Dresden Plate

 

Almon Brown Strowger was an undertaker in Kansas City, Missouri in the late 1800’s. As the story goes, his business was doing poorly. Almon suspected it was because the wife of the town’s other undertaker was a telephone operator. In those days, telephones didn’t have dials. To make a call, you’d pick up the receiver and tell the operator the party you wanted, and you’d be physically connected. Almon was convinced whenever anyone asked to speak with an undertaker, they’d be connected to his competition. Complaints to the phone company were ignored, so Almon took matters into his own hands. He invented the automatic telephone exchange and the rotary dial. Almon formed the Strowger Automatic Telephone Exchange Company in 1892, with a capacity of 99 subscribers. If you were one of them, you could direct dial any of the other 98. A far cry from being able to pick up a phone and call anyone in the world!

Brown String Block

 

“In our last general conference, I spoke about prayer. I’d had a near death experience. For four weeks I was somewhere with a foot in another world. The lessons I was given there and in effect told to take back to the church were ‘Pray more than you pray.’ I thought I prayed almost all the time. But the lesson was, ‘Pray more than you pray. However much you’ve prayed, pray more. In however many places you’ve prayed, pray in more places. However many times during the day you pray, pray more times in the day.’ It started to give meaning to me – an overwhelming meaning – that it really was quite literal when God said, ‘Pray always.’ I took it to be part of the hastening of the work, the hastening of family history, missionary work, and every aspect of our work. The other lesson was to testify; to be a witness. However much you testify, testify more.” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

New Spruce

 

In 1945, Ali Ahmed Aslam was born in a small town in what is now Pakistan. Before he was a teenager, Ali’s family moved to Glasgow. His father opened the Green Gates, Scotland’s first Indian restaurant. In 1964, Ali opened his own restaurant, the Shish Mahal. Sometime in the 1970’s, a customer complained about their chicken tikka, saying, “I’d take some sauce with that; this is a bit dry.” So, Ali whipped up a sauce using canned tomato soup, yogurt, cream, and garam masala. Chicken tikka masala is about as Indian as chop suey and fortune cookies are Chinese. But Ali wasn’t cooking for Indians. Having grown up in Great Britain, he knew exactly how to suit British palates. His recipe very quickly became Britain’s favorite curry. Ali died in 2022 at the age of 77. He is fondly remembered for his love of Glasgow, for his charity work, and for his most famous recipe.

Blue String Block

 

Take a good look at the nearest zipper. Chances are, the zipper pull is engraved with the letters YKK. YKK stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha which roughly translates to Yoshida Company Limited. When Todao Yoshida was twenty, he worked for a trading company that went bankrupt. The owner gave Todao the remains of the business, which included a small concern that manufactured zippers. After visiting his zipper factory, Todao came up with several ways to improve the process. He began designing his own zipper construction machines. In 1938 Todao built a larger zipper factory in Tokyo. After WWII, YKK began producing zippers and other fasteners like snaps and buttons overseas. As the company grew, it brought every step of manufacturing in-house, including smelting brass and dyeing cloth. Today, YKK is the largest zipper manufacturer in the world. Todao Yoshida believed that no one prospers without rendering benefit to others, and his company still reflects those values. 

Whirling Pinwheel

 

There once were seven siblings from Casarsa in northern Italy: Giocondo, Frank, Rachele, Candido, Joseph, Gelindo and Valeriano. Their last name was Iacuzzi, but when two brothers emigrated to the U.S. in 1907, an immigration clerk accidentally changed their name to Jacuzzi. By 1910, all seven siblings (and other relatives) had come over from Italy. They formed a machining company, and made propellers for American aircraft in World War I. In the 40’s, Candido Jacuzzi had a son who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. One treatment that seemed to help was a hydrotherapy tank at the Herrick Hospital in Berkeley, California. To give his son relief between hospital visits, Candido developed a portable pump that could turn any bathtub into a spa. In 1968, Roy, a third-generation Jacuzzi, invented a whirlpool bath with jets to mix air and water. I can testify these spas work better on R.A. than any pill. And the only side effect is pruney fingers.

Bowdacious

 

Having a routine is a comfort. It can help you feel in control and reduce stress. Routines are important for all of us, but especially for individuals with Down Syndrome. For Christina Cavanaugh, a young Pocatello woman with Down Syndrome, renting from the local video store has been part of her routine for more than fifteen years. Christina’s almost nonverbal, but she loves to select a film – usually a Disney – take it home to watch it, and return it. But video rental shops have all disappeared, driven out of business by streaming services. The last one, Video Stop, shut down last month. The owner, David Kraning, liquidated most of the videos, but kept the ones Christina loves most. You can find them in a quiet corner of his adjacent convenience store, K & B Kwik Stop. Christina’s mother is beyond grateful. “How can your heart not melt when you see people in the community taking care of each other?”

Mexicali Rose

 

The following ad appeared in the Atlanta Journal: "SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship. Ethnicity not important. I'm a very good looking girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, and cozy nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. When you get home from work, I'll be at the door wearing only what nature gave me. Call (404) 555-XXXX and ask for Daisy." Over 1500 men called and found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society about an eight-week-old Labrador Retriever.

UPDATE: The Atlanta Humane Society says they've been  getting calls about this ad nearly every week for years. Katherine Christensen, their public relations manager, says, "We never placed that ad."