Celebrating 100
It is my 100th post for Urban Sacred Garden since the first post on February 24, 2011. Time to open a bottle of Champagne, Asti Spumante or Cava, make a toast and celebrate! I'm very happy about the progress I've made and look forward to many future posts and adventures to come.In honor of the occasion I took a look at who else was celebrating 100 years (instead of posts).
International Women's Day - 100 years of celebrating and honoring women's rights around the world. I can't even begin to imagine what the day would have been like over 100 years ago, before women in America even had the right to vote. Deborah Byrd at EarthSky writes, "Originally called International Working Women’s Day, this day sprang from from unrest and debate among women around the globe in the early 20th century. In the U.S., the political activism sometimes focused on the suffrage movement (votes for women), and sometimes combined with an attempt to get better working conditions for women."I'm going to jump on my soapbox for a minute, so please bear with me... 100 years later the Wage Gap is still significant. This chart from the Department of Commerce is shocking. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that women earn 77% of men's wages despite the Equal Pay Act passed in 1963 and subsequent court cases that bolstered the law. The discrepancy is across a broad range of occupations and (contrary to popular belief) even those positions in educated, high paying jobs disfavor women (as evidenced by the chart referenced above). As an example, women working as financial advisors are making 53.7% in comparison to their male counterparts. The variance is even worse for minority women across the board in all occupations. We've come a very long way, but there is still so much progress to be made.
The New York Public Library - Visit their site for a beautiful, interactive digital quilt of images honoring the collection of the last 100 years. If you're in the city take a visit to the historic building guarded by its signature lions.
Hallmark Greeting Cards - It is interesting to take a look at their cool slideshow displaying the trends seen in their cards over the last 100 years. They mention that the "postcard fad started to wane (in 1912) as people tired of the mailman knowing all their business," and enveloped greeting cards were born.
International Business Machines (IBM) - Check out the inspiring video IBM created to honor some of its most unique customers. IBM's initial public offering of stock was in 1915. If your great-grandparents bought one hundred shares of IBM in 1915, their investment would be worth around $200 million today. Too bad my great grandparent's weren't investors.
UPS - UPS's first delivery car was a 1913 Model T Ford. The company's motto was "Safe, Swift, Sure".Who would have celebrated their 100th birthday this year? Tennessee Williams, Roy Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Lucille Ball, Vincent Price, Ginger Rogers and L. Ron Hubbard, to name a few. Other entities are celebrating 100 years, too, like The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), The Boy Scouts of America, Parka Canada (the Canadian equivalent of the National Park Service) and the State of Arizona.Happy 100th! I hope you find a reason for celebration, too.
