Day: May 24, 2024

2024 · National Day Calendar · Texas

National Road Trip Day 2024 🛣

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A road trip to San Antonio, Texas in 2016

National Road Trip Day became an official holiday in 2019, thanks to Pilot Flying J, the largest travel center operator in North America. They chose the Friday before Memorial Day because of the long weekend ahead and, with May being the start of summer, it kickstarts the travel season, too. Since travel stories are ingrained into the very history of America, with wagon trains heading out West in the 1840s and Native Americans exploring the country long before that — it makes sense to observe a day that celebrates travel by road.

The first recorded road trip across the U.S. began in 1903 with a bet. Someone bet Horatio Nelson Jackson (a physician and automobile pioneer) that he could not travel from San Francisco to New York City in less than 90 days. Accompanied by mechanic Sewall K. Crocker, and a dog named Bud, they set off in a 20-horsepower Winston to prove them wrong. Despite numerous mishaps, Jackson and Crocker completed the trip in 63 days.

By the 1930s, the famous Route 66 opened America up for cross-country travel. Many began to migrate West, while others took to the road for vacations. By the 1950s, America was the world’s largest car manufacturer, and nearly 75% of American families owned a car, which became a symbol of American pop culture. Road trips became the typical holiday of the American middle classes, leading to a boom in drive-ins and roadside motel businesses, too. Hippies in the ’60s then converted the road trip into a full-blown lifestyle, turning vans and buses into homes on wheels.

In the ’80s and ’90s, road travel dipped with the rise of air travel but, today, the road trip still has a special charm of its own. The ‘Great American Road Trip’ stands for the freedom and adventure that only the road can bring!

Resource: https://nationaltoday.com/national-road-trip-day/

2024 · New York

The New York Brooklyn Bridge’s 141st Anniversary

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The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and a deck 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water. The span was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge or the East River Bridge but was officially renamed the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915.

Proposals for a bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn were first made in the early 19th century, which eventually led to the construction of the current span, designed by John A. Roebling. The project’s chief engineer, his son Washington Roebling, contributed further design work, assisted by the latter’s wife, Emily Warren Roebling. Construction started in 1870, with the Tammany Hall-controlled New York Bridge Company overseeing construction, although numerous controversies and the novelty of the design prolonged the project over thirteen years. After opening, the Brooklyn Bridge underwent several reconfigurations, having carried horse-drawn vehicles and elevated railway lines until 1950. To alleviate increasing traffic flows, additional bridges and tunnels were built across the East River. Following gradual deterioration, the Brooklyn Bridge was renovated several times, including in the 1950s, 1980s, and 2010s.

The Brooklyn Bridge is the southernmost of the four toll-free vehicular bridges connecting Manhattan Island and Long Island, with the Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the Queensboro Bridge to the north. Only passenger vehicles and pedestrian and bicycle traffic are permitted. A major tourist attraction since its opening, the Brooklyn Bridge has become an icon of New York City. Over the years, the bridge has been used as the location of various stunts and performances, as well as several crimes and attacks. The Brooklyn Bridge is designated a National Historic Landmark, a New York City Landmark, and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Resource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge

2024 · National Day Calendar · Wyoming

National Wyoming Day 2024

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National Wyoming Day celebrates three occasions, the first is the day it became the 44th state of the U.S. the second is the day the Wyoming territory passed the bill to grant voting rights to women. It is sometimes even celebrated on December 10 at the behest of the Wyoming Federation of Women’s Clubs which requested this particular day to commemorate the passage of the bill to vote. The third day is May 24, due to the order in which the states became a part of the union, and is celebrated by the National Day Calendar.

The states in the West approved of women’s suffrage as some of the men recognized the important role women played. The state of Wyoming has been inhabited for roughly 13,000 years. However, around 1869, it was observed that the territory had a huge imbalance in the male and female population. The territory was occupied by 6,000 adult males but only 1,000 females. Men hoped that more women would settle down in the isolated territory and alleviate their issue of loneliness if they were granted the right to vote. Moreover, a territorial legislator by the name of William Bright was convinced by his young wife that it would be a gross injustice to deny women the right to vote. Thus, in 1869, the then-governor signed the bill that officially allowed women to vote.

Wyoming boasts many monuments and historical sites. These include the Fossil Butte National Monument and the Fort Laramie National Historic Site. The state even provides magnificent views in the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Resource: https://nationaltoday.com/national-wyoming-day/