East Coast Jitters

On this date in 1938, the infamous radio drama of H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" (1898) was broadcast. The program allegedly caused a nationwide mass panic. Not quite. Though millions of Americans huddled around their radios nightly, relatively few were listening to CBS when the broadcast began. Most of the country was tuned to NBC’s popular Chase and Sanborn Hour, featuring Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Perhaps during a commercial break, some switched to CBS. At any rate, on the heels of The Great Depression, it would not take much for some to panic. Immediately following 9/11 brought a similar sense to NYC area residents every time an airliner flew overhead. 

The brilliant, all-too-realistic radio broadcast was a Halloween episode of the CBS Radio series, The Mercury Theatre on the Air, directed and narrated by Orson Welles. He converted the story into a "breaking news" style of storytelling that described a Martian invasion of—perfect location—New Jersey. Some gullible listeners may have mistook those fake bulletins for the real thing. The New York Times, not waiting for the rest of the nation to report, plastered headlines indicating the broadcast had caused a nationwide hysteria. Few in Iowa were that concerned. 

Note: Working with Welles's concept, composer Bernard Herrmann conducted the live orchestra as if they were a dance band, but interrupted by news bulletins. Welles credited Herrmann's work as a major component of the production's suspense. The Mercury’s attempt to make the show believable succeeded far beyond their expectations. Above, Welles conducts the broadcast as Herrmann handles the orchestra.

A more in-depth history can be found HERE

The Go In Esso

The Esso name was primarily used by its predecessor, Standard Oil of New Jersey, after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The name Esso is the phonetic pronunciation of the initials 'S' and 'O' in the name Standard Oil. Standard Oil of New Jersey started marketing its products under the Esso brand in 1926. In most states, the company used the Enco (Energy Company) brand name, and in a few, the Humble Oil brand name. Esso Gas Stations were primarily found in the eastern United States and some states in the Midwest. By 1972, the name Esso was largely replaced in the U.S. by the Exxon brand after the Standard Oil of New Jersey bought Humble. The Esso name remained widely used elsewhere. In most of the world, the Esso and Mobil brands are the primary names of ExxonMobil, while the Exxon brand is used only in the United States alongside Mobil. The Esso brand name was discontinued in the U.S. by 1977, yet the brand name continues in Europe. Today, it is a trading name for ExxonMobil.

Note: Above, an Esso gasoline tanker, pulled by the bulldog of trucks, Mack, filling the tank at its namesake station in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1943. 

Photo by John Vachon via shorpy dot com

The Cloverleaf Interchange

A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. This makes them well-suited for the intersection of two freeways. The cloverleaf possesses advantages such as linking ramps safely in order to accommodate left turns. Many cloverleafs today have been highly modified into a complex maze of overpasses in some sprawling cities. 

Though the first cloverleaf interchange was patented in the United States in 1916 by Arthur Hale, a Maryland civil engineer, the first, Woodbridge Cloverleaf, did not open until 1929 at the intersection of the Lincoln Highway, Route 25 and Amboy, Route 4 in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. Those highway routes have long since been renumbered. The first cloverleaf west of the Mississippi River opened in 1931 at Watson Road and Lindbergh Boulevard near St. Louis, Missouri, as part of an upgrade of Route 66, which utilizes the bridge in the above photo.

And No, I'm Not Roy Rogers

 

One would probably start laughing hysterically or simply drive away after handing the attendant a ten-dollar bill. Yet, according to the advertisement, that is the amount the American motoring public spent on gas and oil in 1953. Motorists are naturally interested in getting more mileage for their gasoline money. American Cyanamid Company was also interested and did something about it through the development of Aerocat Synthetic Fluid Cracking Catalysts. Sounds bogus. They should have left out the "cracking" part.

Founded by Frank Washburn in 1907, American Cyanamid Company was a leading American conglomerate, one of the nation's top 100 manufacturing companies by the 1970s and 1980s. The same company that made Beetleware kitchen and household items. The company was a pioneering leader in the field of catalyst manufacture. Their research in cooperation with the petroleum industry illustrated how chemistry helped make more miles per gallon and power at a lower cost. With a catalytic merger in 1994, the company ceased operations. The Cyanamid compound in Wayne, New Jersey, later served as the headquarters of Toys R Us, also defunct, as Wayne's cyanide...er...cyanamid curse continued.