In the first two decades of the 21st century, China has rapidly emerged as one the world’s leading “telecommunications superpowers.” It has the more netizens than any other country in the world, a higher number of cell phone users than any other country in the world, is home to telecom super-giants such as Huawei, ZTE,…
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The 1920 US Presidential Elections and the Birth of Live Election Coverage
As the 2020 US presidential elections dawn upon us, millions of people worldwide will doubtlessly be tuning in to media outlets all across the globe to watch the latest results of the race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Very few people are aware that they will be participating in a tradition that celebrates its…
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Telephone Operators and the “War of the Worlds” Radio Drama
While most people sleep during the night, there is a legion of workers who work during the nighttime hours, making sure that the essential services that power our lives stay on during the night. Part of that legion are the telephone operators who make sure our telephone and Internet service stays on during the night…
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A Short, Informal History of Tornado Warnings in the USA
While watching the 1996 blockbuster movie Twister recently, I couldn’t help but notice what is supposed to be a tornado warning from 1969 (which, according to IMDB, might in fact actually be a 1970s-era warning from Tulsa TV station KWTV) airing on the TV in the background while the young Jo Harding (Helen Hunt’s character in the…
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A History of Night Flying, Part Three: The Early Jet Age Years (1945-1978)
In case you missed the first two posts in this series, you can find Part I here and Part II here. And without further adieu, here’s Part III in this series about the history of night flying: The early Jet Age years. *Please note: For simplicity’s sake, I’m staying focused on the civilian aircraft industry in this…
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A History of Night Flying, Part Two: The World War II Years (1939-1945)
In case you missed my first blog post about the history of night flying, you can read that here. Now on to part two: Night flying during the World War II years. Regular “red-eye flight” services as we know them now were still not possible during the 1940s due to the lack of availability of night-flying…
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A History of Night Flying, Part One: The Early Years (1910-1941)
This is the first in a series of blog posts I’d like to share about the history of night flying. This series is by no means a comprehensive or authoritative history of aviation at night, but rather some insights from history about milestones and technological developements in the world of aviation that have made…
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A Quick History of Creme Brulee (10/4/20 YouTube Video)
If you’re into the history of desserts, here’s another YouTube video for you! This is yet another example of how the foods we eat everyday have a fascinating history behind them and we tend not to think about that history while gobbling them down. And I don’t know about you guys, but Jackie O’s creme…
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The Japanese Tiramisu Boom of 1990-1991, Part 3: The End of the Trend
(Part one of this blog post series can be found here and part two here.) The Death of the Tiramisu Craze The tiramisu phenomenon died a relatively quick death. Strangely enough, the publication that helped create it helped kill it off. In 1991, tiramisu was officially “dethroned” by women’s cosmopolitan magazine Hanako as the “New…
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The Japanese Tiramisu Boom of 1990-1991, Part 2: The Craze Begins
This is part two of the series of blog posts I’ve written on the Japanese tiramisu craze of 1990-1991 (or to be more exact, early 1992-ish). Part one can be found here and part three here. Now on to part two, where we really get into the nitty gritty of the Japanese tiramisu craze: The…
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