AMAC
Have we all been suckers for environmental marketing or are electric cars really the savior that will convert Earth into a utopia of unworldly efficiency? Electric vehicles — or EVs — run off motors powered by magnetic components that rely heavily on rare earth minerals, but this raises concern because they are extremely expensive, require invasive mining, and produce excessive waste — not to mention their primary source is none other than China. Firefighters have even begun to question the safety of arriving at the scene of an EV-related fire. The amount of water needed to minimize the flames are 10 times greater than regular cars with some taking over 20 hours to fully extinguish. But the world will begin to adopt this renowned method of transportation and all we can do is sit back, ask questions, and remain aware of what good or harm may come of them. Are Electric Cars Really Better for the Environment?
TV– Dinners: How They Fed Us, Shaped Us, and Changed Us
We just made the transition from radio shows to television, the pattern of our clothes had recently been displayed on the curtain rod, and our dinners are sponsored by Swanson. Can you guess the year? It’s 1954 — the year of many trends, but although we may not know how drapes became everyone’s attire, we do know the origin of the infamous TV Dinner. These dinners were envisioned by a salesman who played damage control after a fellow associate at Swanson made a horrific mistake in overestimating the amount of Turkeys Amer- icans would consume in the November of 1953. This miscalcula- tion left the company with roughly 260 tons of frozen Turkeys packed in refrigerated cargo trains with nowhere to go. But the heroic salesman, Gerry Thomas, had an epiphany inspired by pre-prepared airline meals and purchased 5,000 aluminum trays. In a romance of Turkey meets Tray or Tray meets Turkey, guided by the fate of factory workers who packaged the items alongside gravy, sweet potatoes, peas, and cornbread — the delicious TV Dinner was born! After the dinners were assembled, Swanson held its breath, fearful that America would resist their uncon- ventional presentation of a meal priced at 98 cents. But in an era of women married to working-class men who wanted to make sure a meal was hot and ready by the time they stepped through the door; Swanson sold a whopping 10 million turkey dinners by the end of 1954. Though the word “TV” was soon dropped from the labels, we will always appreciate the miscalculation of one associate who fed the appetite of an entire country for generations to come.
Have You Heard of the ‘New’ Sport Sweeping the Nation?
The year is 1965 and three Dads in Bainbridge Island, Wash- ington, want to play a sport that is social, fun, and requires no training or strains on the body. They combine their beloved activities — ping pong, tennis, and badminton — and create a completely original sport called Pickleball! It took a mere decade after they traded badminton rackets for ping pong paddles and a birdie for a whiffle ball — for the sport to make its first magazine debut. After that, in 1976, the first tournament was held in Washington, and now the USA Pick- leball membership reached its largest growth within one year at a whopping 43 percent increase. So why not join a team or create a team of your own? This indoor/outdoor sport can be enjoyed by anyone, anytime, and anywhere!
Ċ0 • AMAC Magazine
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