[Bar Chat returns Dec. 29]
NFL Quiz: San Diego Chargers – 1) Receptions, career? 2) TDs,
career? Tennessee Titans / Houston Oilers – 1) Receptions,
career? 2) Field goals, career? Philadelphia Eagles – 1)
Receptions, career? 2) Rushing, career? Answers below.
Before we get to our traditional Christmas fare, some…………
Stuff
–Barry Halper died. Very simply, the greatest collector of
baseball memorabilia, ever.
Halper lived nearby in Livingston, NJ, and has been described as
a “one-man Smithsonian.” [Richard Goldstein / New York
Times] At one point he had over 80,000 items, including more
than 30,000 baseball cards, 3,000 signed baseballs and numerous
signed bats and jerseys.
Halper owned things such as the uniform Lou Gehrig wore in his
1939 farewell speech at Yankee Stadium and Ty Cobb’s
dentures, which sold at auction for $8,000.
In later years, as Halper’s health deteriorated he began to sell off
his collection for estate reasons. Seven years ago, the Baseball
Hall of Fame received 20% of it as Halper sold a portion to the
commissioner’s office which then donated it to the Hall, which is
now part of the Barry Halper Gallery. Then in the fall of ’99,
Halper auctioned off virtually the rest through Sotheby’s for
almost $22 million.
–Two weeks to go in the NFL season, and nine teams are still in
the hunt for four wild-card slots.
NFC
Tampa Bay (9-5),Washington (8-6), Dallas (8-6), Atlanta (8-6),
Minnesota (8-6)
Already in…Seattle; with the Giants, Chicago, and Carolina
virtual locks, all three at 10-4
AFC
Jacksonville (10-4), Pittsburgh (9-5), San Diego (9-5), Kansas
City (8-6)
Already in …New England, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Denver
So, with this information, let’s look at the spots that could feature
a snowstorm once the playoffs get cranking; New York, Chicago,
New England, Cincinnati and Denver. This is what it’s all about,
sports fans.
–Kobe Bryant had 62 points in the first three quarters of the
Lakers’ game versus Dallas on Tuesday. Dallas had 61. So with
the score 95-61 after three, Kobe and Coach Phil Jackson agreed
it was prudent to sit the rest of the contest and avoid injury.
–Johnny Damon is a solid ballplayer; one who has at times been
very good. But the Yankees just shelled out $52 million over
four years for him when the Red Sox were offering their free
agent ‘only’ $40 million over the same term. As Mike Lupica of
the Daily News points out, the Yankees now have players
making $10 million or more a year at catcher, first base,
shortstop, third base, left field, center field, right field. Such is
life in Yankee land.
–Congratulations to Penn State’s Joe Paterno for being selected
AP Coach of the Year. Paterno turned 79 on Wednesday.
–A recent Los Angeles Times story by Paul Watson discussed
the honey hunters of Bangladesh and the constant threat they
face from tigers. In the main province (ward) where this practice
takes place, tigers have killed 300 of these folks in the last 20
years. Here’s the account of Ahmed Ali Tarafdar, 80, a victim
who lived to talk about it, as related by Paul Watson.
“Seven years ago, Tarafdar was in a group of five honey hunters
collecting firewood to cook dinner when a Bengal tiger sprang at
them. ‘The tiger struck like lightning,’ he said. ‘It had me in its
grip for about one or two minutes.’
“The tiger, with front paws the size of plates, grabbed Tarafdar
from behind. Its claws sliced across both sides of his chest, and
two canine teeth sank into his right shoulder, front and back.
The tiger let go when Tarafdar’s son struck it on the head with a
machete.” [No word on what revenge was exacted on the son.]
After paying expenses and bribes to enter the forest, most honey
hunters take home about $90 a month. Hell, fire the New York
City transit workers now on strike (as of this posting) and hire
these guys. They’d certainly be appreciative of what they have,
that’s for sure.
–Just a little history from our favorite historical figure from
across the pond, Sir Winston Churchill.
Churchill arrived in Washington on Dec. 22, 1941, about two
weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He ended up
spending about three weeks as a guest of President Franklin
Roosevelt, as he tried to convince FDR and the American people
to give priority to defeating Nazi Germany, over action in the
Pacific. On Dec. 26, 1941, he was invited to address a Joint
Session of the United State Congress. It was another historic
moment.
[Excerpts]
“It is quite true that, on our side, our resources in manpower and
materials are far greater than theirs. But only a portion of your
resources is as yet mobilized and developed, and both of us have
much to learn in the cruel art of war. We have therefore, without
doubt, a time of tribulation before us. In this time some ground
will be lost which it will be hard and costly to regain. Many
disappointments and unpleasant surprises await us. Many of
them will afflict us before the full marshalling of our latent and
total power can be accomplished. For the best part of twenty
years the youth of Britain and America have been taught that war
is evil, which is true, and that it would never come again, which
has been proved false. For the best part of twenty years the
youth of Germany, Japan and Italy have been taught that
aggressive war is the noblest duty of the citizen, and that it
should be begun as soon as the necessary weapons and
organization had been made. We have performed the duties and
tasks of peace. They have plotted and planned for war. This,
naturally, has placed us in Britain and now places you in the
United States at a disadvantage which only time, courage, and
strenuous, untiring exertions can correct.
“We have indeed to be thankful that so much time has been
granted to us. If Germany had tried to invade the British Isles
after the French collapse in June, 1940, and if Japan had declared
war on the British Empire and the United States at about the
same date, no one could say what disasters and agonies might not
have been our lot. But now, at the end of December, 1941, our
transformation from easy-going peace to total war efficiency has
made very great progress…..Immense strides have been made in
the conversion of American industry to military purposes, and
now that the United States are at war it is possible for orders to
be given every day which a year or eighteen months hence will
produce results in war power beyond anything that has yet been
seen or foreseen in the dictator States. Provided that every effort
is made, that nothing is kept back, that the whole manpower,
brainpower, virility, valour, and civic virtue of the English-
speaking world with all its galaxy of loyal, friendly, associated
communities and States – provided all that is bent unremittingly
to the simple and supreme task, I think it would be reasonable to
hope that the end of 1942 will see us quite definitely in a better
position than we are now, and that the year 1943 will enable us
to assume the initiative upon an ample scale.
“Some people may be startled or momentarily depressed when,
like your President, I speak of a long and hard war. But our
peoples would rather know the truth, somber though it be. And
after all, when we are doing the noblest work in the world, not
only defending our hearths and homes but the cause of freedom
in other lands, the question of whether deliverance comes in
1942, 1943, or 1944 falls into its proper place in the grand
proportions of human history….As long as we have faith in our
cause and an unconquerable willpower, salvation will not be
denied us….
[Churchill then went into a summary of the war thus far, and how
unprepared both Britain and America were with Japan’s surprise
attack. Then he wrapped it up.]
“When we consider the resources of the United States and the
British Empire compared to those of Japan, when we remember
those of China, which has so long and valiantly withstood
invasion and when also we observe the Russian menace which
hangs over Japan, it becomes still more difficult to reconcile
Japanese action with prudence or even with sanity? What kind
of a people do they think we are? Is it possible they do not
realize that we shall never cease to persevere against them until
they have been taught a lesson which they and the world will
never forget?
“Members of the Senate and members of the House of
Representatives, I turn for one moment more from the turmoil
and convulsions of the present to the broader basis of the future.
Here we are together facing a group of mighty foes who seek our
ruin; here we are together defending all that to free men is dear.
Twice in a single generation the catastrophe of world war has
fallen upon us; twice in our lifetime has the long arm of fate
reached across the ocean to bring the United States into the
forefront of the battle. If we had kept together after the last war,
if we had taken common measures for our safety, this renewal of
the curse need never have fallen upon us.
“Do we not owe it to ourselves, to our children, to mankind
tormented, to make sure that these catastrophes shall not engulf
us for the third time? It has been proved that pestilences may
break out in the Old World, which carry their destructive ravages
into the New World, from which, once they are afoot, the New
World cannot by any means escape. Duty and prudence alike
command first that the germ-centers of hatred and revenge
should be constantly and vigilantly surveyed and treated in good
time, and, secondly, that an adequate organization should be set
up to make sure that the pestilence can be controlled at its
earliest beginnings before it spreads and rages throughout the
entire earth.
“Five or six years ago it would have been easy, without shedding
a drop of blood, for the United States and Great Britain to have
insisted on fulfillment of the disarmament clauses of the treaties
which Germany signed after the Great War; that also would have
been the opportunity for assuring to Germany those raw
materials which we declared in the Atlantic Charter should not
be denied to any nation, victor or vanquished. That chance has
passed. It is gone. Prodigious hammer-strokes have been
needed to bring us together again, or if you will allow me to use
other language, I will say that he must indeed have a blind soul
who cannot see that some great purpose and design is being
worked out here below, of which we have the honour to be the
faithful servants. It is not given to us to peer into the mysteries
of the future. Still, I avow my hope and faith, sure and inviolate,
that in the days to come the British and American peoples will
for their own safety and for the good of all walk together side by
side in majesty, in justice, and in peace.”
[Source: “Never Give In! The Best of Winston Churchill’s
Speeches,” selected by his grandson Winston S. Churchill]
–Last chat I wrote of Chip Davis of Mannheim Steamroller and
it turns out my friend Ken S.’s daughter worked for Davis’s
operation for ten years, but his name never came up before in our
conversations. Now if your daughter is currently working, or has
worked for, someone famous, drop us a line at Bar Chat. All
information will be held in the strictest confidence.
Top 3 songs for the week of 12/18/71: #1 “Family Affair” (Sly
& The Family Stone) #2 “Brand New Key” (Melanie) #3 “Have
You Seen Her” (Chi-Lites)…and…#5 “Got To Be There”
(Michael Jackson) #6 “Theme From Shaft” (Isaac Hayes) #9
“American Pie” (Don McLean)
NFL Quiz Answers: San Diego – 1) Receptions, career: Charlie
Joiner, 586 (1976-82). 2) TDs, career: Lance Alworth, 83 (1962-
70). Tennessee – 1) Receptions, career: Ernest Givins, 542
(1986-94). 2) Field goals, career: Al Del Greco, 246 (1991-
2000). Philadelphia – 1) Receptions, career: Harold Carmichael,
589 (1971-83). 2) Rushing, career: Wilbert Montgomery, 6,538
(1977-84).
Apollo 8
Growing up, one of the more dramatic memories as a kid was
staying up Christmas Eve 1968 to follow the remarkable voyage
of Apollo 8.
If ever a nation needed a pick me up, it was America in ’68, after
the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert
Kennedy, with the ongoing war in Vietnam and the dramatic Tet
Offensive, and after LBJ’s sudden withdrawal from the
presidential race, the turbulent Democratic Convention, and the
invasion of Czechoslovakia. Yes, we were ready for a little
space adventure.
Apollo 8 would be the first manned mission to orbit the moon.
Commanded by Frank Borman, with James Lovell, Jr. and
William Anders, it was launched on December 21 and on
Christmas Eve the three began their orbit. What made it all even
more dramatic was the first go round to the dark side of the
moon, when all communication was lost until they reemerged at
the other side. It was the middle of night for us viewers, at least
in the Eastern time zone, and I also remember that Apollo was
sending back spectacular photos of earth.
Borman described the moon as “a vast, lonely and forbidding
sight,” and Lovell called Earth, “a grand oasis in the big vastness
of space.” The crew members then took turns reading from the
Book of Genesis / Creation:
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the
earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the
deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light. And
God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light
from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he
called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the
first day…
James Lovell would later say, “Please be informed, that there is a
Santa Claus.” And Borman concluded with, “Merry Christmas.
God bless all of you, all of you on the Good Earth.”
—–
The Gospel According to Luke
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all
the world should be registered. This was the first registration
and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went
to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the
town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called
Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family
of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was
engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there,
the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to
her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him
in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping
watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood
before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be
afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all
the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you
will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a
manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of
the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and
see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made
known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and
Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this,
they made known what had been told them about this child; and
all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her
heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for
all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
—–
Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
A famous letter from Virginia O’Hanlon to the editorial board of
the New York Sun, first printed in 1897:
We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the
communication below, expressing at the same time our great
gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the
friends of The Sun:
Dear Editor –
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa
Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell
me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O”Hanlon
—
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected
by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except
they see. They think that nothing can be which is not
comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia,
whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great
universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as
compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by
the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and
knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as
love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they
abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas!
How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It
would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be
no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable
this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense
and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the
world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in
fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the
chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you
did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?
Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no
Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that
neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies
dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they
are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders
there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise
inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not
the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the
strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry,
love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture
the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah,
Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A
thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years
from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
—–
A Visit from St. Nicholas
By Clement C. Moore [Well, he really stole it, but that’s a story
for another day. This is the original version.]
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap;
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof –
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes – how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
—
World War I – Christmas Truce
By December 1914, the war had been picking up in intensity for
five months. Ironically, the feeling during the initial phases
was that everyone would be home by Christmas, though little
did they know it would be Christmas 1918.
On Christmas Eve 1914, along the British and German lines,
particularly in the Flanders area, the soldiers got into
conversation with each other and it was clear to the British that
the Germans wanted some sort of Christmas Armistice. Sir
Edward Hulse wrote in his diary, “A scout named F. Murker
went out and met a German Patrol and was given a glass of
whisky and some cigars, and a message was sent back saying
that if we didn’t fire at them they would not fire at us.” That
night, where five days earlier there had been savage fighting, the
guns fell silent.
The following morning German soldiers walked towards the
British wire and the Brits went out to meet them. They
exchanged caps and souvenirs and food. Then arrangements
were made for the British to pick up bodies left on the German
side during a recent failed raid.
Christmas Day, fraternization took place along many of the lines,
including a few of the French and Belgian ones. Some joined in
chasing hares, others, most famously, kicked around a soccer
ball. British soldier Bruce Bairnsfather would write, “It all felt
most curious: here were these sausage-eating wretches, who had
elected to start this infernal European fracas, and in so doing had
brought us all into the same muddy pickle as themselves…(But)
there was not an atom of hate on either side that day; and yet, on
our side, not for a moment was the will to war and the will to
beat them relaxed.”
In the air the war continued and the French Foreign Legionnaires
in Alsace were ordered to fight Christmas Day as well. Plus,
most of the commanders on both sides were none too pleased.
Nothing like the Christmas truce of 1914 would occur in
succeeding years (outside of a pocket or two) and by December
26, 1914, the guns were blazing anew.
[Source: “The First World War,” Martin Gilbert]
Toy Stories
[The following are from Don Wulffson’s book “Toys! Amazing
Stories Behind Some Great Inventions” as the main source.]
Slinky
In 1945 engineer Richard James was working at a Philadelphia
shipyard for the Navy, which had asked him to develop a
stabilizing device to prevent a ship’s instruments from pitching
and rolling with the waves. His first thought was ‘springs,’ so he
tried all manner of them, different shapes and sizes, but none
worked.
Then one day he accidentally knocked one of his experimental
models off a shelf and instead of it plopping down it “walked
down” coil by coil, end over end, onto a stack of books, then a
desktop, then a chair, and finally onto the floor. Each time he
did it the same thing happened.
Excited, James went home and he and his wife, Betty, tried it in
all manner of places. Again, the same result. Betty thought it
was a toy, though Richard didn’t initially see it that way. But she
began looking through a dictionary for a name and settled on
‘slinky.’
The next year they borrowed $500 from 4 friends to have 400
Slinkys made, went from store to store, but found only a handful
that would stock even a few…and none of these sold.
Undaunted, and still convinced they had a supertoy on their
hands, Richard and Betty went to a manager at a large
department store, Gimbel’s. After begging the guy, he let them
demonstrate the toy right there and customers began to gather
around. Within a 90-minute period the entire stock of close to
400 was sold. A few years later Richard and Betty were
millionaires.
Today over 250 million Slinkys have been sold. But did you
know that about 80 feet of wire is in a standard Slinky and that
Slinkys were used in Vietnam? They were tossed over high tree
branches and used as makeshift antennas. Slinkys also make
good scarecrows, hung from a tree, swaying in the breeze.
Trivial Pursuit
Scott Abbott and Chris Haney both worked for a newspaper,
Scott as a sportswriter and Chris as photo editor. They also
loved to play Scrabble so on December 15, 1975 they’re in the
midst of a contest when they start discussing getting into the
game business. The issue was what kind? They decided it
should center around questions – all sorts of them. At first they
called it Trivia Pursuit, but Chris’s wife suggested Trivial Pursuit
and that stuck. [See the power of women in these two stories?!]
Scott and Chris formed a company and persuaded two others to
join them. Then they started borrowing from everyone they
knew and soon there were 34 investors (including a copyboy
who borrowed the money from his mother).
The total pool was $40,000 and with that they rented space for
manufacturing and packaging. But they couldn’t really pay any
wages so Scott and Chris gave out stock instead.
The first 1,100 sets cost $75 each to manufacture, which the guys
then tried to sell to retailers for $15. Obviously, this was a major
money-losing operation and by 1982 Scott and Chris were deeply
in debt. [You can see that as opposed to the Slinky tale, Trivial
Pursuit was slower in getting going.]
But Scott and Chris still refused to give up and they began
contacting every game company in America. Only form-letter
rejections came back, with some saying all the games were
produced “in-house, by our own staff.” Finally, on the verge of
packing it in for good, Selchow & Righter expressed interest and
a meeting was arranged.
S&R liked it so much they hired a PR consultant to launch an ad
campaign. Coincidentally, it was now 1983 and 1,800 toy buyers
were in New York for the annual toy fair so S&R sent brochures
and copies of the game to all before the show. Then they mailed
sets to actors, actresses, basically anyone that could create some
buzz. The effort paid off and word of mouth took over. By late
1983, 3.5 million sets of Trivial Pursuit were sold. 20 million in
1984. Today, total sales are approaching $2 billion.
Mr. Potato Head
There once was a chap by the name of George Lerner who had
seen everything when it came to his kids playing with their food
and nothing worked when he asked them to stop. But one
evening, Lerner, a model maker for a toy manufacturing
company, decided that instead of trying to get his kids to behave
he would play with the food himself. So he grabbed a few
potatoes, got some bottle caps and thumbtacks for the eyes and
mouth and added a strawberry for the nose. Well, the kids
thought that their dad was the funniest man around.
George then began to make plastic molds for eyes, ears, and
noses and called them ‘Funny Faces For Food,’ but when he took
his kits to food companies, no one was interested. More than two
years passed before a cereal outfit signed George to a contract for
his idea, paying Lerner $5,000 (it was the early 1950s, thus a fair
sum for the times) and the breakfast food folks used Funny Faces
as a premium in the box.
Several months later George received a call from Henry
Hassenfeld and his son Merrill, the owners of Hasbro Company.
They had seen Funny Faces and wanted to buy the idea from
Lerner and form a partnership, but there was the issue of George
having already sold the rights to the cereal guys.
But Henry and Merrill didn’t give up and they offered the
company $2,000, plus George had to pay back his $5,000. The
cereal guys stupidly accepted. George Lerner then went into
partnership with Hasbro and soon thereafter he was a millionaire
as the product was given a new name…Mr. Potato Head.
Silly Putty
During World War II there was a severe shortage of natural
rubber, so the military asked General Electric if they could come
up with a synthetic substitute. At the lab in New Haven,
Connecticut, James Wright was put to the task. He tried to come
up with something using every possible chemical in the table, but
nothing worked until he mixed boric acid and silicone oil (kids…
don’t try this at home without first asking your parents for
permission). Together, these two formed a rubbery compound.
Wright then started playing with the stuff and realized that when
he tossed it on the floor it bounced higher than normal rubber.
He could also stretch it and it held up in extreme temperatures
without cracking, plus the compound was able to lift words and
pictures off of newsprint.
Wright certainly had something, but just what became a source
of amusement around the halls of G.E. because his invention did
everything but what it was intended to do, that being a substitute
for rubber. The problem was the stuff didn’t get hard enough.
Soon Wright’s compound was given names like Nutty Putty,
Bouncing Putty, and Bouncing Blubber. But bottom line, this
was viewed as the most worthless invention in the history of G.E.
Years after the war, however, James Wright’s boss suggested
that a contest be held to find a use for Bouncing Putty (the formal
name at this time), but no one came up with a good idea. The
boss even had Wright ship the putty to the world’s top scientists
and they didn’t have any success either.
Then one evening in 1948, Wright went directly from the office
to a party and he happened to have some Bouncing Putty with
him. He showed the folks in attendance some of the putty’s
properties and one woman (there we go again), Ruth Fallgatter,
thought the stuff made for a great toy prospect.
Ruth, it turns out, owned a toy store herself, and along with Peter
Hodgson, who helped Ruth with advertising and sales material,
they decided to put a line for Bouncing Putty in their next
catalogue. Ruth and Peter thought the stuff was for adults, as per
the description.
“Do a thousand nutty things with Bouncing Putty. Comes in a
handy clear plastic case. A guaranteed hoot at parties! Price:
Only $2.00!”
Ruth and Peter ended up selling more Bouncing Putty than
anything else. Peter, in particular, was really high on the product
but he was also up to his eyeballs in debt. Somehow he
scrounged together $147 and bought as much of the putty from
G.E. as he could, then he hired students from nearby Yale
University to package it in plastic eggs. It was Hodgson who
then changed the name to Silly Putty.
Peter headed off to the New York Toy Fair in 1950 and
Doubleday Bookstores decided they would carry it. Then a few
months later a reporter for the New Yorker magazine wrote a
positive column about Silly Putty and the rest is history. Within
3 days of the article orders topped 250,000 and Hodgson became
another great American success story. When he died in 1976 his
estate was worth around $140 million.
But I never did find out if James Wright got anything out of it. I
imagine he was screwed on the whole deal.
“May You Always”
From 1959-2002, Harry Harrison was a fixture on New York
radio, the last 20+ years at the great oldies station WCBS-FM.
Unfortunately, he was forced to retire, which ticked off many of
us to no end, but he will forever be remembered for a brilliant
greeting titled “May You Always.” Enjoy.
As the holiday bells ring out the old year, and sweethearts kiss,
And cold hands touch and warm each other against the year
ahead,
May I wish you not the biggest and best of life,
But the small pleasures that make living worthwhile.
Sometime during the new year, to keep your heart in practice,
May you do someone a secret good deed and not get caught at it.
May you find a little island of time to read that book and write
that letter
And to visit that lonely friend on the other side of town.
May your next do-it-yourself project not look like you did it
yourself.
May the poor relatives you helped support remember you when
they win the lottery.
May your best card tricks win admiring gasps and your worst
puns, admiring groans.
May all those who told you so, refrain from saying “I told you
so.”
May all the predictions you’ve made for your firstborn’s future
come true.
May just half of those optimistic predictions that your high
school annual made for you come true.
In a time of sink or swim, may you find you can walk to shore
before you call the lifeguard.
May you keep at least one ideal you can pass along to your kids.
For a change, some rainy day, when you’re a few minutes late,
May your train or bus be waiting for you.
May you accidentally overhear someone saying something nice
about you.
If you run into an old school chum,
May you both remember each other’s names for introductions.
If you order your steak medium rare, may it be so.
And, if you’re on a diet,
May someone tell you, “You’ve lost a little weight,” without
knowing you’re on a diet.
May that long and lonely night be brightened by the telephone
call that you’ve been waiting for.
When you reach into the coin slot, may you find the coin that
you lost on your last wrong number.
When you trip and fall, may there be no one watching to laugh at
you or feel sorry for you.
And sometime soon, may you be waved to by a celebrity,
Wagged at by a puppy,
Run to by a happy child,
And counted on by someone you love.
More than this, no one can wish you.
—
[The following is from a Times of London editorial, 12/24/02]
“The knowledge that it is through love for others that one lives
most fully is at the heart of the Christian message, the reason for
its initial appeal and the explanation for its endurance through
persecution, schism and indifference. In this age of scientific
skepticism the miracle of Christmas, God becoming Man, the
Word becoming Flesh, is considered a fanciful conceit. But the
essence of the Christian message, the Word at the heart of the
faith, is the transformative power of unconditional love, the real
freedom we achieve when we live for others. When families
gather tomorrow to celebrate Christmas Day they will be re-
enacting a scene of affection and adoration that is a moment of
human and spiritual renewal. And the religious services which
many will attend are a celebration of faith and of the most
profound love.”
Linus [From “A Charlie Brown Christmas”]
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the
field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel
of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shown
round about them. And they were so afraid. And the angel said
unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy
which will be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall
be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill
toward men.”
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday. Our coveted year end awards!!!!
Merry Christmas…Happy Hanukkah
