7-UP – In 1929, St. Louis businessman Charles Grigg invented a drink called Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda. His advertising slogan was: “Takes the ouch out of grouch”. It was a huge hit during the Depression, partly because it contained lithium, which is a drug that can be used for depression. The name was shortened to 7-Up. The 7 refers to the seven ounce bottle. Up is short for “bottoms up”, which is a reference to the carbonation bubbles going from the bottom upward. Lithium was removed from the ingredients in the mid-1940s. Uncle pp. 55-56
MONOPOLY – In 1903, anti-monopolist Lizzie Magie invented a game to educate people about the evils of monopolies. She called the game “The Landlord’s Game” and it involved buying property, utilities, and a “public park” space. The game did not catch on. In 1932, an unemployed engineer named Charles Darrow visited some friends and they introduced him to the game. He was intrigued and went home with a copy of the rules. He created his own version by drawing the board on a piece of linoleum. He focused his game on purchasing properties with cash. Since he had recently had a pleasurable visit to ‘Atlantic City, he based the properties on that city and the area in New Jersey where the city was located. His friends loved the game and he began to make copies and sell them for $4 each. He took the game to Parker Brothers but they felt it was too complicated and took too long to play. He then got Wanabaker’s Department Store in Philadelphia and FAO Schwartz in NYC to sell it. It was a huge hit and Parker Brothers reconsidered. Soon it was producing 20,000 per week. Parker Brothers bought Magie’s patent. Uncle 1 pp. 99-100
HOBO SLANG –
– big house = prison
– bindle stick = sack of belongings tied to a pole
– bone noser = a hobo who passed gas
– knowledge bus = school bus
– rumdum = drunkard
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING – In the early Depression, millionaires Walter Chrysler (the owner of Chrysler car company) and John Jakob Raskob (chief executive officer of Dupont and General Motors) started a competition to build the tallest building in NYC. In 1930, Chrysler opened the Chrysler building, but one year later Raskob won with the Empire State Building. It was started on March 17, 1930 and completed on November 13. It used 60,000 tons of steel and it took 7 million working hours to finish. It is 1,454 feet tall which equals to 102 stories. There are 5 entrances, 73 elevators, 1,860 steps, and 6,500 windows. Every month the sanitation department collects 100 tons of garbage. Lists 238-9
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE – The idea was to span San Francisco Bay by connecting the city with Marin County to the north. It was constructed from 1933-1937. Engineer Joseph Strauss insisted on safety precautions like everyone had to wear a hard hat and no one could drink on the job. He also had a safety net placed below the bridge. 19 workers were saved by the net, but 11 men did die during construction. The bridge is 8,981 feet long, making it the second longest suspension bridge in North America. The longest is the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York. The longest bridge in the world is the Akasho Kaikyo bridge in Japan. Strauss had the bridge painted orange because he hated black and gray and felt that orange matched the landscape. Since its opening in 1937, over 1,200 people have committed suicide by jumping. Over 25 have survived the leap. Lists 239