Day Tripping: May 1

Stamps, skyscrapers, and cinema classics

Stick Out Your Tongue

The world’s first adhesive stamp was issued in the UK in 1840. The Penny Black stamp which featured a profile of Queen Victoria had a print run of 286.700 sheets. In all, more than 68 million of the glued-back stamps were put into circulation.

Marking the first instance of pre-paid postage, initiated the delivery of letters for the same price regardless of distance travelled. Before the Penny Black revolutionized mail service, postage was paid at the point of delivery which made the service expensive and difficult to work with.

A Perch For Kong

After thirteen months of construction, the world’s tallest building at the time, the Empire State Building was opened to the public in 1931. The 1450 foot structure was built with remarkable speed given the availability of labour during the Depression Era. The initial intent for the 102nd floor was to be a passenger boarding platform for airships or zeppelins that were prevalent during the era.

Though the Empire State Building enjoyed massive appeal after opening, the building did not see a profit until the 1950s. It remained the world’s tallest building until 1970 when it was surpassed by the World Trade Center towers.

A Rosebud By Any Other Name

Despite consistent efforts by William Randolph Hearst to block it from seeing the light of day, Citizen Kane, Orson Welles’ epic tale of a newspaper magnate’s troubled life, premieres at the Palace Theater in New York City. The first feature film by the star, co-writer, and director of what is now considered the greatest motion picture of all time, very nearly never made publication because of Heart’s lawsuits.

So incensed was the newspaper baron about the film’s subject hitting too close to home, Hearst insisted that no advertisements for Citizen Kane would appear in any of his publications.

Musical Milestones

James Brown appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1966 and brings his own band which is unusual for a solo performer. With his own musicians behind him, the King of Soul is able to put on his classic show, complete with the cape, collapsing on stage, and being revived by his band members.

Narratives

Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s dark knight creation, Batman first appears in Detective Comics issue #27 in 1939. The story called The Case of the Chemical Syndicate became so popular, Batman got his own series a year later.

Remembrance

At the San Marino Grand Prix race at Imola, Italy, three-time Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna met his tragic end in 1994 when his Williams team race car crashed head-on into a concrete retaining wall at over 250km per hour.

Prior to the race that day, Senna and teammate Alain Prost were discussing the reinstatement of a driver’s union, because of their concerns for driver safety with the league's recent banning of safety features in cars, like ABS brakes and traction control.

Notable Births

1923 — Author of Catch-22, Joseph Heller

1969 — A filmmaker known for eccentric storytelling, Wes Anderson

K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster Nora Thewriteyard

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