“Way Back When” Today!
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Jan 6, 2022 1945 The Looney Tunes cartoon skunk Pepé Le Pew made his first appearance. Pepé Le Pew was voiced by Mel Blanc. 1969 Future U.S. President, Jimmy Carter
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Jan 6, 2022 1945 The Looney Tunes cartoon skunk Pepé Le Pew made his first appearance. Pepé Le Pew was voiced by Mel Blanc. 1969 Future U.S. President, Jimmy Carter
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Wednesday, Jan 5, 2022 1914 Automaker Henry Ford announced an unprecedented five-dollar-a-day minimum wage for his employees. Five dollars in 1914 adjusted for inflation is about $140 in today’s money. The
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Jan 4, 2022 1847 Samuel Colt made his first sale of 1000 Colt revolvers to the U.S. government for use by Rangers in the Mexican American War. 1936 Billboard magazine published
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Jan 3, 2022 1870 Construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge. It was completed in May of 1883. 1888 The first drinking straw was patented. 1959 Alaska became the 49th state
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Jan 3, 2023 1870 Construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge. It was completed in May of 1883. 1888 The first drinking straw was patented. 1959 Alaska became the 49th state
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Jan. 2, 2023 1939 Adolf Hitler was named Time magazine’s 1938 Man of the Year in their January 2, 1939, issue. The title was not given as an honor, but to the
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday, Dec. 31, 2021 1879 Thomas Edison gave the first public demonstration of the incandescent light. 1974 U.S. Citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021 1817 The first coffee was planted in Hawaii. 1924 Edwin Hubble announced the existence of other Milky Way systems. 1972 President Nixon halted the bombing of North
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021 1848 Gas lights were installed at the White House for the first time. 1851 The first YMCA chapter opened in Boston. 1949 The first UHF television station
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021 1945 Congress officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance. 1981 WEA Records raises the price of its 45-rpm singles from $1.68 to $1.98. 1981 Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Dec. 27, 2021 1831 Charles Darwin set out on a voyage to the Pacific aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin’s discoveries during the voyage formed the basis of his theory of evolution.
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021 1882 The first Christmas Tree with electric lights. Edward H. Johnson used a set of 80 red, white, and blue electric incandescent light bulbs wired together. Johnson
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 1891 YMCA instructor Dr. James Naismith organized the first basketball game between his students in Springfield, Massachusetts. The original game used a soccer ball and a peach basket with
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Dec. 20, 2021 1803 France turned over New Orleans with a flag-raising ceremony in the Plaza de Armas (what is now Jackson Square). The U.S. had purchased 828,000 square miles
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday, Dec. 17, 2021 1843 Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” was published. 1903, the Wright brothers made the first successful flight in a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. 1933 The Chicago Bears beat
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021 1773 the Boston Tea Party took place. American Colonists, some disguised as Indians, dumped 350 chests of tea into Boston Harbor in defiance of the British Tea
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021 1782 Brothers Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier tested their first balloon. They built a large box out of thin wood and lit a fire beneath it. The unmanned balloon took
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Dec. 13, 2021 1636 The founding of the U.S. National Guard as the Massachusetts Bay Colony organized three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. 1759 A
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday, Dec. 10, 2021 1884 Mark Twain’s classic novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published. 1964 Dr. Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent campaign against racism.
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 1907 The First U.S. Christmas Seals went on sale. The proceeds went to the fight against tuberculosis. 1965 “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, the first in a series
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Dec. 6, 2021 345 A.D., the real St. Nicholas died. He secretly gave gifts to poor brides-to-be. 1884, the Washington Monument was completed. 1964, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” first aired on
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 1621 Galileo invented the telescope 1947 Tennessee Williams play ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ opened 1952 The first TV broadcast in Hawaii 1967 First human heart transplant took place
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, Dec 2, 2021 1927 Henry Ford introduced the Model A. It had a 200.5 cubic inch motor that delivered 40 hp and came in nine body styles, with a starting price
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Wednesday, Dec. 01, 2021 1942 In order to conserve gas and rubber for the war effort, nationwide gas and tire rationing went into effect in the US. Families were allowed 3
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021 1940 Comedienne Minnie Pearl made her first appearance on the radio show Grand Ole Opry. She would continue making appearances for over 50 years. Minnie Pearl was of
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Nov. 29, 2021 1934 The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions in the first NFL game broadcast. 1942 The U.S. began rationing coffee as a result of World War II. Coffee
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021 1859 Charles Darwin’s “On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection” was published. He surmised that all species of life descended over time from common ancestors.
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021 1889 The first jukebox was installed, in the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco. It was an Edison phonograph modified with a coin slot and installed inside
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Monday, Nov. 22, 2021 1718 British soldiers boarded the ship of Blackbeard the Pirate and shot him. They then cut off his black beard and flew it from the ship’s bow.
Paul Layendecker’s “WAY BACK WHEN” for Thursday, November 18, 2021 1928 Steamboat Willie, Disney’s first cartoon with synchronized sound, was released. Mickey’s voice was provided by none other than Walt Disney himself! 1949 The great Jackie Robinson