You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

[Lynn]

I am not a Ferd guy, but the 69 - 70 fastback is still the best looking Mustang they ever made. Screwed the pooch in 71.

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]

1796: The World’s First Department Store Opens. The title for the world's first department store likely belongs to Harding, Howell & Co's Grand Fashionable Magazine shop in London, which appealed to fashionable women with the novel idea of offering four separate departments within the same store. This ability to offer more diverse merchandise was the result of the cheap labor and increased productivity sparked by the Industrial Revolution.

[Lee Stewart]

1851: The Crystal Palace Opens. An early iteration of the modern mall came with the opening of London's Crystal Palace, which was created to showcase consumer goods from around the globe. The structure was designed to showcase the scope of the British Empire but instead served as a blueprint for the massive indoor malls that gained in popularity over the following centuries.

[Lee Stewart]

1930: The First Supermarket Opens. King Kullen in Queens, New York, lays claim to the title of the nation's first supermarket, opened by former Kroger employee Michael J. Cullen. Cullen pitched his idea for "monstrous stores with plenty of parking space" in a letter to Kroger's vice president that went unanswered, leaving him to build it himself.

[Lee Stewart]

1956: Interstates Unite America. Inspired by the German autobahns he saw in World War II, President Eisenhower oversaw the development of a $130 billion interstate highway network that connected Americans more than ever before. Thousands were employed to build and maintain the new roads, which facilitated the development of new suburbs while increasing commerce and travel between states.

[Lee Stewart]

1957: The First Japanese Car Sells in the US. The fledgling Toyota Motor Corp. took advantage of a late-'50s lull in the American economy to introduce the Toyopet Crown, a smaller alternative to the gas-guzzling American muscle cars popular at the time. American companies hoped consumers would continue buying their brands out of patriotism, but soon changed many standards to meet those of their Asian competitors.

[Lee Stewart]

1958: Bank of America Introduces the Credit Card. Companies had been granting credit long before the BankAmericard was launched in Fresno, California, but this was the first time a card would be accepted by a large number of third-party sellers. The postwar reliance on credit had begun, causing both periods of economic boom and massive consumer debt.

[Lee Stewart]

[Crush]

Man that was a great show! Use to watch it all the time.