Storm warning(s): Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, and the midpoint of a tempestuous late-October workweek, with not one but two nor’easters set to soak the East Coast.
Undaunted, we press on toward socioeconomic greatness – so batten down, bundle up and let’s innovate.
Ameri-cans: And domestic drafts, on American Beer Day.
Patriotic pint: First, let’s raise a glass to microbrews and the classic King of Beers – no time for Corona, Guinness or Heineken today, not on National American Beer Day.
To the Founders: Need a good toast with that Coors? Offer salutations to National Civics Day, celebrated every Oct. 27 to commemorate the 1787 publication of the first of the revolutionary Federalist Papers (more on that below).
Or, with Halloween around the corner, perhaps a toast to the most superstitiously misunderstood of our furry friends – today is also National Black Cat Day.
Cheesesteaks came later: You can also drink to the birth of a truly great American city – it was this date in 1682 when English theologian William Penn founded the City of Philadelphia.
They, Publius: As previously mentioned, the first in a series of 85 essays urging ratification of the nascent U.S. Constitution – collectively, the Federalist Papers – was published on Oct. 27, 1787, by New York’s Independent Journal newspaper.
The writer, “Publius,” turned out to be the shared pen name of Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay.
To the letter: Inventor Philip Downing patented his mail receptacle 130 years ago today.
Inside-the-box thinking: Publius probably sparked a ton of letters-to-the-editor, but they had to be hand-delivered – African American inventor Philip Downing of Pennsylvania didn’t patent the “street letter box,” predecessor of the modern mailbox, until Oct. 27, 1891.
Rapid development: Meanwhile, back in New York, America’s first underground rapid-transit system – the New York City subway – opened for business 117 years ago today.
Although ranked as the first subterranean rapid-transit railroad, the New York subway was not the first underground train network: London and Boston did it first.
It sounded better than “synthetic thermoplastic”: And it was Oct. 27, 1938, when American conglomerate DuPont announced a name for its new silk-like polymer – “nylon,” which is now a generic term and was known simply as “yarn 66” during its development.
Hope floats: French biologist, physician and politician Alain Bombard (1924-2005) – who proved the shipwrecked could survive on the ocean by sailing an inflatable raft from the Canary Islands to Barbados, a 65-day journey during which he consumed only raw fish and seawater – would be 97 years old today.
Tragic story: Plath, posthumous Pulitzer winner.
Also born on Oct. 27 were British cartographer James Cook (1728-1779), the first European to explore Australia and New Zealand; English painter Mary Moser (1744-1819), one of the most celebrated artists of 18th Century Britain; American inventor and industrialist Isaac Singer (1811-1875), who stitched a place in history with the first practical sewing machine; American manufacturer John Mack (1864-1924), who created heavy-duty Mack Trucks; and hauntingly influential American poet and novelist Sylvia Plath (1932-1963).
Fawlty line: And take a bow, John Marwood Cleese! The English Monty Python co-founder – an actor, comedian, writer and producer known also for his social activism – turns 82 today.
Give the one-time Q (to Brosnan’s Bond) and self-described “very tall man” your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always bring us to new heights.
About our sponsor: SUNY Old Westbury empowers students to own the future they want for themselves. In a small-college atmosphere, as part of a dynamic, diverse, 5,000-strong student body, Old Westbury students get up close and personal with the life and career they want to pursue. Whether it’s a cutting-edge graduate program in data analytics, highly respected programs in accounting and computer information sciences, or any of the 70-plus degrees available, a SUNY Old Westbury education sets students on a course toward success. Own your future.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Graham Beck: See the world.
Drop(Desk) everything: A Long Island-based workplace-as-a-service platform has teamed up with a global workspace brokerage to create “membership passes” that open doors to a growing international network of flexible office spaces.
DropDesk, sister enterprise of Long Beach-based regional coworking pioneer Bridgeworks, is collaborating with New York City-based Office Freedom on the membership deal, designed for companies embracing hybrid work models (with employees working here, there and everywhere, as opposed to a single centralized office). Members can quickly locate and occupy the right office space at the right time with access to a global grid of coworking spaces, on-demand conference rooms and other fully furnished, work-ready accommodations – a recruitment and retention advantage in the evolving age of “agile working” strategies.
Meanwhile, Office Freedom – the self-billed “world’s No. 1 flexible-office broker” – can leverage new technologies juggling those worldwide spaces, and DropDesk can further its mission to “connect the decentralized workplace,” as described by a company statement. “We partnered with Office Freedom … to help businesses with distributed teams,” noted DropDesk founder Graham Beck. “Office Freedom’s extensive network of flexible offices … combined with the DropDesk platform will serve as a launchpad for a global hybrid workplace adoption.”
The thought that counts: From the Better Than Nothing File comes Albany’s $20.7 million funding program for operational improvements at statewide airports, with a wee bit of the grand sum landing on Long Island.
With millions of New York State Department of Transportation dollars flying to 24 public-use airports – including $5.2 million for new hangars and modern security systems at airports in the North Country Region and $3.1 million for reconstruction efforts at aerodromes across the Southern Tier – the DOT’s Aviation Capital Investment Program is giving $300,000 to Town of Islip-owned Long Island MacArthur Airport for a backup power generator and enhancements to the Hangar 1 fire-suppression system.
The state’s modest investment comes amidst a major push by regional stakeholders for big-time enhancements of the Long Island airfield. While it pales compared to the multimillion-dollar upgrades at airports in Central New York and the Finger Lakes, it’s still among the “targeted investments” that will “enhance safety, strengthen communities and create and sustain new and existing well-paying jobs,” according to NYS Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez, while making local communities “more economically competitive regionally and globally.”
POD PEOPLE
Supernatural superstar: Cardinuto is a familiar face at many Long Island haunts.
Haunted hospitals, disembodied screams, shadow people and more, all here on Long Island and all very real, according to paranormal professional Michael Cardinuto, who joins Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast to debunk “reality TV” ghost-hunting and review 18 blood-curdling years of real-life afterlife experiences.
It’s Halloween, brave listeners, and Season 2 is visiting the other side. Tune in … if you dare.
TOP OF THE SITE
Use it or lose it: Why COP26 – the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference – is humanity’s last, best hope to stave off the worst effects of global warming.
Drink up: The born-on-Long-Island Craft Beer Marketing Awards are back, with a new slate of categories spicing the third-annual global competition.
Good idea: Free subscriptions to this thought-provoking, thrice-weekly newsletter for your entire innovation team? Now that’s some innovative thinking.
VOICES
The modern cash-less transaction – combining lightspeed links, direct debits and powerful plastic – is no card trick, but the product of a thoughtful technological evolution. And of course, Voices historian Tom Mariner was in the thick of it, right here on Long Island.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Less is more: It’s time for Americans to stop buying so much stuff. Vox goes frugal.
What’s in your wallet: The end of cash money may finally be here. CNET cashes in.
A steaming cup of innovation: Elevating the at-home coffee experience. Beverage Daily tracks trends.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Cedilla Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based biotech focused on precision oncology, raised $25 million in an expansion of its Series B financing led by RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, Woodline Partners, Logos Capital and Third Rock Ventures.
+ SewerAI, a California-based sewer-condition assessment company, raised $1.5 million in funding. Backers included Bentley Systems, Burnt Island Ventures, Builders VC and EPIC Ventures.
+ 360Learning, a New York City/London/Paris-based SaaS global collaborative, raised $200 million in growth funding led by Sumeru Equity Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Silver Lake Waterman, with participation from existing investors Bpifrance Large Venture, XAnge and Educapital.
+ Zerigo Health, a California-based med-tech providing light-therapy solutions for chronic skin conditions, raised $43 million in Series B funding led by 7wireVentures, with participation from General Catalyst, Dragoneer, Cigna Ventures, Leverage Health Solutions, Leaps by Bayer, SV Health Investors, H.I.G. Capital and Bluestem Capital.
+ Bucha Bio, a NYC-based biotech developing novel biomaterials from fermented bacterial nanocellulose and plants, raised $550,000 in funding. Backers included New Climate Ventures, Beni VC, Lifely VC, QKZ Design, MicroVentures and angels Cary Pinkowski, Nicholas Valeriano and Fiona and George Sobek.
+ GoCheck, a Tennessee-based digital-vision innovator, raised $10 million in funding co-led by Hatteras Venture Partners and Pisgah Fund, with participation from CU Healthcare Innovation Fund, WakeMed Hospitals Innovation Venture Fund and existing investors Marc Benioff, Interwest Partners, FCA Venture Partners, Sovereign’s Capital and Mucker Capital.
BELOW THE FOLD (Science Fiction Edition)
Coming Dune: The future of desert survival.
Children of “Dune”: What the sci-fi spectacle teaches us about future sustainability.
Next-gen yuan: How children’s sci-fi became an economic cornerstone in China.
It’s lonely out in space: Sci-fi has always been a metaphor for human isolation.
Future perfect: Time travel is science fact at SUNY Old Westbury, one of the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island and an amazing opportunity for students to influence their best destinies. Check them out.
