50 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Chicago.

1. Spray paint was invented in Chicago in 1949.

2. Chicago River is the only river in the world that flows backward.

3. Chicago is home to Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the world’s last free zoos.

4. The Art Institute of Chicago holds the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside the Louvre in Paris.

5. The first blood bank in the United States was created in Chicago in 1937.

6. Chicago’s Western Avenue is the world’s longest continuous street, at 23.5 miles.

7. Chicago is home to the world’s largest free outdoor food festival, the Taste of Chicago.

8. An average of 35 million visitors flock to Chicago each year.

9. The Chicago Public Library was created directly from the ashes of the great Chicago Fire in 1871.

10. Chicago was technically the birthplace of soap operas.

11. Shedd Aquarium is home to the oldest aquatic animal in a public aquarium in the world, an Australian lungfish named Granddad, who is at least 85 years old.

12. The first Playboy Mansion was in Chicago.

13. And Hugh Hefner started the publication of Playboy in Chicago in 1953.

14. The zipper was invented in Chicago in 1851.

15. The Ferris wheel was also invented in Chicago in 1893.

16. Ebony magazine began publication in Chicago in 1945.

17.  The Twinkie was invented in Chicago in 1930.

18. Chicago resident Jane Addams, founder of the Hull House, was the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.

19. The movie I-Robot was filmed in Chicago.

20. And Gotham City from Batman was based largely off of Chicago.

21. In fact, Gotham City license plates were designed to look like Illinois 
plates so that they would be consistent with other plates while filming car-chase scenes in the city.

22. The first  all-color TV station made its debut in Chicago in 1956.

23. The vacuum cleaner was invented in Chicago in 1868.

24. Chicago invented the deep-dish pizza.

25. Chicago is the home of the first black president of the United States, Barack Obama.

26. Four states are visible from the top of the Willis Tower (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin).

27.  The first televised U.S. presidential debate was broadcast from Chicago’s CBS Studios on Sept. 26, 1960, between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

28. Chicago is home to 552 parks.

29. Chicago has 15 miles of bathing beaches.

30. Chicago is home to 11 Fortune  500 companies.

31. Historic Route 66 began in Chicago.

32. Walt Disney was born in Chicago.

33. In 1885, Chicago became home to the first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, which was originally nine stories tall.

34. In 1779, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a Haitian immigrant, built 
the first permanent settlement in what would be Chicago near the present 
Michigan Avenue Bridge on the north bank.

35. The four stars on the Chicago flag represent Fort Dearborn, the 
Chicago fire, the World’s Columbian Exposition, and the Century of Progress Exposition.

36. Nancy Green, the first spokesperson for Aunt Jemima syrup, was introduced 
to the public for the first time in Chicago.

37. The first animal purchased for the Lincoln Park Zoo was a bear cub, bought for $10 in 1874.

38. Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (PBR) was first introduced during the 1893 Colombian Exposition, also known as the 1893 World’s Fair, which was held in Chicago.

39. Cracker Jacks were also introduced during the 1893 Chicago fair.

40. In 1895, the first automobile race ever seen in the United States was held in Chicago.

41. The first Rotary Club in America was founded in Chicago.

42. Chicago is known as the home of baton  twirling. This is because the first baton-twirling contest was held as part of the Chicagoland Music Festival in 1935.

43. The Wrigley Building was the first air-conditioned office building.

44. The first McDonald’s franchise restaurant, owned by Ray Kroc, opened in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines in 1955.

45. The longest MLB game to ever be played was in 1984 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Chicago White Sox defeated the Milwaukee Brewers after 25 innings.

46. Chicago inventor Martin Cooper invented the first cell phone.

47. In 1924, the first gay rights group in the U.S. was created in Chicago.

48. The first form of softball was invented in Chicago.

49. In 1893, the first open heart surgery in the United States was performed in Chicago.

50. In 1960, the first Playboy Club to feature bunnies opened in Chicago.

BRAZIL 2014 A VORTEX OF FEELINGS, PASSIONS, JOYS AND HOPES.

By Pedro G. Garcia.

 

Every four years the world spins around a soccer ball. National Soccer Teams from all over the planet begin their journey to the final voyage, the World Cup. This year, this worldwide television event is happening in Brazil.  32 teams divided in 8 groups are struggling to beat one another to become the best of all.

During these tournaments, we can always see three different types of contestants, the “Contenders”, among them we find teams like Brazil, Germany, Spain, Argentina, The Netherlands and Italy; these teams are considered the ones that are going to be fighting to the end to become World Champions.

The “participants”, here we find teams willing to have a good tournament by reaching for their best historical participation, among them we have Colombia, United States, Nigeria, Slovakia, Portugal and Ecuador.

There are also teams which are considered as “guests”, these are teams which have succeeded by just reaching a spot to the final 32 teams. Here we find teams like Australia, Honduras, Greece, Iran and Argelia. Their final purpose for these teams is to enjoy the experience and to seek for their best participation ever, along with a proud performance.

The case of the National Team of Mexico is different from the rest of the teams. Even though Mexico has never played a fifth game during a World Cup and even though it is not considered to be among the Main Figures, the fans, the ones in Mexico and the ones abroad, the journalists, the members of the Mexican Soccer Federation, coaches and players, keep on believing that “the current World Cup, is Mexico’s World Cup”; it does not matter that the previous round, the qualifying round is always a disaster. Mexico’s qualifying round for Brazil 2014 involved a “play off” against New Zealand, four coaches and over 150 players that were “tried” to see if they had what is needed to be at the World cup.

No matter who the coach is nor the players involved, Mexico’s National Team keeps on “suffering” to pass the qualification round, but it doesn’t matter, the fans are always there to support the team. Historically Mexico has always suffered when trying to qualify and that is so, that it has even been “eliminated” from 2 World Cups in the past (Germany 1974 and Spain 1982), but the faith of its fans never decreases. Mexican fans no matter what, are there to support their National Team even though probabilities are against them and even if the team is full of “divas” who are more interested in their personal promotion than playing with their heart and soul.

Every four years, speculation surrounds the World Cup, whether people talk about a player or about a team. For Brazil 2014 there are two main speculations, in one side, the “ghost” of the Brazilian tragedy, known as “Maracanazo”, keeps on “prowling” the environment. Experts, former coaches, former players, sport casters, Shamans and people in general are always “remembering” the disappointment suffered by the Brazilians when their National Soccer Team lost the title against Uruguay during World Cup held in Brazil back in 1950. The speculation rises as people talk about the event because they want to know if Brazil’s National Team is going to be able to overcome the “Maracanazo ghost” and become World Champions for the sixth timenow as hosts.

On the other hand, people are always speculating who the MVP is going to be; everybody wonders whether if Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar or somebody else is going to stand out as the best player of the tournament. The theories are based not in their real possibilities of standing out because their personal performance or their teams but in the likes of the fans; people just cheer up for whom they consider is the best player and they want to see him as the best.

The expectation about the teams and players, beyond the numbers, the statistics, the qualities and skills of the players or teams it is always linked to the personal desire of the fan , it is not base on real data but in the feelings of each one of the individuals who is sharing their opinion.

Therefore, when the time arrives for the soccer ball to roll, the teams will begin an odyssey towards the championship while the fans will go on their own pub-crawl of anguish and disappointment as the tournament advances and teams begin being eliminated.

At the end, no matter if your team advances or if it is eliminated in the first round, soccer fans always find an “alternative” team for which to feel affinity once your team is eliminated from the competition. Will Brazil be the team for Mexican fans as it has been at the World Cups since Mexico 70 or will it be a new team once the Tri (Three-Colored Team as it is known in Mexico) is eliminated? Taking in account that Mexico participates in the same group as the host and a defeat against the Verde Amarella, which is contemplated as granted could be the nail which will finally seals the coffin and therefore Mexican fans will blame Brazil for the teams elimination. All these doubts and speculations will have an answer at the end of the Championship match which will be held between the best two teams of the tournament on July 13^th 2014.