Summery summary: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as Long Island’s warm and muggy season continues.
With international smokestorms, catastrophic flooding and near tsunamis threatening other national corners, a seasonably warm summer is nothing to complain about. Instead, let’s accentuate the positives – starting with this well-seasoned innovation review.
Fry it up in a pan: But only if the church deems you worthy on National Flitch Day.
Bring home the bacon: It’s July 19 out there, known best (in 13th and 14th century England, anyway) as National Flitch Day, when the most devoted husbands and wives earned themselves a slab of bacon from the church. (For the record, they tried to import this custom to the American Colonies, but it never caught on.)
Pace yourself: Just two weeks past the gluttonous desecration that is the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, we take our time on National Hot Dog Day, when the grilled frankfurter with your favorite toppings – one with mustard, onions and cheese, please – should be savored.
Pair that perfect dog with an adult-style frozen concoction – National Daiquiri Day is also icy and sweet every July 19.
Steam account: Maybe not frozen daiquiris, but surely there was bubbly about when the transatlantic steamship S.S. Great Western – English civil engineer Isambard Brunel’s oak-hulled masterstroke, remembered as the first ocean liner – launched on this date in 1837 from Bristol, England.
Iron lady: The S.S. Great Britain, refit and back home.
Anniversary edition: Brunel triumphed again on this date in 1843 with the launch of the S.S. Great Britain, which also put to sea in Bristol as the world’s first iron-hulled steamship.
Overhand: Elsewhere in England (at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, specifically), the Wimbledon tennis tournament – now the pinnacle of professional tennis – became a thing 146 years ago today.
Underground: Over in France, the beloved Paris metro ceremoniously rolled out on this date in 1900 – a highlight of the Paris Exposition, a World’s Fair dedicated to celebrating past innovations and accelerating new ones.
New cinematic heights: And while personal screens with deep digitized menus of first-run features are standard airline fare now, in-flight movies were brand-new on July 19, 1961, when the first premiered on TWA’s New York-to-Los Angeles flight.
For your viewing pleasure: “By Love Possessed,” starring Lana Turner.
Armed and dangerous: American inventor, industrialist and businessman Samuel Colt (1814-1862) – the assembly-line aficionado and mass-marketing master who loaded and locked American gun culture – would be 209 years old today.
Booyah: Stuart Scott, gone way too soon.
Also born on July 19 were French mineralogist Georges Friedel (1865-1933), who made things crystal clear; American surgeon and philanthropist Charles Mayo (1865-1939), co-founder of the famous Mayo Clinic; Swedish archeologist and anthropologist Baron Nils Erland Herbert Nordenskiöld (1877-1932), a foremost scholar of native South American cultures; American biophysicist Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921-2011), a radioimmunoassay pioneer and the second woman to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine; and American sportscaster Stuart Scott (1965-2015), forever as cool as the other side of the pillow.
He will rock you: And take a bow, Sir Brian Harold May! The English musician, songwriter, singer, astrophysicist and animal-rights activist – a massive brain known best as lead guitarist for rock band Queen – turns 76 today.
Wish the Killer Queen well at editor@innovateli.com, where news (Flash!) – we’re Under Pressure without you, but We Are the Champions with your story tips and your calendar events keep everyone in the Bicycle Race.
About our sponsor: Northwell Health is New York’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, 750 outpatient facilities and 70,000-plus employees. We’re making research breakthroughs at the Feinstein Institutes and training the next generation of medical professionals at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. Visit Northwell.edu.
BUT FIRST, THIS
There’s the hub: East End Food has broken ground on its ambitious Riverhead Food Hub.
A photo op’s worth of Town of Riverhead officials joined the circa-2010 Southampton-based nonprofit (which is rebranding from the East End Food Institute, itself a 2019 rebrand from the original Amagansett Food Institute) last week to kick off reconstruction of its 5,000-square-foot Main Road facility. When completed – organizers target early 2024 – the hub will include a farmer’s market, cooking-demonstration spaces, a shared community kitchen, a cold-storage area and warehousing/distribution capabilities for local food producers.
East End Food – which started pushing hard for the hub last September – has so far raised $1.3 million in grants and private donations toward what it projects as a $3 million renovation effort. “East End Food Hub is a transformative initiative that will shape the future of our community’s food ecosystem,” noted East End Food Executive Director Kate Fullam. “This groundbreaking ceremony symbolizes our commitment to building a sustainable, inclusive and resilient food system that empowers local farmers, launches small businesses and connects everyone to local food.”
For your consideration: Getting down at Layla’s Dance & Drum, from the New York Emmy Award-nominated episode of the LIAA’s “Back in the Spotlight” series.
Documentary style: The Long Island Arts Alliance has been nominated for a New York Emmy Award.
The LIAA – an umbrella of regional nonprofit arts, cultural and educational programs – was nominated in the Teen (13-19) Short or Long Form Content category for a short documentary about Valley Stream-based dance studio Layla’s Dance and Drum. The eight-minute documentary, part of the LIAA’s “Back In the Spotlight: Cultural Dance” series broadcasted by the National Video Journalist Network, highlighted Layla’s students and parents as they celebrated both Black History Month and the return to post-COVID performances.
Facing stiff category competition from MSG Networks, New Jersey-based WWOR-TV and other regional producers, the LIAA will seek its first Emmy when the 66th annual New York Emmy Awards are announced Oct. 28. “(Executive Producer) Waldo Cabrera’s thoughtful and colorful documentary style captures the heart and soul of the dance troupe,” noted LIAA Executive Director Lauren Wagner. “We hope to inspire individuals and other local organizations to engage with these troupes, fostering a vibrant and sustainable arts scene on Long Island.”
POD PEOPLE
Episode 37: Marc Alessi, learning from past successes.
The PR pro-turned-mayor, the legendary DJ-turned-mentor, the RE ace-turned-mall master, the entrepreneurial CEO-turned-historian … Season 4 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast is cranking out one great innovation story after another. Catch up quick – the next great episode drops soon.
TOP OF THE SITE
Won’t be fooled again: Aggressively innovative Applied DNA Sciences has made another “minor corporate acquisition,” with seismic shifts across biotech likely to follow.
Your money’s no good here: Subscriptions to this educational and entertaining newsletter are always easy, always free – pay us back by telling your friends.
VOICES
For four years running, Innovate Long Island’s mighty Voices team has explored top socioeconomic issues and shared the most innovative solutions – unique perspectives and best practices on law, marketing, healthcare, food, education, history, social services, workforce development and other issues key to you and your business.
The next round of straight-from-the-top greatness begins this Friday, with returning sluggers and exciting new lineup additions. Until then, catch up on everything you can.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Reduce: Humans are losing the belly-fat war. Cosmopolitan breaks down our mistakes.
Reuse: “Chaos Cooking” is radically redefining leftovers. Huffpost whips up some dinner.
Recycle: Harvard scientists may have developed a “fountain of youth pill.” Earth.com weighs ups and downs.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Mascotte Health, a Florida-based veterinary-tech startup, raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding led by Nuwa Capital and angel investors from Uber, Turo and Airbnb.
+ Herself Health, a Minnesota-based healthcare company for women ages 65 and up, raised $26 million in Series A funding led by Michael Cline of Accretive and Juxtapose.
+ Figure, a California-based AI robotics company, raised $9 million in equity. Intel Capital made the investment.
+ CurvaFix, a Washington State-based medtech manufacturer, raised $39 million in Series C funding led by MVM Partners, Sectoral Asset Management and other existing investors.
+ Nomic AI, a New York City-based AI modeling pioneer, raised $17 million in Series A funding led by Coatue, Contrary Capital, Betaworks Ventures, SV Angel, Story Ventures and Factorial Capital.
+ Trunk Tools, a NYC-based, construction-focused fintech startup, raised $9.9 million in seed funding led by Innovation Endeavors, Fifth Wall and Foundation Capital.
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 (just ask Northwell Health). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Travel Guide Edition)
Life at sea: About 1,250 passengers set sail that day for a three-year tour … a three-year tour…
Just passing through: How to be a respectful traveler.
Destination estimation: Wellness, working vacations and other 2023 travel trends.
Sea plus: A seemingly sunk three-year global cruise has resurfaced with a bigger ship and higher prices.
Close to home: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including leading statewide healthcare provider Northwell Health, where innovation never takes a vacation. Check them out.
