70 years ago today, the London street scene was made all the more iconic with the introduction of the Routemaster 8 (RM8) from AEC—becoming the double-decker red bus so associated with the British capital. A pioneering design, the Routemaster outlasted several of its replacement types in London, survived the privatization of the former London Transport bus operators, and even spread to other cities in the UK. READ a tad more about this iconic automobile… (1954)
In 2006, the Routemaster was voted one of Britain’s top 10 design icons which included Concorde, Mini, Supermarine Spitfire, London tube map, World Wide Web, and the K2 telephone box. In 2009, the Routemaster was selected by the Royal Mail for their “British Design Classics” commemorative postage stamp issue.
This is despite the fact that its unique design was flawed in several ways. The boarding platform was extensively open, which exposed everyone on board, and especially the people nearest to it, to the rather common unpleasantness of the London elements. The presence of the staircase up to the second floor narrowed the space just inside the bus, making boarding with luggage or bikes extremely difficult. Also, the raised floor deck—higher than normal buses—made it all but impossible for wheelchair-bound people to ride in them.
As it often happens throughout history, however, particularly automotive history, some designs simply have the ‘It factor’ and are popular regardless of obvious shortcomings. The Routemaster is certainly one of those.
MORE Good News on this Day:
- President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower to be the first U.S. National Monument (1906)
- Jim Henson, the Muppets puppeteer, was born (1936–1990)
- The U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, a black man (1962)
- Trinidad and Tobago – Republic Day (1976)
- Rhodesia rulers agreed to introduce black majority rule within two years (1976)
- Israel and the Palestine Liberation Org. agreed to sign a pact to end Israeli occupation in West Bank (1995)
76 years ago today, Honda Motor Company was founded. With a founding principle that “the purpose of technology is to help people” they have motorized 4 generations of working-class and poor citizens across Asia, Europe, and North America. This is largely because Honda has been the world’s largest motorcycle and scooter manufacturer since 1959, reaching a production of 400 million by the end of 2019. To put 400 million in perspective, GNN reported recently that if you went to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia, and gave every man, woman, and child their own Honda moped, you’d have several million left over at the end.
As a car and engine enthusiast, Soichiro Honda founded a company under his name that made piston rings for Toyota. Eventually graduating from engineering university, he scraped by under the dual shadows of the much larger Toyota, and World War II. After American bombers had destroyed his factory, Soichiro Honda sold the salvageable remains of the company to Toyota after the war.
His next project was making two-stroke motorized bicycles out of a shack with a 12-man team, called the “bata bata” after the sound it made. With money from these ramshackle bikes, he founded Honda Motor Company, and sold the first professional bike, the 1949 D-Type, which after a foray into motorsport, won the World Championships in the 125cc and 250cc categories.
6 years later, Honda, along with his development partner Fujisawa, brought up the idea for the Honda Super Cub, a motor-scooter that would go on to sell more units than all versions of the Mini Cooper, all the WV Beetles, and all the Toyota Corollas ever sold, put together.
Fujisawa’s requirements was that it could be ridden with one hand while carrying a tray of soba noodles, saying to Honda, “If you can design a small motorcycle, say 50 cc with a cover to hide the engine and hoses and wires inside, I can sell it. I don’t know how many soba noodle shops there are in Japan, but I bet you that every shop will want one for deliveries.”
Entering continuous manufacturing in 1958, the bike was a hit around the world. (1948)
128 years ago today, author F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in Minnesota. Shortly before his first book was published, This Side of Paradise, he was so broke that he took a job repairing car roofs—but the novel was an instant success.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century, Fitzgerald penned many short stories and four novels, including The Great Gatsby, The Beautiful and Damned, and Tender Is the Night. WATCH a short bio…
And, on this day in 1968, 60 Minutes first premiered with the sound of a stopwatch.
The unique reporter-centered investigative journalism proved eventually popular and the show, produced by Don Hewitt, broke a record this year, being renewed for its 51st season on CBS. With reporters like Harry Reasoner, Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Lesley Stahl, and Dan Rather, it pioneered investigative journalism techniques like re-editing interviews, hidden cameras, and “gotcha journalism” with surprise visits to the homes or offices. For 34 years, Andy Rooney’s quirky final minutes of humorous commentary became a show staple.
And, on this day 265 years ago, Arthur Guinness first introduced his Irish ale to the public.
The dark stout that originated in a brewery at St. James’s Gate, Dublin, was destined to become one of the most successful beers in the world. The best-selling drink in Ireland, it is also brewed in almost 50 countries—and poured in 70 others. With a tangy flavor and rich dark color that comes from its malted barley and roasted unmalted barley, Guinness is typically served in pint glasses. It’s been called ‘the black stuff’ or ‘mother’s milk’ by Irish-loving folks who adore the beer’s thick, creamy head, which comes from mixing the stout with nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
Some studies have even found the antioxidant compounds in this beer to be beneficial to the heart. Researchers found that “similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, the antioxidant compounds are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.”
In 2019, the beloved brand announced it would soon be eliminating all single-use plastic packaging in favor of biodegradable alternatives. (1759)
49 years ago today, after two major international expeditions had failed, the British Mount Everest Southwest Face team, led by Chris Bonington, became the first to reach the summit of Earth’s highest mountain via the treacherous southwest face.
Supported by a team of more than a dozen, the event has been described as “the apotheosis of big, military-style expeditions.”
The operation used rock climbing techniques to attach fixed ropes on the face, with the key aspect that made the climb successful being the scaling of the cliffs of the Rock Band at about 27,000 feet (8200m) by Nick Estcourt and Tut Braithwaite.
Two teams then climbed to the South Summit and followed the Southeast Ridge to the main summit, with Dougal Haston with Doug Scott arriving first by two days. WATCH a video with interviews and original footage… (1975)
“It’s the fascination of seeing and looking at what seems like a huge problem, and almost impossible problem, and then using your experience, your vision, to actually work out a route on it and then go and actually do it.” – Sir Chris Bonington
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