rental vacancy rate: 17.2%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 2.4%

Detroit has been one of the hardest-hit cities of the recession, and remains in a poor position, with an unemployment rate at 12.9 percent. Detroit also has a 17.2 percent rental vacancy rate, the third highest in the country, but the homeowner vacancy rate is down by nearly half from 2008.



7. Dayton, Ohio
Rental vacancy rate: 10.7%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 4.7%

The homeowner vacancy rate in Dayton, Ohio, is the highest it’s been since the first quarter of 2009, when it stood at 5.6 percent. Although homeowner vacancies are at a high, rental vacancies have been down dramatically, falling from an all-time high of 26.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the Census Bureau.



6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Rental vacancy rate: 13%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.9%

Although Baton Rouge, La., doesn’t have some of the most extreme vacancy rates in the country, the proportion of the city’s empty homes are relatively high for both rentals and owned homes. With rental vacancies at 13 percent, Baton Rouge is the 12th emptiest city in that category, while its 3.9 percent homeowner vacancy rate ranks it 11th among major cities.



5. Atlanta, Georgia
Rental vacancy rate: 11.8%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 5.4%

Atlanta’s homeowner vacancy rate is the fourth highest among other major U.S. cities, standing at 5.4 percent. The rate has been rising since early 2010, when it stood at just 2 percent. Rental vacancies have been much worse for Atlanta — in 2010, the rental vacancy rate never dipped below 13 percent and was as high as 14.9 percent at the beginning of the year.



4. Memphis, Tennessee
Rental vacancy rate: 13.5%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 4.0%

For both rentals and owned homes in Memphis, the proportion of vacant homes is high compared to most other major U.S. cities. With a rental vacancy rate of 13.5 percent, the city is the 11th highest in the nation, while the 4 percent homeowner vacancy rate ranks the city ninth.



3. Toledo, Ohio
Rental vacancy rate: 19.3%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.6%

Of the 75 largest cities in the U.S., Toledo, Ohio, has the highest rate for rental vacancies at 19.3 percent, although in the third quarter of 2010 the rate was much higher, at 24.1 percent. Toledo also has a high proportion of empty homes, at 3.6 percent, which ranks it 17th among major U.S. cities.



2. Indianapolis, Indiana
Rental vacancy rate: 13.5%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 5.2%

The capital of Indiana is also one of the emptiest major cities in the country, according to data from the Census Bureau. The 5.2 percent home vacancy rate in Indianapolis ranks it fifth in the country, while the 13.5 percent rental vacancy rate places it 10th. With these levels, the city is more vacant than nearly every other major U.S. metro area.



1. Tucson, Arizona
Rental vacancy rate: 15.9%
Homeowner vacancy rate: 6.8%

The emptiest city in the U.S. is the second largest city in Arizona: Tucson. With rental vacancies at 15.9 percent, the city is seventh most vacant among major cities, while the 6.8 percent homeowner vacancy rate is the highest in the country as of the second quarter of 2011.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Jennie Pauline Talbert

Jennie Talbert ranked third out of eight cars in a Powder Puff Derby at Ulysses, Kansas on 8th August 1958 on her Ford.


There were only two places in Kansas: Cejay Stadium, Wichita and Jayhawk Amusement Park Speedway, Newton where women and men could compete against each other before World War 2.

Ionamae Rebenstorf

Ionamae with her husband Bert Rebenstorf took part in race competitively together in Cee Jay Stadium throughout 1949.



Ileen Merle Dessie Goodman

Ileen won the Women’s Championship at the Cejay Stadium.



There were many racing drivers in her family like her two brothers and one nephew.



Shirley Hamilton Messenger

Shirley won her first race at the age of 17 at Speedway. She took part in three races and the last race was also a victorious one and after it she joined accountancy group as a career.



Elfrieda (Hellman) Mais

She took part in car racing at the age of 20. She started successful career in stunt driving but unluckily died in 1934 in a failed stunt at the Alabama State Fair.



Roberta Johnson

Roberta Johnson ranked third position in Speedway on 29th July 1956.



Leola Sylvia ‘Lee’ (Clary) Cornish

Leola Sylvia won the race when her competitors were dropped out of the race in Cee Jay Stadium. In another race, in Speedway before starting a race, an official told her that she was not elligible to compete because she was a woman.



Sara Christian

NASCAR in 1949 was her famous race, where she ranked fifth (behind four men).



Maria Teresa de Filippis

There are only five female drivers in the history of Formula 1. Maria Teresa de Filippis of Italy was first of all these. On 18th May 1958 she started her small career and ranked tenth in the Belgian Grand Prix. She left racing and joined her family.
Jennie Pauline Talbert

Jennie Talbert ranked third out of eight cars in a Powder Puff Derby at Ulysses, Kansas on 8th August 1958 on her Ford.


There were only two places in Kansas: Cejay Stadium, Wichita and Jayhawk Amusement Park Speedway, Newton where women and men could compete against each other before World War 2.

Ionamae Rebenstorf

Ionamae with her husband Bert Rebenstorf took part in race competitively together in Cee Jay Stadium throughout 1949.



Ileen Merle Dessie Goodman

Ileen won the Women’s Championship at the Cejay Stadium.



There were many racing drivers in her family like her two brothers and one nephew.



Shirley Hamilton Messenger

Shirley won her first race at the age of 17 at the McCarthy Speedway. She took part in three races and the last race was also a victorious one and after it she joined accountancy group as a career.



Elfrieda (Hellman) Mais

She took part in car racing at the age of 20. She started successful career in stunt driving but unluckily died in 1934 in a failed stunt at the Alabama State Fair.



Roberta Johnson

Roberta Johnson ranked third position in Speedway on 29th July 1956. She rolled her car three times and it needed hoisted off the track.



Leola Sylvia ‘Lee’ (Clary) Cornish

Leola Sylvia won the race when her competitors were dropped out of the race in Cee Jay Stadium. In another race, in Speedway before starting a race, an official told her that she was not elligible to compete because she was a woman.



Sara Christian

NASCAR in 1949 was her famous race, where she ranked fifth (behind four men).



Maria Teresa de Filippis

There are only five female drivers in the history of Formula 1. Maria Teresa de Filippis of Italy was first of all these. On 18th May 1958 she started her small career and ranked tenth in the Belgian Grand Prix. She left racing and joined her family.
Jennie Pauline Talbert

Jennie Talbert ranked third out of eight cars in a Powder Puff Derby at the Grant County Fairgrounds at Ulysses, Kansas on 8th August 1958 on her Ford.


There were only two places in Kansas: Cejay Stadium, Wichita and Jayhawk Amusement Park Speedway, Newton where women and men could compete against each other before World War 2.

Ionamae Rebenstorf

Ionamae with her husband Bert Rebenstorf took part in race competitively together in Cee Jay Stadium throughout 1949.



Ileen Merle Dessie Goodman

Ileen won the Women’s Championship at the Cejay Stadium.



There were many racing drivers in her family like her two brothers and one nephew.



Shirley Hamilton Messenger

Shirley won her first race at the age of 17 at the McCarthy Speedway in Dodge City. She took part in three races and the last race was also a victorious one and after it she joined accountancy group as a career.



Elfrieda (Hellman) Mais

Elfrieda started her racing career as an aeroplane woman. She took part in car racing at the age of 20. She started successful career in stunt driving but unluckily died in 1934 in a failed stunt at the Alabama State Fair.



Roberta Johnson

Roberta Johnson ranked third position in Speedway on 29th July 1956. She rolled her car three times and it needed hoisted off the track.



Leola Sylvia ‘Lee’ (Clary) Cornish

Leola Sylvia won the race when her competitors were dropped out of the race in Cee Jay Stadium. In another race, in Speedway before starting a race in 1955, an official told her that she was not elligible to compete because she was a woman.



Sara Christian

Her famous race was the 1949 NASCAR where she ranked fifth (behind four men).



Maria Teresa de Filippis

There are only five female drivers in the history of Formula 1. Maria Teresa de Filippis of Naples, Italy was first of all these. On 18th May 1958 she started her small career and ranked tenth in the Belgian Grand Prix. She left racing and joined her family.



Source
Jennie Pauline Talbert

From: Ulysses, Kansas
Born: 30th November 1920.
Jennie Talbert ranked third out of eight cars in a Powder Puff Derby at the Grant County Fairgrounds at Ulysses, Kansas on 8th August 1958 on her Ford.


There were only two places in Kansas: Cejay Stadium, Wichita and Jayhawk Amusement Park Speedway, Newton where women and men could compete against each other before World War 2.

Ionamae Rebenstorf

From: Wichita, Kansas
Born: 11th July 1915
Ionamae with her husband Bert Rebenstorf took part in race competitively together in Cee Jay Stadium throughout 1949.



Ileen Merle Dessie Goodman

From: Argonia, Kansas
Born: 31st January 1916
Ileen won the Women’s Championship at the Cejay Stadium.



There were many racing drivers in her family like her two brothers and one nephew.



Shirley Hamilton Messenger

From: Kansas
Born: 1939
Shirley won her first race at the age of 17 at the McCarthy Speedway in Dodge City. She took part in three races and the last race was also a victorious one and after it she joined accountancy group as a career.



Elfrieda (Hellman) Mais

From: 19th June 1892
Born: Indianapolis, Indiana
Elfrieda started her racing career as an aeroplane woman. She took part in car racing at the age of 20. She started successful career in stunt driving but unluckily died in 1934 in a failed stunt at the Alabama State Fair.



Roberta Johnson

From: Larned, Kansas
Born: 1936?
Roberta Johnson ranked third position in Speedway on 29th July 1956. She rolled her car three times and it needed hoisted off the track.



Leola Sylvia ‘Lee’ (Clary) Cornish

From: Bedford, Iowa
Born: 1st October 1916
Leola Sylvia won the race when her competitors were dropped out of the race in Cee Jay Stadium. In another race, in Speedway before starting a race in 1955, an official told her that she was not elligible to compete because she was a woman.



Sara Christian

From Atlanta, Georgia
Born 1918
Her famous race was the 1949 NASCAR where she ranked fifth (behind four men).



Maria Teresa de Filippis

There are only five female drivers in the history of Formula 1. Maria Teresa de Filippis of Naples, Italy was first of all these. On 18th May 1958 she started her small career and ranked tenth in the Belgian Grand Prix. She left racing and joined her family.



Source
Jennie Pauline Talbert

From: Ulysses, Kansas
Born: 30th November 1920.
Jennie Talbert ranked third out of eight cars in a Powder Puff Derby at the Grant County Fairgrounds at Ulysses, Kansas on 8th August 1958 on her Ford.


There were only two places in Kansas: Cejay Stadium, Wichita and Jayhawk Amusement Park Speedway, Newton where women and men could compete against each other before World War 2.

Ionamae Rebenstorf

From: Wichita, Kansas
Born: 11th July 1915
Ionamae with her husband Bert Rebenstorf took part in race competitively together in Cee Jay Stadium throughout 1949.



Ileen Merle Dessie Goodman

From: Argonia, Kansas
Born: 31st January 1916
Ileen won the Women’s Championship at the Cejay Stadium.



There were many racing drivers in her family like her two brothers and one nephew.



Shirley Hamilton Messenger

From: Kansas
Born: 1939
Shirley won her first race at the age of 17 at the McCarthy Speedway in Dodge City. She took part in three races and the last race was also a victorious one and after it she joined accountancy group as a career.



Elfrieda (Hellman) Mais

From: 19th June 1892
Born: Indianapolis, Indiana
Elfrieda started her racing career as an aeroplane woman and wing walker. She took part in car racing at the age of 20. She started successful career in stunt driving exhibitions and speed trials but unluckily died in 1934 in a failed stunt at the Alabama State Fair.



Roberta Johnson

From: Larned, Kansas
Born: 1936?
Roberta Johnson competed at the Cee Jay Speedway on 29th July 1956, and ranked third position. The race could have turned out better for Roberta as, unfortunately, she rolled her car three times and it needed hoisted off the track as the photo below will attest.



Leola Sylvia ‘Lee’ (Clary) Cornish

From: Bedford, Iowa
Born: 1st October 1916
Leola Sylvia won the race when her competitors were dropped out of the race in Cee Jay Stadium, Wichita. In another race, she was just about to start a race in the newly opened Robbins Speedway in 1955 when an official told her that she wouldn’t be allowed to compete because she was a woman.



Sara Christian

From Atlanta, Georgia
Born 1918
Her famous race was the 1949 NASCAR where she ranked fifth (behind four men) Let’s hope it’s not another 62 years before the record falls again.



Maria Teresa de Filippis

There are only five female drivers in the history of Formula 1. Maria Teresa de Filippis of Naples, Italy was first of all these. On 18th May 1958 she started her small career and ranked tenth in the Belgian Grand Prix. By the next year she left the sport to start a family.



Source