You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Wednesday, July 1st. The first stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office were sold on this date in 1847. A five-cent stamp pictured Ben Franklin, and one costing 10 cents honored George Washington. Before then, there were no uniform stamps — a haphazard system of private postal services around the country had issued their own. And on this date in 1963, the five digit ZIP Code was introduced to help speed mail to its proper destination. That year, Americans sent nearly 68 billion pieces of mail. Today, the postal service handles more than 212 billion pieces of mail annually — which works out to two items for every man, woman and child in the country every day. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 340, 342
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 804
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1085
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Tuesday, June 30th. The economic situation has renewed the ongoing debate about the level of taxes imposed on a pack of cigarettes. Advocates of higher taxes say these levies should discourage smoking, good from a public health perspective. Smokers say they are being singled out in an effort to generate revenue. The first cigarette taxes in the U.S. were levied by an act of Congress on this day in 1864. Placing stamps on each package to show that the tax had been paid came along four years later. Now, about one-in-five Americans smoke. On a per capita basis, Americans smoke an average of 1,700 cigarettes a year. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 2698
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 197, 981
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Monday, June 29th. Even with the economic downturn, this is vacation time across the country. While the numbers may be fewer, millions of Americans still are ready to hit the highways for the beach, the mountains, theme parks and family reunions. Many hours are being spent searching on the Internet for bargain places to stay, and maps are spread out on the dining room table. All across the U.S., we take some 350 million pleasure trips a year. On the average trip, travelers will be away from home four nights. More than 80 percent of us travel by car, and about 15 percent by air. Many are booking their vacations on a cruise line — more than 9 million each year, with more than half sailing out of ports in Florida. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1223, 1220
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Sunday, June 28th. Nostalgia for old forms of transportation highlights two festivals winding up today. In Cascade Locks, Oregon, Sternwheeler Days will celebrate the river boats that plied the nation’s waterways for more than a century. In Galesburg, Illinois, the focus is on the town’s railroad heritage, which goes back to the 1850s, when it became an important hub for East-West traffic. As such, the town was the site of the fifth and most famous of the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. At the time of the Lincoln-Douglas debate, there were some 27,000 miles of railroad track in the U.S. Track miles peaked in 1930 at 430,000. Today, railroads run on less than half that mileage. Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau, now preparing for the 2010 Census.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 331, 332
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 731, 728
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1080
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Saturday, June 27th. Today marks the birthday in 1880 of one of the most remarkable of American women — Helen Keller. Less than 2 years old, she was struck with a major illness that left her deaf and blind. When she was 7, her family hired Anne Sullivan to try to teach her. The story of how Sullivan reached through Keller’s isolation and taught her to read and write sparked the book, stage play and movie “The Miracle Worker.” Keller went on to graduate from college, read five languages and travel the world, speaking for progressive causes. In the U.S., nearly one-in-five people have some sort of disability. About 12 percent of the population — 35 million — cope with a severe disability. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 333
U.S. Census Bureau News Release, CB08-185
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/013041.html

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Friday, June 26th. On this day 50 years ago, President Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth the II dedicated the St. Lawrence Seaway, one of the major engineering feats of the last century. The seaway eliminated difficult areas of the St. Lawrence River with a system of canals and locks. Costs of the ambitious project were shared by Canada and the United States. The seaway gives port cities on the Great Lakes access to the Atlantic Ocean. In the U.S., these include Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Duluth. Being able to dock ocean going ships helps account for combined exports of these states worth $177 billion a year. Among the four, New York leads in exports, followed by Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota. Profile America is in its 13th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 331
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1264
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Thursday, June 25th. The small town of St. Ignace on Michigan’s upper peninsula will be humming today and tomorrow — for the 34th annual Car Show and Collector Vehicle Festival. Normally, the town is home to 2,500 people and doesn’t have a single stoplight. The show will bring well over 100,000 visitors to gather around 2,500 special automobiles, entered from 25 states and Canada. The first St. Ignace show drew 134 cars. Interest in antique and modified automobiles is growing across the whole U.S. Each year, more than 17 million Americans flock to such shows, ranging from small events at the local firehouse to the sprawling, multiday gathering each October in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau, now preparing for the 2010 Census.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 329
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1200
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Wednesday, June 24th. Seventy-five years ago this week, the U.S. banking industry was reeling from a round of economic woes worse than those of recent months. On that day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Credit Union Act, making it possible for these institutions to be formed anywhere in the country. The idea was to create a place for members to save their money, then use their savings as collateral to guarantee low interest loans. The first credit union in the U.S. opened 100 years ago in New Hampshire. Today, there are more than 8,100 federal and state credit unions around the country, with a membership of nearly 87 million people. Total assets at these credit unions are over $753 billion. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 330
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1143
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Tuesday, June 23rd. The keyboard on your computer owes a lot to a man you probably have never heard of — Luther Sholes of Milwaukee. On this day in 1868, he received a patent for the first practical typewriter. Its acceptance was slow, and for several decades, many people considered receiving a typewritten letter to be slightly insulting. But as machines improved, the time saved over handwriting all correspondence became clear. The need for skilled typists allowed many women to first enter the world of professional business. In the 1950s, about a quarter of all high school students took typing classes. Now, nearly three-quarters of adults use a computer at school, work or at home, where typing is an important skill. Profile America is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau, now preparing for the 2010 Census.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2009, p. 326
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 377
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 1121
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America — Monday, June 22nd. Next to water, tea is said to be the most consumed beverage on earth. Americans are unique in that most of the tea we drink is over ice, especially now that summer is here. That’s why June is National Iced Tea Month. It’s thought that iced tea was invented in 1904 at an exposition in St. Louis. It was summer and the exhibit featuring hot tea was not drawing much attention. So, the innovative staff poured the hot tea over ice cubes — and an instant favorite was born. At about the same time, the tea bag was invented, also in the U.S. On average, we each drink nearly 8˝ gallons of tea each year — compared to 24 gallons of coffee, 22 gallons of beer and 51 gallons of soft drinks. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase’s Calendar of Events 2009, p.294
Tea Association of the USA
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, t. 372, 374
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009edition.html