The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are younger than John McCain.
In 1938, Bill W. (no genetic relationship to George W.) was chosen by about 100 of his fellow alcoholics to publish a book that promoted their program and included a list of suggested activities (or “steps”) for spiritual growth and deliverance from the grip that alcohol held on their lives.
(Thanks to Jesse for the tip!)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
The first TV commercial is younger than John McCain.
Sadly, the first network TV commercial (which aired in 1941) wasn’t for Ron Popeil’s breakthrough spray-on hair (which doesn’t work nearly as well as they claim.. trust me) but it was instead from the Bulova Watch Company. They paid $9.00 to what is now WNBC in New York for a twenty-second spot that appeared before a (Brooklyn) Dodgers game.
(Thanks to Soren for the tip!)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is younger than John McCain.
I put Kraft Macaroni and Cheese right up there with the wheel and the iphone as one of the world’s great inventions. Created by divine inspiration in 1937, it’s the perfect meal when you have a cold or when you’re too lazy to make, you know, real food. The key, however, lies in my own secret technique… which I will share with you here and now:
The Double Drain™.
You see, the directions call for the chef to drain the water after the macaroni has come to a boil… but that’s insane. Between the milk, the butter, and the excess water that didn’t drain, you’ll still be left with a runny mess that will deprive you of the full “cheese” experience. One must do a second, “cleansing” drain just prior to emptying the contents onto ones plate. And one must also use a wooden spoon.
For the less industrious among us, there’s a product called “Kraft Easy Mac” which can be prepared with just water and a microwave in 3 1/2 minutes… but that’s just sad.
Finally, to borrow from a comment that Joe G. wrote about the corndog (which was one of the five most impassioned odes to the corndog I’ve ever read), “Elect a President that was born before the invention of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese? Not on my watch, pal.”
(Thanks to Jane and Peter for the tip!)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Seems like service is a little spotty today. I’m working on moving to a fancier (i.e., pricier and hopefully more reliable) server but, in the meantime, please be sure to check back if at first you don’t succeed. Thanks!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Penicillin is younger than John McCain.
In 1942, when John McCain was presumably an unvaccinated 6 year old, John Bumstead and Orvan Hess became the first physicians in the world to successfully treat a patient using Penicillin. At the time, they could not possibly comprehend what this breakthrough would mean for children, soldiers, and Paris Hilton.
(Thanks Fididdly, Beth, Jennifer, David, Andy, Robert, Electioneer, and “d” for the tip!)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Minimum Wage is younger the John McCain.
This one’s a little ambiguous - as there was various bits of legislation setting a minimum wage prior to 1936 but they were all overturned (I guess 25¢ an hour for back-breaking work in a factory was crazy-talk back then)… but it was re-established in 1938 by the Fair Labor Standards Act. And this time it stuck.
Since then, the Federal minimum wage has skyrocketed to $5.85 - which means that, according to our government, someone who earns a pre-tax paycheck of $234.00 for a 40 hour week is doing just fine.
(Thanks to Caitlin, Chad, Luke, Rebecca, and others for the tip!)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Lincoln Tunnel is younger than John McCain.
The Lincoln Tunnel first started bringing depression-era girls with big hair into NYC in 1937.
(Thanks Chipsin and Jay for the tip!)
(By the way, I used to work with a girl that referred to the prostitutes that worked outside the entrance to the tunnel as “tunnel bunnies”. I always thought that was a cute way to refer to women who likely weren’t often thought about as being “cute”. Or, for that matter, “women”.)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
War of the Worlds is younger than John McCain.
Broadcast around Halloween in 1938, the radio adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic was seen as actual news and led some to believe that a Martian invasion was in progress. According to Wikipedia (so you know it’s true!), some people fled their homes while others simply pee’d their pants (OK, I made up the last part).
Tell me Fox couldn’t pull this off today…
(Thanks Cheyney, Perryn, Andy, Lee, Letitia, Chipsin, Jay, and Luke for the tip!)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
49 of our 50 Governors are younger than John McCain.
Way to buck the trend, Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware!
(Thanks, Jack!)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
I’ve heard from a handful of people that they’ve had issues with the RSS feed. If you’re one them, please try this link: http://www.thingsyoungerthanmccain.com/?feed=atom or the RSS FEED button in the sidebar.
Also added search capability. Go nuts.
Thanks.
Friday, May 16, 2008
I’ve received a bunch of emails - and read a number of posts in the comments section - that questioned whether or not this blog is ageist. It’s a fair question and I wanted to take a minute to offer my answer.
It isn’t. Here’s why:
Before the blog launched, I thought long and hard to see if I could come up with reasons how gender or race could negatively impact on someone’s ability to do an effective job as President… and I couldn’t come up with a single one. But I was able to come up with reasons why age - at least, potentially - could be a factor:
- Memory loss
- Decreased stamina
- Greater susceptibilty to illness
- Possible lack of ability to relate to the issues and concerns of the vast majority of younger Americans
- And, of course, the increased likelihood of dying in office… throwing the country into temporary turmoil and placing a greater importance of the role of Vice President
Furthermore, I got to thinking how the framers of the Constitution saw fit to attach an age minimum of 35 to the office of the President. Presumably, they felt that people younger than 35 lacked the skills necessary to be able to run the country. While I’m certainly not suggesting that we have a Constitutional amendment creating an age maximum, it does tell me that my line of thinking (namely, that age does matter) is clearly not without precedent.
Now, does all this mean that John McCain would AUTOMATICALLY be a bad President JUST because he’s 72? Of course not (he’d be a bad President for a whole host of other reasons!), but I am saying that it’s reasonable to make the subject of his age - and all that it entails - part of a dialogue about his qualifications… and that we shouldn’t run from the topic because it has an “ism” attached to it.
That’s what I say - what say you?
Thursday, May 15, 2008
My Mother is younger than John McCain.
Here’s an email I just received from my mother:
“I am younger than John McCain and I get senior citizen discounts, I can’t bend, my knees hurt, and I just went on Medicare! And PS, the type is too small on your blog.”
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Scrabble is younger than John McCain.
How fortuitous. What might very well be the world’s most boring game is actually younger than might very well be the countries most boring Senator (although there certainly are some quality contenders in that field).
By the way, I tried to rearrange these letters in Photoshop to spell out “He is really old” but it looked like crap. If anyone wants to take a stab at it, send it my way and I’ll give you credit.
(Thanks to Paul, Lisa, Laura, and Stephen)
UPDATE: EpicWes did a great job re-working the image… thanks very much! It’s just right!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Area Code is younger than John McCain.
OK, this is a good one - so good, in fact, that it gets its very own category (”Area Codes”).
While the telephone itself was invented a mere 60 years prior to Pa McCain looking at John and saying to Ma McCain “Someday this boy will grow up to not become President!, the area code wasn’t introduced until the 1940’s.
I find this fact very confusing because, according to census.gov, the population of the United States in 1940 was 132,122,446. Does this mean that less than 10% of the people had phone numbers because, without an area code, the highest number could only be 999-9999?
I’d ask John McCain for clarification but I tend to think that he wouldn’t take my call.
(Thanks Jonathan K.)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Baskin Robbins is younger than John McCain.
In a way, I wish John McCain was slightly older than Baskin Robbins… so then I could write something about “there being only one flavor” when he was a kid. Or reference the scene in Blazing Saddles that showed Samuel Johnson’s ice cream store. But, alas, John McCain beat out Baskin Robbins by a good 10 years.
(Thanks, Grace!)
