Just Add Water

If you spot this brand in your neighborhood supermarket it is not from Scandinavia. The unique spelling originated in Seattle, Washington in 1932. Rose Charters and her husband decided to tackle the challenge of making the perfect, easy-to-prepare pie crust. She called her product Krusteaz by cleverly combining “crust” and “ease.” The spirit of innovation continued with their introduction of “just add water” Pancake Mix and Belgian Waffle Mix. The Krusteaz fan base expanded eastward to become a national favorite by offering a variety of products. 

Pictured is a current box of Krusteaz Waffle Mix.

Texas Corn Chips

Fritos brand corn chips was created in 1932 by Charles E. Doolin of San Antonio, Texas. Due to improvements in technology, production of Fritos corn chips increased from ten pounds to 100 pounds by 1933. With the company's move to Dallas in 1937, it opened a research and development lab and introduced new products. After Doolin's death in 1959, The Frito Company produced over forty products, had plants in eighteen cities, employed over 3,000 people, and had sales in 1958 in excess of $50 million. In 1965, The Frito Company and H.W. Lay & Company joined to become Frito-Lay, Inc., which in turn merged with PepsiCo, Inc. Frito-Lay created new snack foods like its most popular, Doritos, in 1966, Funyuns in 1969, and Munchos in 1971. More on the complete Fritos history here.

Television Talkers

 

Jim Lang (1932-2014) was an American game show host and disc jockey. He began his radio broadcasting career in the Twin Cities after winning an audition as a teenager. Upon graduation from the University of Minnesota and serving in the Marines, Lange moved to San Francisco, making his Bay Area broadcast debut as "The All-Night Mayor" on KGO in 1960.

Lange's network television career began in San Francisco with The Ford Show in 1962, where he was the announcer and sidekick to host Tennessee Ernie Ford. Three years later he would sign on to host The Dating Game (1965–1980). He hosted numerous other game shows during those years and adopted a hairpiece best described as a helmet during the early 1970s. Lange appeared as himself on several sitcoms, including Bewitched, Laverne & Shirley, and Moesha among others.

Faster Than a Speeding Ocean Liner

 

On this date in 1932, Imperial Airways’ Handley Page HP.42, G-AAXF, named Helena, departed Croydon Aerodrome, South London, England, on the first leg of the airline’s new intercontinental mail service to South Africa. The flights would leave Croydon Wednesday and arrive at Cape Town on Friday, ten days later. The route was London, Cairo, Khartoum, Juba, Nairobi, Mbeya, Salisbury, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The initial flights carried mail only, but scheduled passenger service was soon added.  The HP.42 could carry 20 passengers and a large amount of baggage. The cost of the flight from London to Cape Town was $178.00 (£130). The HP.42 had a cruise speed of 96 miles per hour and a maximum speed of 120 miles per hour and a range of 500 miles. 

A Noted Television Composer

 

Boris Claudio "Lalo" Schifrin (1932-) is an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He is best known for his large body of film scores incorporating jazz and Latin American musical elements alongside traditional orchestrations. He is a five-time Grammy Award winner, and has been nominated for six Academy Awards and four Emmy Awards. Among his best known film compositions include the scores to Cool Hand Luke (1967), Bullitt (1968), the Dirty Harry series (1971-1988), The Four Musketeers (1974), and the Rush Hour trilogy (1998-2007). 

Schifrin wrote one of the most iconic television themes for Mission: Impossible (1966), a distinctive tune written in the uncommon 5/4 time signature, last notably used by David Raksin's earlier theme to Ben Casey. Similarly, his theme for the hugely successful Mannix private eye show was composed a year later in a 3/4 waltz time. Lesser-known perhaps, is his up tempo theme to the medical drama, Medical Center (1969-1976). While electric guitars and drums crank out the rhythm over bright, high contrast graphics, a synthesized starts on a low note and gradually rises in pitch to become a "siren" and the instrument that carries the melody.

Medical Center theme

The Unknown Thompson Screwdriver

 

John P. Thompson, a Portland, Oregon auto mechanic, is credited as the inventor of the crosshead screw n 1932 with a screwdriver for it one year later. With no success in attracting manufacturers, Thompson sold his self-centering design patent to the Phillips Screw Company in 1935. The crosshead screw is named after Henry Frank Phillips. Thompson’s invention eventually revolutionized assembly lines. One of the first customers was General Motors who used the innovative design in 1936 for its Cadillac assembly lines. By 1940, 85% of U.S. screw manufacturers had a license for the design.

Belle of The Broadcast

 

On this date in 1932, actress and singer, Belle Baker (1893-1957), hosted a radio variety show, the first such from a moving train. She was the first person in the USA to do so. The program came from a Baltimore and Ohio train that made its rounds of the New York area and was aired over WABC, New York City. She talked about the weather then local news regarding hometowns or the train stations. 

Eddie Cantor once called her “Dinah Shore, Patti Page, Peggy Lee, and Judy Garland all rolled into one.” Baker was a regular on Jack Denny's radio program on CBS. She performed on stage and in film. She was featured in "Atlantic City" 1944, "Charring Cross Road" 1935, and "Song Of Love" 1929. She made her final television appearance in "This Is Your Life" 1955.