Search Results for: Universal

This Week in Universal News: A Hovercraft Crosses the English Channel, 1959

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

On July 25, 1909, Louis Bleriot became the first man to fly over the English Channel. In 1959, the flight was commemorated with the first crossing by hovercraft. Taking a hovercraft between England and France was a reality for commercial passengers between 1968 and 2000, when a commercial hovercraft service offered transportation across the English Channel. … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: A Hovercraft Crosses the English Channel, 1959

This Week in Universal News: The First Parking Meter, 1935

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

The world’s first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City on July 16th, 1935. Today, advanced parking meters allow a driver to pay by mobile phone, but the first parking meters required a nickel to operate. This story from Universal News demonstrates the novelty of the new invention. From the release sheet: Town Clocks Parking … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: The First Parking Meter, 1935

This Week in Universal News: Tennis Legends Wills and Wightman Take on the Boehm Twins, 1931

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

On July 15th, 1931, legendary tennis players Helen Wills and Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman competed against Hilda and Helen Boehm in the first round of the National Doubles Championship at Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The 17-year-old Boehm twins were junior doubles champions in 1931. Between 1922 and 1938, Helen Wills won 19 of the … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: Tennis Legends Wills and Wightman Take on the Boehm Twins, 1931

This Week in Universal News: Howard Hughes and the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, 1939

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

In July of 1939, Howard Hughes purchased the first Boeing 307 Stratoliner. Because of the plane’s pressurized cabin, the plane could fly at altitudes over 20,000 feet, allowing it to avoid rough weather. In this clip from Universal News, we see the multi-millionaire taking his new toy for a test drive. Hughes had hoped to use the … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: Howard Hughes and the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, 1939

This Week in Universal News: President Truman Addresses the NAACP, 1947

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

This week, we’re featuring a speech President Harry S. Truman made June 28, 1947, at the closing of the annual conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Truman called for the government to protect not just civil liberties, but civil rights. The “recent events” … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: President Truman Addresses the NAACP, 1947

This Week in Universal News: World’s Fair Children’s Exhibit, 1964

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

This week, we return to the 1964 World’s Fair, where a special exhibit for children touted the wonders of atomic energy. Among other activities, the children learned how to use mechanical hands to safely handle uranium, searched for ore on a light-up map, and rode a stationary bike to discover that it would take thirty … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: World’s Fair Children’s Exhibit, 1964

This Week in Universal News: A Homemade Submarine, 1934

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

What are you doing with your summer? Ever thought of building your own submarine? This week, we’re featuring a homemade submarine, built by amateur inventor Byron Connett in the early 1930s. The underwater vessel was only ten feet long and 34 inches high. The inaugural voyage lasted 45 minutes and covered one mile. From the … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: A Homemade Submarine, 1934

This Week in Universal News: The University of Alabama is Desegregated, 1963

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

On June 11, 1963, Vivian Malone and James Hood arrived at the University of Alabama to register for summer classes. Instead of a helpful low-level administrator guiding them through the process, it took the National Guard to ensure their enrollment– George Wallace, the governor of their state, was blocking the door. Wallace’s “Stand in the Schoolhouse … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: The University of Alabama is Desegregated, 1963

This Week in Universal News: Tragedy at the Indianapolis 500, 1960

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

There was a time when it was legal to set up a tower of scaffolding and charge spectators for a ticket to climb it and watch the Indianapolis 500. That changed in 1960 when a tower holding more than a hundred spectators toppled, killing two and injuring dozens. This week’s Universal newsreel features the Indianapolis … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: Tragedy at the Indianapolis 500, 1960

This Week in Universal News: Fall Fashion Preview, 1967

by jkonicek, posted in Motion Pictures, Universal News Collection

This week in Universal News, the 1967 Fall fashion preview, featuring an outfit for the fashionable highway robber and “wearable” butterfly decals that are “up-to-the-minute but not gimmicky.” From the release sheet: FASHIONS London designers show Fall Fashions. Included: capes, high collars, highway-robber outfits, complete with mask and two flint-guns. More practical: black tunics and … Continue reading This Week in Universal News: Fall Fashion Preview, 1967