FEBRUARY 26, 1961

Full News Archive

• Headline: Electronics Industry Thrives During Recession. Impact: The electronics boom not only saved the industry from recession but also indirectly led to the creation of the first home video game console in the 1970s. Imagine a world where kids were forced to play outside instead of mastering Mario. Scary, right?. Fact: In 1961, you could buy a transistor radio for about $20. Today, you can get a fancy smartphone that makes calls, takes photos, and tells you when to eat kale..
• Headline: Atom Works Dispute and Plutonium Output. Impact: The atomic trades dispute not only threatened plutonium output but also resulted in an increase in the demand for radioactive-themed merchandise. Who knew glowing keychains would be a thing?. Fact: Plutonium was so precious that it was once used as a form of currency in some secretive circles. I guess that explains the popularity of 'nuclear' pizza!.
• Headline: Auto Tire Shipments Set Record Last Year. Impact: Auto tire shipments hitting record numbers foreshadowed the day when people would start hoarding tires like toilet paper during a pandemic. Who knew rubber could become the new gold?. Fact: 105,799,261 tires shipped means that if you stacked them all, you'd create a tower higher than your hopes and dreams..
• Headline: BRITONS EXPOUND LIGHTNING THEORY; 2 Meteorologists Tell Royal Society Their Explanation of Separation of Charges. Impact: The lightning theory presented by Britons could have sparked a series of superhero origin stories if only they had added a pinch of radioactive spider to the mix. Instead, we just got more thunderstorms.. Fact: The theory of lightning separation is so enlightening that it could have probably passed for a TED Talk today, complete with inspirational music..
• Headline: AIR UNIONIST ASKS BARGAINING SHIFT; Head of Flight Engineers Wants Negotiations to Be on Industry-Wide Basis. Impact: An industry-wide bargaining shift could have led to collective bargaining for all professions, including mime artists and interpretive dancers. Just imagine the chaos!. Fact: Negotiating on an industry-wide basis sounds great until you realize it includes negotiations for the worst jobs, like 'professional line stander.'.
• Headline: Insurers Turning To Vending Devices; VENDING DEVICES SELL INSURANCE. Impact: The rise of vending machines selling insurance may have sparked the idea for today's subscription services where you can get everything from meal kits to artisanal pickles delivered to your door.. Fact: Who needs a financial advisor when you can just insert a quarter into a machine and get insurance? The future is now!.
• Headline: PROUD MEN IN AN AGE OF CONFORMITY; Dos Passos' New Novel of Our Own Time Mingles Fiction, Biography and History MIDCENTURY. By John Dos Passos. 496 pp. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. $5.95. Proud Men. Impact: Dos Passos' novel intertwining fiction, biography, and history could have led future authors to think they could just mash up genres and still win awards. Thanks for the chaos, John!. Fact: The book's title 'Proud Men' highlights the irony that a lot of proud men have often been wrong, but hey, at least they were proud, right?.
• Headline: President to Defer Mideast Peace Bid; KENNEDY DEFERS MOVE ON MIDEAST. Impact: Kennedy deferring his Mideast peace bid could be seen as the butterfly that flapped its wings, leading to decades of complicated geopolitics and the rise of numerous conspiracy theories about his true intentions.. Fact: You know things are complicated when even the attempts for peace sound like they're being delayed by an overbooked calendar..
• Headline: MISSION HOSPITAL OPEN; Sisters' Order Starts a 50-Bed Unit in South Vietnam. Impact: The opening of a mission hospital in South Vietnam might have altered the course of healthcare in war-torn regions, proving that even in conflict, compassion can introduce a glimmer of hope.. Fact: The Sisters' Order had the right idea; they opened a hospital when most people were just trying to figure out how to dodge bullets..