Currently browsing: Americana
Americana means different things to different folks. Here at Great American Things, it means cool stuff that doesn’t fit into any other category. I guess we could have called it Miscellaneous, but “Great Miscellaneous Things” doesn’t tell you much, does it?
Kid Stuff: View-Master
The stereoscope, a way of viewing 3-D images, wasn’t a new thing when View-Master began producing its first viewers and disks. So...
Read MoreAmericana: Albuquerque International Balloon Festival
They say it’s the most-photographed event in the world, and that wouldn’t surprise me. Every once in a while a hot-air balloon...
Read MoreAmericana: Ringling Brothers Circus
My header isn’t big enough for the full name: Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. If you think that’s long, look...
Read MoreKid Stuff: Crayola Crayons
The chemical company Binney & Smith muddled along during the late 19th century, making shoe polish, printing ink, and stuff. Around the...
Read MoreAmericana: USS Enterprise
I can still remember when the Enterprise was launched at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. Even though I was just a kid (it was...
Read MoreKid Stuff: Charlotte’s Web
Isn’t it strange how one writer can produce works in several vastly different genres? E.B. White was a humorist (he co-wrote a parody...
Read MoreAmericana: Big Boy Restaurants
No matter where you live in the U.S., you probably had a franchise of Big Boy near you. Where I grew up it was Shoney’s Big Boy, lots...
Read MoreAmericana: Carnegie Hall
Two blocks south of Central Park on Seventh Ave. you’ll find one of the world’s premier concert halls. Funded, as the name...
Read MoreAmericana: Louisville Slugger
J. Fred Hillerich of Louisville, Kentucky, wanted nothing to do with baseball bats. On that, everyone agrees. He focused his woodworking...
Read MoreKid Stuff: Scrabble
Scrabble follows the pattern of a lot of board games. Invented by a creative mind. Failed to be sold to a major manufacturer. Creator keeps...
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