Recently I ran across some interesting facts from 1947. That was the year I was born so I really enjoyed seeing what was going on that year.

1947 FIRST AND LAST

Howard Hughes pilots his giant wooden seaplane on its first and only flight—25 feet in the air for half a mile across California’s Long Beach Harbor. Known as the Spruce Goose, the plane actually is of laminated birch. Until 2019, it holds the record as the largest plane ever built.

IN THE KNOW

President Harry Truman signs the National Security Act, which includes creating the Central Intelligence Agency to update the chief executive on world affairs. It soon shifts to Cold War covert work.

CAT’S MEOW

Working for his dad selling industrial absorbents and other items, Ed Lowe realizes that clay makes a better choice for the cat’s box than sawdust or ashes. His invention— kitty litter—goes on to earn him millions and transform America’s relationship with cats.

PICTURE THIS!

Polaroid Corp. founder Edwin Land shows the first instant camera to members of the Optical Society of America in New York. A few months later, his Model 95 Land camera goes on sale in Boston for $89.75—equivalent to more than $1000 today.

PLAYING DETECTIVE

Britain’s Anthony Pratt patents the board game later known as Clue. A munitions worker during World War II, he created the game as a way of passing the time during air-raid blackouts.

Perhaps the most interesting event to happen in 1947 was the

INCIDENT AT ROSWELL

In the summer of 1947, W.W. “Mac” Brazel finds wreckage on his ranch north of Roswell, New Mexico. Fearing the Debris is from a flying saucer, Brazel reports his discovery to the sheriff, who gives the evidence to officers at Roswell Army Airfield.

Early news reports have the Army confirming the material is from a flying saucer, with photos of Maj. Jesse Marcel holding up the pieces. But the War department says it was just a weather balloon. The official backtracking leads to conspiracy theories about aliens in Roswell.

Almost 50 years later, long after the Cold War is over, the Air Force reports that the debris was part of a device designed to spy on Russia’s nuclear program. Some still aren’t buying it.

Tourists today flock to the area, where the Roswell incident is an industry that includes UFO museums and local tours.

July is Ice Cream Month and I am doing my part to make it successful. I love ice cream and always have.

Does anyone remember the 1927 song “I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream” which was by Howard Johnson, Billy Moll and Robert A. King. Well, the world has been a noisy place about ice cream for quite some time. Who doesn’t like ice cream. To celebrate National Ice Cream Month, you can have as much as you want during the month of July!!! And based on a 2018 report from grand View Research, Inc. that projected the global ice cream market would reach roughly $79 billion by 2025, it’s fair to say ice cream will remain popular for a long time to come.

While we cannot verify the following story it was sent to me by a friend and I really enjoyed it and wanted to share it with our readers.

TEACHER ARRESTED AT JFK AIRPORT

A public school teacher was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule and a calculator.

At a press conference, the Attorney General said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. Although he did not identify the man, he confirmed the man has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

“Al-Gebra is a problem for us,” the Attorney General said. “They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values. They use secret code names like “X” and “Y” and refer to themselves as “unknowns” but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.”

As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, “There are three sides to every triangle,” the Attorney General went on to say. “Teaching our children sentient (i.e., feelings of others) thought processes and equipping them to solve problems is dangerous and puts our government at risk.”