From Atlantic to Pacific

It was on August 15, 1915 that the first cargo ship, The Ancon, traveled between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans through the Panama Canal. This was two years ahead of the original scheduled completion date.

A Canal at this location had been envisioned across the narrow Isthmus of Panama as early as 1534 when Spain’s Charles V ordered a survey. Even before the canal’s completion the area was used as an overland trade route, helped greatly when a railroad path was completed in 1855.

Beginning in 1904 and under the leadership of the United States work began on the canal after Panama’s ambassador to the United States, signed the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty, granting rights to the United States to build and indefinitely administer the Panama Canal. In 1977 the United States turned control of the canal back to Panama.

A few times before the completion on 1914 work on building a canal was performed, but each time disease was terrible and construction ceased including nearly a decade of construction by the French from 1881 to 1889. By the end of the 19th century medicine had improved and diseases such as malaria and yellow fever were more controlled. As many as 22,000 workers are estimated to have died during the main period of French construction period where only 5,609 workers died during the American construction period (1904–1914).

Tolls for the canal are decided by the Panama Canal Authority. Cargo ship’s toll is based on the ship’s capacity expressed in twenty-foot equivalent units or TEUs. As of 2007 the toll is $54 per TEU. Other vessels’ toll are based upon their length beginning at $500 for a vessel under 50 feet to $1,500 for those over 100ft. The largest toll ever was $331,200 on May 16, 2008 to the 964-foot (295-meter) Disney Magic cruise liner. The smallest was paid by American adventurer Richard Halliburton who swam the canal in 1928 for 36 cents.

The canal is currently going through an estimated 6 Billion Dollar expansion phase that will build additional Locks which will allow the canal to increase traffic from 280 million PC/UMS tons in 2005 to nearly 510 million PC/UMS tons in 2025.

Hangings

Hangings as a form of capital punishment by suspension of a person by a cord wrapped around the neck causing death, first occurred in the Persian Empire about 2500 years ago.

There are 4 methods of judicial hanging.
1) The short drop, placing the condemned on the back of a cart, horse or other vehicle and have the vehicle moved away leaving the condemned hanging. This was commonly used prior to 1850.
2) Suspension drop, where the noose is raised once the condemned is in place.
3) Standard drop, the condemned is dropped 4 to 6 feet.
4) Long Drop, similar to the standard drop only the drop is determined by the condemned weigh.

In the United States only the states of Washington and New Hampshire retain hanging as an option. The state of Delaware still allow hangings to those convicted prior to 1996 and sentenced to hang and those are allowed a choice of hanging or lethal injection.

The last public hanging in the United States was of Rainey Bethea, a black 26 year old male who confessed to the rape and murder of a 70 year old white woman, was hanged on August 14, 1936 in Owensboro, Kentucky. The last US hanging was on January 25, 1996 when Delaware hanged Billy Bailey, who was convicted of murder.

On the day after Christmas 1862, 38 Dakota Sioux were simultaneously hanged. These men were convicted of murder and rape in the Sioux uprising. This is the largest single execution in the United States.

Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, was executed by hanging after being sentence to death for crimes against humanity. His trial was performed by The Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal, a special court established outside the normal Iraqi judicial system. It had one purpose to bring Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime to justice.

Ruth and 500

The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians were playing a ball game in Cleveland on August 11, 1929. In the game Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig hit home runs. For Gehrig it was his 27th of the season. For Ruth it was his 500th in his career, becoming the first person to reach a career mark of 500.

Both Home Runs were solo shots. For Gehrig it was his only hit of the game. Ruth went 2 for 4 that day, scoring 2.

Even with their home runs, the Yankees lost that day by a score of 6 – 5. Cleveland’s pitcher Willis Hudlin pitched a complete game.

Once when asked if he had a superstition he said, “Just one. Whenever I hit a home run, I make certain I touch all four bases.”

Ruth’s home run was hit out of the ballpark onto Lexington Avenue. Upon hearing Ruth say that he would have liked to have the ball Detective H.C. Folger went to look for it. He found the boy who had it, bringing him to Ruth. The ball was exchanged for an autograph and a 20 dollar bill.

1929 was the first year in which the Yankees began to use uniform numbers regularly. They were the first team to do so, although in 1916 the Cleveland Indians used number briefly. Since Ruth batted 3rd in the lineup, he was issued assigned number 3.

Smile, It’s Candid Camera

Allen Funt was born on September 16, 1914. Beginning in the 1940′s and until the 1980s as a regular show or in a series of specials, his famous show, Candid Camera was produced.

Funt came up with his idea of recording ordinary people in unusual situations in the 1940s and began on radio as Candid Microphone. The radio program premiered on Jun 28, 1947. Funt, during World War II, assisted in recording soldiers sending message home. He discovered that many times the soldiers were more relaxed when doing a rehearsal than when recording. There was a light that indicated that the recording was taking place so Funt began recording the rehearsals while the light was off.

It wasn’t too long before he moved the concept from recorded audio to recorded pictures and moved the show to television. The first televised broadcast of Candid Camera began on August 10, 1948.

The two shows, Candid Microphone and Candid Camera ran at the same time from Candid Camera‘s premiere until the last Candid Microphone‘s broadcast on August 29, 1950.

In the 1960s and 1970s Candid Camera made a set of adult-oriented features. In 1970 Funt made a reality film based on this concept called What Do You Say to a Naked lady?

Funt was still producing and hosting Candid Camera segments when he suffered a stroke in 1993. His son Peter Funt then took over the show. Funt never fully recovered from the stroke and he died on September 5, 1999.

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Originally published on 6 Things to Consider – 6ThingsToConsider.com

Favorite Songs

My favorite songs.

Colour My World – Chicago
This is a favorite of many since during the 70s and even today many proms have used this as their theme, and weddings and the song for the first dance. It’s a great song alone, but it’s often played by the group as part of James Pankow’s Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon song cycle/suite. It was twice released as part of a single. Both times as B sides. First in 1970 with Make Me Smile, the first song in the suite, and then in 1971 with Beginnings.

Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who
I was still listening to AM radio when I first heard this song. All I knew for the first few months was the 3 and half minute single release. It wasn’t until a friend told me that it was much longer on the album Who’s Next. I was in love with the short version and blown away with the full version. Part of the song now can be heard as the Theme for CBS’s CS: Miami.

I thought I would add a Christmas seasonal song on the list, but I really could decide between three. Version doesn’t really matter. Those three are White Christmas, most popular version being Bing’s Crosby, I’ll be Home for Christmas and The Christmas Song.

Over the Rainbow – Judy Garland
I have always been a big fan of movies and of course when I was growing up one of the movies we all seem to wait for to play on the TV each year was the Wizard of OZ.

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Also published on 6 Things to Consider – 6ThingsToConsider.com