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132: Parking Meters
Today is the 80th anniversary of the installation of the first parking meter. Here are a few facts you may not have known about them. One, that first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Great Britain’s first parking meter was installed in London’s Grosvenor Square in 1958. The original model was coin-operated and this…
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131: Boeing
Ninety-nine years ago, Pacific Aero Products Co. was founded in Seattle. A year later, the company was renamed for one of its founders William Boeing. Here are a few things you might not know about The Boeing Company. First, the first plane built by Boeing was the B&W Seaplane. They later sold 50 seaplanes to…
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130: Bastille Day
Today is Bastille Day in France and its dependencies. Here are a few things you may not have known about the holiday. First, It celebrates the beginning of the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on July 14, 1789. Second, 106 people were killed in the storming of the Bastille,…
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129: Rubik’s Cube
Today is the 71st birthday of Erno Rubik, the creator of Rubik’s Cube. Here are some things you may not have known about the puzzle builder and his creations. First: Rubik was born in Budapest, Hungary and he studied sculpture and architecture. He completed his first prototype for the Rubik’s Cube in 1974. It was…
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128: Arthur Ashe
Today is the 72nd anniversary of the birth of tennis legend Arthur Ashe. Here are a few things you may not have known about him. First, he was the first, and to date, only black male to win singles championships at the U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon. Second, Ashe won both the U.S. Amateur…
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127: Wimbledon
Today is the 138th anniversary of the first Wimbledon tennis tournament. Here are a few things you may not know about Wimbledon. First, the first tournament was held as a fundraiser for groundskeeping equipment. The first Wimbledon champion was Spencer Gore. Second, the first women’s tournament wasn’t held until 1884. It was won by Maud…
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126: Roswell
On July 8, 1943, a headline in the Roswell Daily Record announced the discovery of a flying saucer near the New Mexico town. Here are some things you may not know about the incident. First, the incident happened following the crash of a balloon that was to be used to listen for sounds of Soviet…
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125: Sliced Bread
July 7 marks the 87th anniversary of the production of the first loaves of sliced bread. Here are some facts you may not have known about the greatest thing since, well, sliced bread. First, the commercial bread slicing machine was invented by Otto Frederick Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa. He built a prototype in 1912 which…
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124: Merv Griffin
July 6 marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of American entertainer and businessman Merv Griffin. Here are some things you may not have known about Griffin. First, he started out as a singer on the radio in San Francisco, eventually earning enough money to start his own record label. His album “Songs by Merv…
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123: Sinking of the French Fleet
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the sinking of the French Fleet by the British in World War II. Here are some things you may not have known about the action. First, the British sank the fleet after the Vichy French government signed a truce with Germany. The Vichy government was viewed as little more…