Run for it! Welcome to Wednesday, ladies and gentlemen and innovators of all ages – it’s the midpoint of another busy workweek, at least for the 80 percent of American employees who don’t enjoy Veteran’s Day as a paid holiday.
Whether or not you’re off Thursday, we’re speeding through this latest socioeconomic sprint, with Thanksgiving just two weeks out – take a breath and let’s review.
Crack the code: Remember to dial “1” first.
One ringy dingy: They’re mostly lost in the modern shuffle of one-click digital-communications, but Nov. 10 nonetheless marks National Area Code Day, celebrating the city-separating telephonic cyphers.
Don’t even remember area codes? That’s perfect for Forget Me Not Day, which has different meanings in different countries – and probably none you considered.
Let them eat cupcake: Utterly unforgettable is Vanilla Cupcake Day, also devoured this and every Nov. 10.
Reich bike: Speaking of sweet rides, the first modern motorcycle – the Daimler Reitwagen – hit the road in Germany on this date in 1885.
While other motorized cycles were technically invented first, the bike built by German Empire innovators Gottlieb and Wilhelm Maybach was the first powered by a gasoline-fueled internal-combustion engine.
From the Halls of Montezuma: The United States Marine Corps formed in 1775, but its “birthday” was first noted 100 years ago today.
Semper fidelis: Happy birthday to the United States Marines! Marine Corps Order No. 47 – summarizing the military branch’s mission and marking the official 1775 founding of the battle-ready corps – was issued on Nov. 10, 1921. (Biological birthdays below.)
“G” is for “groundbreaking”: It was this date in 1969 when “Sesame Street,” the gentle-natured learning show that’s taught generations of children to read and count, made its broadcast debut.
The longtime Public Broadcasting cornerstone – now streaming first-run episodes on HBO Max and rerunning them on PBS – has officially aired in more than 120 countries.
Charmed, I’m sure: The discovery of the “charm quark” – the third-most massive of all subatomic quarks – was simultaneously announced by scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stanford University 47 years ago today.
Enough to make you sick: And computer viruses became a thing on Nov. 10, 1983, when USC graduate student Fred Cohen demonstrated a short program – hidden in another program and stored on a floppy disk – that infected a single computer, replicated itself and spread to other computers.
Wing man: American aircraft pioneer John Knudson “Jack” Northrop (1895-1981) – a gifted engineer who designed monoplane fighters and the first flying wing, and a brilliant industrialist to boot – would be 126 years old today.
Girl, interrupted: Murphy, a truly tragic tale.
Also born on Nov. 10 were German theologian Martin Luther (1483-1546), a key figure in the Protestant Reformation; British zoologist Francis Balfour (1851-1882), who founded modern embryology; Scottish astronomer Robert Innis (1861-1933), who discovered Proxima Centauri, the Solar System’s closest neighboring star; Russian-born American archeologist Michael Rostovtzeff (1870-1952), a foremost authority on Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome; and talented, troubled, tragic American actress and singer Brittany Murphy (1977-2009).
This is SportsCenter: And take a bow, Linda Cohn! The Long Island-born American broadcaster and 30-year veteran anchor of ESPN’s flagship sports desk turns 62 today.
Give the graduate of Selden’s Newfield High School (and ice hockey standout) your best at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always make our Top 10 Plays.
About our sponsor: Farrell Fritz, a full-service law firm with 15 practice groups, advises startups on entity formation, founder and shareholder agreements, funding, executive compensation and benefits, licensing and technology transfer, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. The firm’s blog, New York Venture Hub, discusses legal and business issues facing entrepreneurs and investors.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Other side of the coin: A Long Island college professor has created a new cryptocurrency with ambitions beyond the financial.
FreeSpeech.Finance has launched a Binance Smart Chain cryptocurrency known by the ticker SPEECH, available on the decentralized exchange PancakeSwap. Launched on Halloween, the crypto made its first donation last week, sending the equivalent of $250 in Ethereum – among cryptocurrencies, second only to Bitcoin in market capitalization – to the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending free speech at U.S. colleges and universities.
With “Big Tech and governments increasingly censoring Internet users’ expression worldwide,” the new meme coin was created by Adelphi University cyber law Associate Professor Mark Grabowski, an attorney and Washington Examiner columnist who earlier this year published “Cryptocurrencies: A Primer on Digital Money” (Routledge, 2021). “Fighting for our fundamental right to free speech has never been more important – and what better way to support that effort than through cryptocurrency, which was designed to be pseudonymous and censorship-resistant?” Grabowski asked. “FreeSpeech.Finance will literally finance free speech.”
Beach front: A $450 million state initiative will help return tourists to Long Island’s beautiful beaches, among other places.
Tourism de force: Albany is going all-in on New York State’s post-pandemic tourism industry, with a half-billion-dollar Bring Back Tourism, Bring Back Jobs recovery package.
Announced Monday by Gov. Kathy Hochul (and coinciding with the reopening of American international borders closed by COVID-19), the comprehensive $450 million package addresses concerns in hard-hit tourism sectors, which as late as 2019 provided 10 percent of all statewide jobs and generated what Hochul’s office calculates as a “$100 billion economic impact.” Those sectors – including Long Island’s critical tourism industry – took it on the chin during COVID, when international tourism dropped 86 percent across New York and 55 percent of statewide tourism-related spending vanished.
The recovery package includes $100 million in one-time payments for displaced tourism employees, $100 million in grants for struggling tourism businesses and $200 million – syphoned from Albany’s $800 million COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program – for suffering startups that launched just before the pandemic, among other initiatives. “The unprecedented closure of international borders … dealt a devastating blow to the entire industry and its workforce,” noted State Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-Carle Place). “As borders reopen and people begin to feel safe traveling again, the tourism industry urgently needs relief for struggling small businesses and their workforce to get back on their feet.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 15: Poser has plans.
Change has come – and is coming – to Hofstra University, where President Susan Poser has completed her first 100 days in office and is already planning bold new directions for Long Island’s largest private university.
Sponsored by clean-energy pacesetter ThermoLift, Season 2 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast gets to know the first woman to lead Hofstra University – and her ambitious innovation strategy.
TOP OF THE SITE
Knowledge is power: Healthcare providers in 42 states, including Northwell Health, are now contributing to a real-time health-data platform – pure gold for clinicians, researchers and patients.
Learning curve: Adelphi University is helping new teachers earn their credentials faster – and guarantee their future employment – with a unique urban residency program.
Worth noting: Please share this engaging and informative newsletter with your entire innovation team (note: their own subscriptions are always easy, always free).
VOICES
Voices healthcare anchor Terry Lynam breaks down the massive joint venture uniting Northwell Health and Aegis Ventures, and explains exactly what a $100 million investment into AI-focused medical technologies can do for populations suffering health inequities.
STUFF WE’RE READING
First things first: You can’t tackle climate change without social innovation. It’s essential, according to the World Economic Forum.
Second thought: Are we wrong about the Great Resignation? It’s complicated, according to the BBC.
Third shift: What time you hit the sack determines your heart-disease risks. It’s bedtime, according to NBC News.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Happe Spine, a Michigan-based med-tech designing and commercializing innovative spinal implants, closed a $3.35 million Series A funding led by strategic investors from within the spine industry and the Genesis Innovation Group’s cultivate(MD) Seed II Fund.
+ Marengo Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based biotech pioneering first-in-class therapeutics that promote long-term protection against cancer, raised $80 million in funding. ATP made the launch investment.
+ Hyperreal Digital, a New York City-based metaverse entertainment-media company creating hyper-realistic “digital humans,” closed a $7 million seed round backed by South Korea-based Pearl Abyss, ZASH Global Media and personal investments from Genius Sports chairman David Levy, 32 Ventures CEO Robert Wolf and Mayflower Entertainment founder Ryan Schinman.
+ Hallow, an Illinois-based Catholic prayer and meditation app-maker, completed a $40 million Series B funding round. Backers included Drive Capital, Peter Thiel, Teamworthy Ventures, Narya VC, Contrary Capital, Uncork Capital, Susa Ventures and Scott Malpass.
+ 7th Ave, a Georgia-based knowledge-sharing platform for Black professionals, creatives, entrepreneurs and students, raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Twitter and Backstage Capital.
+ Infusion for Health, a California-based ambulatory infusion-center network, raised $50 million in funding led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from existing investor Cimarron Healthcare Capital.
BELOW THE FOLD
Winked out: I’ll take “Terrible Tech Gadgets,” Wink!
Best practices: How to protect the C-suite from cyberattacks.
Worst ideas: Behold, the 10 worst tech gadgets of all time.
The jury is out: With woolly mammoths on their way back, scientists debate the merits of de-extinction.
No doubt about it: Please continue supporting the amazing firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Farrell Fritz, the best legal bet for your early-stage business. Check them out.
