No. 1069: In which we just say no, factor impacts and drone on and on – and beat the Mets, beat the Mets

 

Holiday in: Welcome to Friday, dear readers, and not just any Friday but the first official Friday of Summer 2026.

Yes, dads and grads have been appropriately feted, schools are closed and the Fourth of July is coming up fast. Speaking of which, your favorite innovation newsletter is taking a short holiday respite next week – watch for your regularly scheduled newsletters on Monday (June 29) and Wednesday (July 1), then go eat some hot dogs and light some sparklers, and we’ll be back with our star-spangled July 8 edition. More reminders next week.

Traffick jam: Back here on June 26, we’re wrapping up the workweek – and kicking off your innovation-week-in-review newsletter – with a nod to the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, a.k.a. World Drug Day, the UN’s annual mobilization against illegal contraband and hopeful push toward a drug-free society.

It’s also National Barcode Day, honoring the ever-evolving technologies modernizing our checkout procedures. (Why today, you ask? Read on, we answer.)

Chill out: It’s a little easier to keep your cool on World Refrigeration Day, a global campaign highlighting the critical work of innovators in the refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat-pump sectors.

This will come in handy later, when you bring home the leftovers from National Food Truck Day, a last-Friday-of-June celebration of some 30,000 small-business owners and their meals on wheels. It’s also a useful component of National Chocolate Pudding Day, a creamy indulgence best served cold every June 26.

Brush with fame: Whatever you order off the truck – and definitely after spooning down some delicious pudding – you’ll want to brush those pearly whites, and when you do, make sure to thank Hongzhi Emperor, the ninth emperor of China’s Ming Dynasty, who’s credited with inventing the modern toothbrush on this day in 1498.

Board meeting: Nothing suggests toothbrushing like sticky and gooey saltwater taffy, and nothing invokes saltwater taffy better than the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk, which first opened to the public on June 26, 1870.

Coast to coaster: Speaking of beachfront attractions, Coney Island’s famous Cyclone roller coaster first rumbled into the history books on this date in 1927.

Bar none: Also making history is the Universal Product Code “barcode,” which became a thing 49 years ago today when a checkout clerk scanned a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum at an Ohio supermarket.

Golly genome: And it was June 26, 2000, when the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium announced the completion of a “working draft” of the human genome sequence.

While the 2000 announcement (made at the then-science-endorsing White House alongside President Bill Clinton) marked a giant leap, the Human Genome Project – a laborious, 13-year international research project that ultimately mapped the entire human genetic code – wouldn’t be officially completed for another three years, for those keeping score.

Scale model: Scottish mathematician, physicist and engineer Lord William Thomson Kelvin (1824-1907) – who devised the absolute temperature scale, formulated the second law of thermodynamics, mathematically analyzed electricity and magnetism and otherwise laid the foundation of modern physics – would be 202 years old today.

Also born on June 26 were French astronomer Charles Messier (1730-1817), who classified modern stargazing with a groundbreaking astronomical catalogue; American  military officer Abner Doubleday (1819-1893), who did not invent baseball and never said he did; American novelist Pearl Buck (1892-1973), the first American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize and a Nobel Prize; retired American astronaut Bernard Harris Jr. (born 1967), the first African American to walk in space; and American businessman, baseball executive and retired professional shortstop Derek Jeter (born 1974), a 14-time American League All-Star and five-time World Series champion during his stellar 20-year career.

Going to the NakaMats: And take a bow, Yoshiro Nakamatsu! The Japanese inventor, master innovator and “Father of the Floppy Disk” – whose record 3,300-plus patents dwarfs all other inventors, and it’s not even close (take that, Thomas Edison) – turns 98 today.

Send birthday wishes for history’s most prolific inventor to editor@innovateli.com, where our patented spin on entertaining, educational and always engaging innovation news depends in no small part on your news tips and calendar events.

 

About our sponsor: Burman Real Estate is poised to revitalize key Long Island communities with thoughtful, relevant redevelopment projects. Current projects include Hicksville’s The Shops on Broadway, a reimagined shopping destination featuring a restaurant row with rooftop and central plaza event spaces; Mineola Downtown, a transit-oriented development; and a nine-story residential tower with direct access to the Mineola LIRR station. Check them out.

 

BUT FIRST, THIS

To each their drone: Look, up in the sky … Long Island’s most popular amusement park is launching its first-ever drone show.

With a little help from Texas-based UAV virtuoso Sky Elements, East Farmingdale’s Adventureland will light up the night beginning at 8:30 p.m. tonight, as 100 unmanned aerial vehicles lift off from nearby Farmingdale State College and form dozens of exciting images over Route 110. The theme park gig, sponsored by Catholic Health Services of Long Island, is another notch in the belt for Sky Elements, which counts Major League Baseball, Disney Studios and Coca-Cola among its impressive clientele.

The first of three scheduled Sky Elements performances (with further flights slated for July 17 and Aug. 14) is also a blend of “creativity, technology and storytelling in a way that elevates the guest experience,” according to Sky Elements Project Coordinator Jade Caya. “We are so excited to bring the Summer Drone Show Series to Adventureland this summer,” added Adventureland Park Manager Jeanine Gentile-Pacella. “Not only will we be lighting up the sky with the drone show, we will be lighting up the Adventureland midway with over 500 glow-stick giveaways thanks to … Catholic Health.”

Factor checker: Two peer-reviewed scientific journals produced by Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research have achieved significant publishing milestones.

Molecular Medicine, published in collaboration with Springer Nature’s BioMed Central, has achieved its highest impact factor since the journal’s 1994 founding, rising to a factor of 8.3 (from 6.4), while Bioelectronic Medicine, also published with BioMed Central, has received its first-ever impact factor (6.8). An impact factor is a key measurement of a journal’s influence within the scientific community, helping researchers determine where to publish their work and which journals to consult for foundational studies.

The measurement formula is fairly convoluted (citations in a given year multiplied by number of articles published, divided by number of “citable items,” and so forth) – but in a nutshell, a factor score of 3 to 10 is considered a “strong journal” within scientific circles. “Science advances when researchers publish foundational work and build upon it with new experiments,” noted Feinstein Institutes President and CEO Kevin Tracey, who among many other roles is the editor-in-chief of Bioelectronic Medicine. “The high impact factors of both Molecular Medicine and Bioelectronic Medicine are evidence that leading researchers worldwide are turning to these journals as publication platforms for important new science.”

 

TOP OF THE SITE

Enough to make you sick: With U.S. healthcare costs skyrocketing, Voices Healthcare Anchor Terry Lynam sees right through the Trump administration’s failing cost-transparency strategy – and warns that the worst is yet to come.

Best for last: The more subscribers we get to our fabulous thrice-weekly newsletters, the easier it is to attract sponsors … and the more sponsors we attract, the better job we’ll do covering your innovation economy. Best part: Subscriptions are always easy, always free!

 

ICYMI

Long Island high schoolers are getting a leg up on their future careers – and leading companies across numerous industries are building good will (and smart recruitment pipelines) – thanks to an ambitious Stony Brook-based workforce-development startup.

 

BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)

Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:

From California: Santa Ana-based personal finance platform SuperMoney relieves Americans’ money-management woes with its new AI-powered personal finance app.

From California: Long Beach-based extended-reality eyewear expert XREAL pumps the latest Qualcomm and Android XR tech into its new “spatial computing glasses.”

From Minnesota: Minneapolis-based THC beverage brand Foundry Nation expands its popular infused-soda lineup with new Classic Cola and Cream Soda flavors.

 

ON THE MOVE

+ Tanika Steele has been hired as director of nutrition and community health programs at Hauppauge-based Long Island Cares-The Harry Chapin Regional Food Bank. She was vice president and community manager at JP Morgan Chase in Riverhead.

+ Ciara O’Brien has been promoted to director of public policy and government relations as Hauppauge-based Long Island Cares-The Harry Chapin Regional Food Bank. She was government relations and advocacy manager.

+ Lawrence Han has been named a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is a partner in the Professional Liability Practice Group at Uniondale-based Rivkin Radler.

+ Uniondale-based Rivkin Radler has announced two new hires:

• Samantha Tomey has joined the Labor & Employment Practice Group as counsel. She was previously of counsel at Jackson Lewis in New York City.
• Benedetto Faulisi has joined the Tax and Trusts & Estates practice groups as an associate. He was a fiduciary accountant with Sullivan & Cromwell in New York City.

+ Maxine Broderick has been elected president of the Mineola-based Nassau County Bar Association. She is a judge in the Nassau County District Court in Hempstead.

+ Denise Gillis has been promoted to assistant superintendent of business services at Garden City-based Nassau BOCES. She was director of business services.

+ Cheryl Katz has been appointed as a Trusts and Estates Section delegate to the New York State Bar Association House of Delegates. She is a partner in the Trusts & Estates Practice Group at Uniondale-based Forchelli Deegan Terrana.

+ Jason Stern has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Farmingdale-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment. He is a partner at Weber Law Group in Melville.

 

Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know – on Long Island, and soon, across New York State (just ask Burman RE). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.

 

BELOW THE FOLD (The Mets Are A Mess Edition)

Field of nightmares: Though humiliating, Wednesday’s six-error embarrassment was nowhere near the MLB record.

Careful what you wish for: Mets fans want the GM fired … but have they thought it through?

Hard to believe: But ya gotta believe it, Mets Nation – this was 40 years ago already.

Winning formula: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Burman Real Estate, where solid pitching and a heavy-hitting lineup of unrivaled professionals score big with every well-conceived project. Check them out.