Today marks the 75th anniversary of the release of the first paperback book!
In 1935, Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin Books, had the idea to offer affordable books at places such as railway stations and newsagents as well as bookshops. He wanted a way to make books more accessible and less expensive for all–thus the idea for the paperback book was born. What a novel idea!
Penguin Book’s official website has more information about the launch of modern paperbacks. Take a look:
Lane launched his new line of books on July 30, 1935, with ten inexpensive paperbacks. Simply designed with broad bands of color, the original ten books immediately established themselves within the history of design. Skeptics dismissed Lane’s idea as imprudent and crazy, but by March 1936—ten months after the company’s launch—one million Penguin books had been printed. Within a year, Penguin had sold three million paperbacks. The skeptics were proven wrong and a new, innovative publishing model was launched into the world.
So curl up with your favorite novel and celebrate the 75th anniversary of the paperback book!
Did you know that 59 years ago today, the first color TV program was broadcast by CBS nationwide? In today’s times of flat screens, HD TVs, and now even 3D TVs this may not seem like too big of a deal, but in 1951 CBS made history!
Infoplease.com has an interesting article about this first groundbreaking broadcast. Take a look:
“Before that night, television was an entirely black and white medium. Viewers had heard that Lucille Ball’s hair was red, but the color wasn’t something they actually saw on their television sets. Now, television was truly changing colors.
Like the telephone before it and the Internet today, color television arrived gradually, with periodic technological introductions. That first color broadcast was hyped as a breakthrough in television technology, but there were flaws. The performers’ faces were pasty. There was a mysterious red ring around Ed Sullivan’s ear and viewers questioned the true tone of Faye Emerson’s blond chignon. And then there was the even larger problem—no one had color televisions.
Very few people actually watched that first broadcast because their black and white sets could not receive the signal. To insure the event wasn’t totally lost, CBS invited small audiences to watch the variety program in 35 different television studios across the east coast. Meanwhile, 1000 people had enough foresight to retrofit their sets to receive the signal.
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By the end of the summer, viewers were watching the Braves beat the Dodgers 8–1 at Ebbets field. So what if the outfield resembled cheap jewelry? This was color.”
Did you know that June 18th is International Picnic Day? If you’re enjoying a warm summer day, why not move your child’s birthday party outdoors? This way, you can celebrate both your little one’s special day and International Picnic Day at the same time!
Once your party has finished its delicious al fresco meal, you should have your child and their friends try some of these fun outdoor party games that we found on About.com:
Nature Scavenger Hunt: You can take your hunt outside and look for items in nature to set up a great outdoor party game for kids. By focusing on nature, you’ll make this outdoor party game a great green game that’s perfect for kids today.
Relay Race: Relay races make great outdoor party games for many reasons. They get kids moving and active, they inspire teamwork, and they satisfy kids’ love of competition.
Sardines: This game is essentially a reverse version of hide and seek. One person who is “it” hides and everyone else looks for him. When each player find the person, that player joins the person who is “it” in the hiding place. As the players all crowd into the hiding place, everyone gets packed together like sardines in a can (hence the name of the game). The last person to find the hiding place is the next one to be “it.”
Jump Rope Relay: You need two ropes for this outdoor party game. Split players into two teams and establish a finish line. Give each team one jump rope. When you say “Go!” the first two players from each team race to the goal line and back, skipping rope; they then hand off the rope to the next player and the race continues.
Tug of Water: Set up a sprinkler in the middle of your yard. Divide players into two teams and have each group grab the end of a rope or hose. Teams then try to pull their opponents into the sprinkler’s spray.
Check out this video of American Cancer Society Powerful Choices podcast, “Staying Well at Summer Picnics”:
Powerful Choices gives you new ways to think about making everyday choices, like getting recommended early detection tests, maintaining a healthy weight through proper diet and regular physical activity, and avoiding tobacco products, which can significantly impact your risk for cancer.
This podcast— “Staying Well at Summer Picnics” – gives you healthy eating advice at summer picnics as well as ways to reduce your UV exposure in the summer sun.
We’ve been celebrating birthdays with cake for as long as anyone cares to remember. But in the last few years, the cupcake’s popularity has soared and now it too has become synonymous with birthdays!
Think about it, you can’t walk down the street without passing a cupcake shop these days. So where does the cupcake come from?
The cupcake evolved in the United States in the 19th century, and it was revolutionary because of the amount of time it saved in the kitchen. There was a shift from weighing out ingredients when baking to measuring out ingredients. According to the Food Timeline Web, food historians have yet to pinpoint exactly where the name of the cupcake originated. There are two theories: one, the cakes were originally cooked in cups and two, the ingredients used to make the cupcakes were measured out by the cup.
In the beginning, cupcakes were sometimes called “number” cakes, because they were easy to remember by the measurements of ingredients it took to create them: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, and one spoonful of soda. Clearly, cupcakes today have expanded to a wide variety of ingredients, measurements, shapes, and decorations – but this was one of the first recipes for making what we know today as cupcakes.
Cupcakes were convenient because they cooked much quicker than larger cakes. When baking was down in hearth ovens, it would take a long time to bake a cake, and the final product would often be burned. Muffin tins, also called gem pans, were popular around the turn of the 20th century, so people started created cupcakes in tins.
For more information on the cupcake and its new place in culinary pop culture, click here.
Kids love throwing confetti, and parents love to clean it up (am I right?). But if you think about it, the tradition seems rather odd. Where did confetti come from and why do we throw it on our birthdays, weddings, and so many other festive occasions? Luckily, bigsiteofamazingfacts.com has the answers:
Hundreds of years ago, the celebration of carnival days in Italy gave merrymakers an excuse for boisterous carryings-on. Included in these celebrations was the custom of flinging coins and pieces of candy at each other. This candy, in Italian, is called confetti.
At one point in history, a storekeeper decided that he could make more of a profit at carnival time by selling imitation candies cut out of colored cardboard. His idea became a huge success.
Down through the years, the candy-shaped cardboard became the small square bits of colored paper we use today.
Fascinating! I’ll be sure to remember that the next time I’m cleaning it off the living room floor.
Check out this great post from Karyn Brianne, Blogger Advisory Council Member, at the Fab Giver:
Health has always been an issue close to my heart. Growing up, I had my heart set on becoming a doctor because I’ve always believed that if you don’t have your health, everything else suffers. In college, however, I decided that being healthy starts before the treatment process. Every day that we wake up, there are things that we can do to take steps to being as healthy as we can be. So, I decided to study marketing and use those communication skills to promote healthy behaviors and empower others to take an active role in their health. And, as a member of the American Cancer Society’s Blogger Advisory Council, I’m committed to using my online presence to do just that.
This week marks National Minority Cancer Awareness Week, and recognizing this issue is very important to me. As an African-American, I was blown away to learn that we have the highest death rate and shortest survival of any racial and ethnic group in the US for most cancers. National Minority Cancer Awareness Week is about recognizing the health disparities that exist within our communities and encouraging action to help shrink the gap. About fifty percent of cancer deaths can be prevented through regularly scheduled screenings, healthy eating, regular physical activity and quitting tobacco use. However, minorities continue to have lower screening rates than whites; report less physical activity than recommended, and consume less fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
These simple lifestyle changes can go a long way towards ensuring that we are around to see more birthdays for ourselves and those that we love. I’m dedicating this post to my maternal grandmother, maternal great-aunt, maternal great uncle, maternal great-cousin, paternal great-grandfather, and paternal (step) grandfather. They passed away due to cancer and build a strong case for why I have to take the necessary steps to be as healthy as I possibly can. I’ll admit that I don’t know all the facts and haven’t been as healthy as I should be, but I’m committed to making that change. This week, I’m setting up appointments ranging from a general checkup to screenings necessary for my health and I encourage you to do the same.
The ACS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-227-2345 to help answer any questions about cancer and provide information on what resources exist for free or low cost cancer screenings. Get the facts, understand your medical history, and commit to your health! Some might say that it’s easier said than done, but when has that ever stopped us?
To learn more about the American Cancer Society, please visit cancer.org.
You never forget birthdays that are special to you… for me it was my 7th birthday and my mom orchestrated a surprise party in our garage. She did it with such secrecy and pizazz and that I will never forget… It was a typical Saturday at our house. I had a soccer game in the morning and my mom had made cupcakes for the team instead of the usual orange slices. I had told my mom I wanted a party but it was a week or so away so I wasn’t really thinking about anything happening until then… After the game was over, we headed home and as my mom opened the garage door, there were my friends and family waiting to say, “SURPRISE!” Indeed I was suprised. My mom had pulled off an unbelievable birthday celebration for me and managed to keep both of my older brothers from spilling the beans!
The reason this story is so memorable is because this was the last time I remember my mother healthy… shortly after this, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and although she was a fighter, she gave up her battle on June 14, just 2 1/2 years after her diagnosis. She was 41. She died 1 week before her 42nd birthday…
So you see, birthdays are not just special, they create lasting memories when there are no more birthdays to celebrate with loved ones gone before us…
Treasure each birthday and treasure each day… remember someone, somewhere is making a memorable birthday today.
This weekend, my 12-year old daughter and her friends are hosting a surprise birthday sleepover for one of their friends whose mother lost her very short battle with lung cancer this past July. Each year, her Mom would have a huge sleepover birthday party for her which all the girls looked forward to. This will be the first birthday she will have without her Mom and it will probably be difficult for her and her Dad and brothers.
I am so touched by the extraordinary compassion and sensitivity displayed by my daughter and her friends. While they are just 12 years old, they instinctively knew what to do for their friend. So, Saturday evening, think about the 10 twelve year olds who understand the meaning of more birthdays!
Birthdays…for some it’s a special day to acknowledge another year of life and for others it’s just another day. For me, something always comes up on a birthday whether it be my own or that of someone I know…
In the summer of 2002 birthdays took on a whole new meaning. For 7 months I was sick on and off. I had suffered from fevers of 102, 103, and sometimes 104 degrees. I had drenching night sweats to the point that I would wet my clothes and the sheets of my bed. My lymph nodes were enlarged and in less than a couple of months I had shed a little over 20 pounds. These symptoms would come and go during the 7 months and when summer came I knew this all couldn’t be, “just another cold.”
In July, my mom who is a nurse had me stop by her clinic to see the doctor that she had worked for. There I told him my symptoms and he had examined me. When he was done he told me that I had Lymphoma. At 23 years old I had no clue what that meant. He had left the room to tell my mom the news. When she returned to the room it was clear she had been crying. I thought to myself, “Oh God, I am dying…” I asked my mom, “What is Lymphoma?”
On July 24, 2002 which is my dad’s birthday I was officially diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Stage 3. From there I underwent chemotherapy for 6 months and my cancer went into remission. Four short months later while randomly scratching my neck I found a lump. The cancer had returned. For my 2nd battle with cancer my oncologist suggested that we do an Autologus Stem Cell Transplant. It’s a transplant procedure where they harvest your own stem cells and re-infuse them back into your body. It’s like taking apart an old car, getting rid of the bad parts and rebuilding it with new parts. So, since the cancer didn’t hit my bone marrow, I was able to be the donor and recipient of my own stem cells.
On June 21, 2003, my 23rd birthday I sat in a chair for several hours with an IV drip of various chemo drugs instead of behind a table with a birthday cake. For several weeks after that there was more preparation for the transplant. In August I was admitted to the hospital for more chemo and to complete the transplant process. I was scheduled to be there for 30 days straight.
On August 18th, my oncologist’s birthday; he re-infused me with my stem cells and I also had 5 blood transfusions that week. Weeks later, I was released from the hospital on August 31st, the day before my son’s 3rd birthday. Jacob was born on September 1st which was also my OBGYN’s birthday. I made her miss dinner with her family that day due to Jacob’s arrival which was actually 3 days late. I have been in remission since October of 2003!
As you can see birthdays are not just another day for me…even if it’s not my own. Prior to my transplant my friends and co-workers celebrated my several times in the month of June to make up for having chemo on my special day. Every day of life is precious! Celebrate the birthdays in your life because you never know what someone else is going through that day. This year is my 30th birthday and 6 year cancer free anniversary. It’s also the 25th anniversary of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life. So, how am I celebrating all these special events? I am attending 25+ Relay For Life events this summer from March through August. I’m a 2 time cancer survivor so what better way to live out the rest of my life than to… CELEBRATE, REMEMBER, FIGHT BACK!
For my 18th birthday, I was a senior in high school. I was at school for 15 hours that day because on top of school, it was Tech Week for our Winter Play. When school let out for the day, my friend and I hung out with our friends down in the Robotics Lab before grabbing a bite to eat for dinner and heading for rehearsal. Rehearsal went very well, and when it was over, the Stage Manager told my friend and I to organize the prop closet. Later, she came back and told us to sweep the stage. When I came onto the stage, the entire cast and crew was standing there, and started to sing Happy Birthday to me, and my other friend brought out the cake he made for me. I was completely surprised, and that made me so happy!
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Today marks the 75th anniversary of the release of the first paperback book! 
Did you know that 59 years ago today, the first color TV program was broadcast by CBS nationwide? In today’s times of flat screens, HD TVs, and now even 
Did you know that June 18th is International Picnic Day? If you’re enjoying a warm summer day, why not move your child’s birthday party outdoors? This way, you can celebrate both your little one’s special day and International Picnic Day at the same time!
We’ve been celebrating birthdays with cake for as long as anyone cares to remember. But in the last few years, the cupcake’s popularity has soared and now it too has become synonymous with birthdays!
Kids love throwing confetti, and parents love to clean it up (am I right?). But if you think about it, the tradition seems rather odd. Where did confetti come from and why do we throw it on our birthdays, weddings, and so many other festive occasions? Luckily, 
This weekend, my 12-year old daughter and her friends are hosting a surprise birthday sleepover for one of their friends whose mother lost her very short battle with lung cancer this past July. Each year, her Mom would have a huge sleepover birthday party for her which all the girls looked forward to. This will be the first birthday she will have without her Mom and it will probably be difficult for her and her Dad and brothers.
