MAY 6 — 1937 Hindenburg Pt 1: Explosion in New Jersey; 1940 Grapes of Wrath wins Pulitzer; 2016 Anaheim Angel fans break record for world’s most selfies snapped
MAY 6
What are the top ten television series finales of all time?
…Not season finales, series finales. That’s the very last espied. I’ll get to that here in just a bit.
1937-The airship era comes to an end as the Hindenburg explodes in New Jersey.
…So what is an airship. It’s an airliner that provided the fastest and most comfortable way to get from Europe to North America. Made in Germany, the Graf Zeppelin that was used was 760 feet long and required over 5M cubic feet of hydrogen to lift it. However in October 1930 there was a hydrogen fire which killed the passengers and crew onboard. So the Zeppelin Company started to use helium instead. The problem with helium is that it’s heavier than hydrogen so the airship has to be bigger than a hydrogen airship to carry the same amount of people.
The result product was the Hindenburg, which was over 800 feet long and contained over 7M cubic feet of hydrogen. Remember, we’re talking Germany now in the 1930’s so it had Nazi financing. It was also a large symbol of German pride. Up to 1937, millions of passengers travel on commercial zeppelins, more than 2,000 flights without incident. These things were beautiful on the inside. They had elegant dining rooms, an aluminum piano in a modern lounge, passengers slept in comfortable cabins, and it even had a smoking room.
All this right underneath 7M cubic feet of helium gas. On May 3, the Hindenburg left Frankfurt with 36 passengers and 61 officers, crew members, and trainees, and was the airship’s 63rd flight. On May 6th it had reached Naval Air Station at Lakehurst New Jersey around 7pm. There apparently we an electrostatic discharge that ignited leaking hydrogen, and the ensuing fire rapidly started spreading. The airliner was close enough to the ground that passengers and crew could jump out and were mostly okay except for some broken bones, but next thing you know BOOM! Airliner travel had effectively come to an end.
This was broadcasted by WLS radio, and announcer Herbert Morrison gave an unforgettable traumatic live account of the disaster which killed 36 people. So much for that Nazi pride.
1940-Grapes of Wrath wins a Pulitzer.
…What a depressing book that was. Probably cuz it was written about the Depression. John Steinbeck wrote one of America’s most important novels about the Joad family from Oklahoma who dealt with severe economic hardship. Lack of food was also a big problem since bank foreclosures had taken its toll on the agricultural industry.
…If that weren’t enough, the Joads were trapped in the Dust Bowl, so they took off to California with other Okies as they were called to look for a future, a job, and some dignity. I’ve heard that Steven Spielberg is planning to direct a movie based on the book for DreamWorks.
2016 thousands take pictures with selfie sticks.
A world record was made during a game between the Anaheim Angels and Tampa Bay Rays. No, it wasn’t set by the Angels; in fact the Angels would lose the game. It was set by the fans. During a pause in the game, which took place in Anaheim, 2,121 people took pictures of themselves with selfie sticks, and that was enough to enter that in the Guinness Book of World Records. USA! USA! USA!
2004-The final episode of Friends.
…How you doin. I never understood how all these young people seem to not work and yet have huge apartments in New York. At any rate, 51M viewers tuned in to watch what would become the fifth most popular series finale in history. Speaking of top ten TV finales: The top ten are as follows: 10. Home Improvement, #9, family Ties, #8 All in the Family, #7, The Cosby Show, #6Magnum PI, #5 Friends, #4 Seinfeld, #3 The Fugitive, #2 Cheer and #1, MASH.
You thought I was going to say Breaking Bad, didn’t you