DO YOU REMEMBER?

Once upon a time, a kindly old gentleman appeared in our collective living rooms on Sunday evenings. He offered a glimpse into his imaginative world featuring a literal treasure trove of family entertainment. Offering a mixture of classic live-action films, nature segments, and the company’s iconic animation, the show went by many names over the years, appearing on just about every channel at one time or another. Most fondly remember it as The Wonderful World of Disney. (click below to read more)

TODAY IN HISTORY

JUNE 2

1886:President Grover Cleveland marries Frances Folsom, a woman 27 years his junior, becoming the only U.S. president to wed in the White House. At age 21, his bride also becomes the youngest first lady in U.S. history.

1924: President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, automatically granting the rights of citizenship to all Native Americans born within U.S. borders.

1953: “God Save the Queen!” More than 8,000 people crowd into Westminster Abbey to watch the archbishop of Canterbury crown 27-year-old Elizabeth as queen of the United Kingdom.

PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE

A contract security guard at Detroit's McNamara Building (which houses the FBI and other vital federal offices) was found in March to have casually laid aside, for three weeks, a suspicious package that turned out to be a real bomb. (It was, eventually, safely detonated.) [Detroit News, 3-23-2011]

NOW YOU KNOW

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When D cell batteries became commercially available in 1896, it opened the door for all kinds of battery-powered inventions. One was the “electrical hand torch,” introduced in 1898 by the American Electrical Novelty and Manufacturing Company, which would later change its name to The American Ever-Ready Company. The first lights were paper and fiber tubes, with a carbon filament bulb covered by a lens on one end, two D batteries inside, and a metal ring on the side. Pressing down on the ring caused it to hit two metal poles—one positive and one negative—which completed the electrical connection, lighting up the bulb. (click below to read more)

THAT EXPLAINS IT

TIME TO RELAX

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Winding down after a hectic day can be tough. Getting to sleep can be even harder. We all have our favorite relaxation activities. Some read a good book or watch television. Others turn to white noise.

Plenty of people need some sort of sound to relax or sleep. That?s why you can buy entire CDs of ocean sounds. But don?t open your wallet yet. Just open your browser.

SoundSleeping is a relaxing noise generator. It includes the popular ocean waves sound. But you can mix in thunder, rain, wind chimes and more. There are also several kinds of rhythmic drumming.

You can mix and match up to five different sounds. You can make your own relaxing drone. And it will play as long as you need it to.CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

VINTAGE AD-1950

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME

CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS

As Rotarians said goodbye to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, and another successful RI Convention, two leaders who have had a lasting impact on the organization also said farewell. 

Ed Futa, of the Rotary Club of East Honolulu, Hawaii, addressed his last convention as general secretary, a position he's held for 11 years.  

“I will go back to my first Rotary job, which was and still is the most important job in all of Rotary: the job of being a Rotarian," said Futa, who retires 30 June. (click below to read more)

TODAY IN HISTORY

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JUNE 1

1980:At 5 p.m. EST, David Walker and Lois Hart anchor the first broadcast on the Cable News Network (CNN), the 24-hour cable news channel founded by media mogul Ted Turner.

1938: Superman, the original superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, makes his debut appearance in "Action Comics #1," printed by DC Comics and sold for 10 cents. In the comic's first issue, Kal-El is born on the doomed planet Krypton and sent in a rocket ship to be raised on Earth.

1967: The Beatles release Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in the United Kingdom; it will hit stores in the United States a day later. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine will choose the iconic Sgt. Pepper's as the greatest and "most important" rock 'n' roll album of all time.