I Never Knew That

Why Australia Gave Email Addresses to 70,000 Trees

It began as a bit of creative problem-solving. Some trees in Melbourne, Australia, had dangerous branches that needed to be trimmed and other issues, prompting city officials in 2013 to give 70,000 of them ID numbers and email addresses where people could report problems. As an “unintended but positive consequence” of the program, according to Councilor Arron Wood of Melbourne’s Environment Portfolio, people began writing their favorite trees whimsical letters. “I have exams coming up and I should be busy studying,” one reads. “You do not have exams because you are a tree. I don’t think that there is much more to talk about as we don’t have a lot in common, you being a tree and such. But I’m glad we’re in this together.”

That one, addressed to Green Leaf Elm, Tree ID 1022165, even received a response: “I hope you do well in your exams. Research has shown that nature can influence the way people learn in a positive way, so I hope I inspire your learning.” The initiative’s website (the program is still going strong) features a map of every tree as well as links to their email addresses, should you feel like writing a love letter of your own. The responses are actually crafted by employees at the City of Melbourne—and as of 2018, the trees had received more than 4,000 emails from all over the world.

Contributed by Jane Hart

Observations of a Certain Age . . .

As I get older I realize:

1. I talk to myself, because sometimes I need expert advice.

2. Sometimes I roll my eyes outloud.

3. I don’t need anger management; I need people to stop pissing me off.

4. My people skills are just fine. It’s my tolerance of idiots that needs work.

5. The biggest lie I tell myself is: “I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it.”

6. When I was a child, I thought naptime was punishment. Now it’s like a mini-vacation.

7. The day the world runs out of wine is just too terrible to think about.

8. Even duct tape can’t fix stupid—but it can muffle the sound.

9. Wouldn’t it be great if we could put ourselves in the dryer for 10 minutes—come out wrinkle-free and three sizes smaller?

10. “Getting Lucky” means walking into a room and remembering why I’m there

Contributed by Mimi Abramovitz

Made in NYC: 123 Brands, Trends, and Inventions That Began in the Big Apple

The Hot Dog

As American food choices go, it’s hard to get more ubiquitous than the hot dog. But before we ate them in the billions, somebody had to invent them. That man was German-American baker Charles Feltman, whose boardwalk cart on Coney Island launched an American classic.

Charles Feldman, Hot Dog Genius

A Brunch Staple: Eggs Benedict

Charles Ranhofer on the flyleaf of his book of The Epicurian (1894).

Eggs Benedict is a New York City original. Chef Charles Ranhofer published a recipe for it in his 1894 cookbook, some three decades after they first appeared at Lower Manhattan’s Delmonico’s restaurant. Although others claim credit, the cookbook citation for Ranhofer’s Eggs à la Benedick makes the most convincing case.

An Entire Dessert Category: Frozen Custard

James Loesch/Flickr.

Frozen custard debuted on Coney Island in 1919. The Kohr Brothers had already created a smoother, lighter version of ice cream (it had less fat and less sugar). To keep the product from melting too quickly in the warm salt air, they added eggs to the recipe. The result was light and fluffy and the world’s first frozen custard. You can still buy it, from the same family, at boardwalks all along the mid-Atlantic.

Source: “Made in NYC,” City Guide, March 20, 2024

Contributed by Bobbie Roggemann

The Sissman Chronicles: How Hopalong Cassidy Got His Name

Hopalong Cassidy is one of the great cowboys of featured in long and short stories, as well as both the small and large screens. Since 1904, when he first became famous in print, cowboy experts the world over have been asking the same question: Where did Cassidy get such an unusual name? Researchers worldwide have sought the answer. Finally, someone has solved the mystery: Norman Sissman. 

How Hopalong Cassidy Got His First Name

Hopalong Cassidy

One of the major reasons lies in his heredity. His mother, Helen Alice Cassidy (note the similarity of her initials to his) had an eclectic taste in foods.  Two of her favorite dishes were sauteed frog legs and rabbit stew, which she consumed during her pregnancy with Hopalong.  Some of the genes from these animals, which controlled their ability to leap, entered her blood stream, and thus were transmitted to Hopalong.

 Soon after he learned to walk, it became apparent that he was especially agile on his feet. As a small boy, his favorite game was hop-scotch. Later his favorite way of helping his mother with her household chores was to carry a hopper of dirty clothes down to the basement to be put in the clothes washer.

Although Hopalong eventually became a cowboy, he was quite smart and attended Johns Hopkins University.  He studied both the literary and visual arts, and his favorites in these fields were the English poet Gerald Manley Hopkins and the American painter Edward Hopper.

As a mature man, he was noted for jumping to conclusions during discussions on such esoteric subjects as US laws regarding relations with the Hopi Indians. When others would not be convinced by his views, he would become hopping mad. But after years of therapy, Cassidy settled in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and started a touring business specializing in hop-on hop-off bus tours.

Note: Hopalong’s biography in Wikipedia states that his peculiar gait was caused by a gunshot wound to one of his legs.  But now we know this must be erroneous!

Made in NYC: 123 Brands, Trends, and Inventions That Began in the Big Apple

The First Text

By Mathew Benjamin Brady - Christies, Public Domain.

Samuel Morse of Morse Code fame sent the first ever text. It went from Greenwich Village on January 24, 1838, along a mile-long copper wire from Morse’s laboratory window and in and out of Washington Square Park. The message? Attention the Universe by kingdom’s right wheel, which has probably never been texted since.

Scrabble: Just a Little Game from Queens

Architect Alfred Mosher Butts came up with this iconic game in 1938, in Jackson Heights, Queens. Scrabble has gone from this humble beginnings to global domination—it’s available in more than 100 countries and can be found in half the homes in Britain.

The Curve Ball: A Baseball Innovation

The curveball was born in Brooklyn! Although in history and baseball no things are wholly linear, so there is some controversy over who gets the credit. Candy Cummings, a Brooklyn pitcher, often gets the nod, but there’s evidence to support “Phonney” Martin of the Brooklyn Eckfords and Fred Goldsmith, who demonstrated a curve at the Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn in 1870. Either way, Brooklyn is the city of record for one of the most iconic innovations in the game.

 Source: “Made in NYC,” City Guide, March 20, 2024

Contributed by Bobbie Roggemann

Art by Hart

Bobo wouldn’t have eaten the sweater if they’d served his dinner on time. (Just look at the clock for proof.)

Bugsy’s version of a luxury “SleepNumber” mattress gave Min sciatica and blueberry stains on her nightie

Gotham and the mermaid met in hydrotherapy

Brenner wished he had taken the elevator

Sadly, Barker’s well-coached dog paddle failed to qualify him for the junior swim team

Art and photos by Jane Hart

Out and About

Winter Break

Linda Mahoney and Hubert Herring traded in New York’s ice and cold for Hilton Head’s beaches. Good trade!

Hilton Head beach

Sea Pines Nature Preserve in Hilton Head, SC

Photos by Linda Mahoney

Kendal Trip to Usonia Historic District

A hearty band of Kendalites braved the cold for a tour of Pleasantville’s Usonia Historic District whose houses were designed by students of Frank Lloyd Wright. Three houses were designed by Wright himself. The group was able to tour one of the Wright-designed homes, still occupied by its original owner, 100-year-old Roland Reisley. He discussed Wright’s approach to home design, including details in his own house, such as angles, geometric shapes, horizontal lines, and large windows, using materials such as wood and stone.

The Trip

Welcome to Usonia, photo by Carolyn Reiss

Smallish and geometric shaped houses prevail, photo by Harry Bloomfeld

The People of the Trip

Roland Reisley standing in the living room of his Frank-Lloyd-Wright-designed home.

Photos by Harry Bloomfeld

Noted Features of Wright’s Designs

Wood and stone as materials, plus lots of large windows

Narrow hallways

The bathroom includes the geometric design features

Photos by Carolyn Reiss

I Didn't Know That

What Are Goosebumps?

Goosebumps, known in medical parlance as piloerection, are caused by contractions in small muscles that are connected to hair follicles. This creates a depression on the skin’s surface, resulting in the hairs standing upright. Its name comes from the resemblance of skin to that of a plucked bird.

It is believed that this is an inherited trait from our prehistoric ancestors. They had thicker coats of body hair, which created insulation and kept the body warm when stimulated. While our layer of body hair is too thin to make this insulation process effective, the muscle contraction and increased electrical activity does help to stimulate the body, which is why goosebumps that are caused by the cold go away when you warm up.

Goosebumps are also associated with a wide range of emotional situations. People talk about getting goosebumps when scared, or while listening to rousing songs or watching a high-stakes sporting event. Goosebumps can be triggered by the subconscious release of the testosterone hormone. When high levels of stress occur, whether positive or negative, testosterone is released to help in the fight-or-flight decision-making process. This cues goosebumps, and we start to feel our hair prick up.

Goosebumps may be a little mysterious, but generally speaking, when you feel them cropping up, all you need to do is take a deep breath, relax a little, and maybe put on a sweater.

Source: interestingfacts.com

Contributed by Jane Hart

Made in NYC: 123 Brands, Trends, and Inventions That Began in the Big Apple

Air Conditioning

The world would be inhabited in very different ways if not for air conditioning. The first place to ever employ it was Brooklyn’s own Sackett & Wilhelms Lithography and Printing Company, which is still standing in East Williamsburg. On July 17, 1902, engineer Willis Haviland Carrier designed the first AC, to help with the humidity issues that were throwing off the printers’ schedules. He succeeded, and the rest is cold-air history.

The Crossword Puzzle

On December 21, 1913, Arthur Wynne published the first crossword puzzle in the pages of the New York World. Although other word puzzles existed, Wynne’s version used several innovations that are easy to recognize in the form over a century later. Wynne called his invention a “Word-Cross Puzzle,” but a typesetting error reworked it as “Cross-Word,” as it’s been known ever since.

The World’s First Elevator

By Kenneth C. Zirkel - Own work

This SoHo building still stands, the site on March 23, 1857 of the world’s first passenger elevator. It was installed by a man with a familiar name—Elisha Graves Otis—who had been inspired to build the device by the challenges of lifting debris at the bedstead factory he managed in Yonkers. New York City, and every other city around the world, was forever changed by the innovation he brought to the Haughwout Emporium.

Source: “Made in NYC,” City Guide, March 20, 2024 Contributed by Bobbie Roggemann

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Photographs of life at Kendal on Hudson are by residents.