Playground primer: Welcome to Wednesday, dear readers, as our socioeconomic seesaw tilts toward the latter half of another busy workweek.
We’re jumping off the grueling merry-go-round and sliding into a few minutes of ingenious innovation, with another playful innovation newsletter prepared for your amusement. The corporate jungle gym can wait – get your game on!
Pea protein: Fry up some chickpeas today … it’s International Falafel Day!
Make love, not child abuse: Today is June 12 and speaking of childlike diversions, today is the U.N.’s World Day Against Child Labour, a somber reflection marking the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, a 1999 international edict targeting slavery, child trafficking, the use of children in armed conflicts and other truly horrible acts.
On a much brighter note, today is also National Loving Day, a domestic observation-turned-international celebration of a 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down all state laws prohibiting interracial marriages.
It’s Mmmmmiddle Eastern: Other global observations enriching your day include International Falafel Day, munching on deep-fried chickpeas and onions (mixed with cumin and coriander and bathed in tahini and yogurt sauce, if you’re lucky).
And if anything is going to put a smile on your face, it’s National Peanut Butter Cookie Day, sweet and chewy and fresh from the oven every June 12.
Observational: Also finding the sweet spot is Hopkins Observatory, a cornerstone of Massachusetts’ Williams College and the nation’s oldest permanent astronomical observatory, dedicated on this date in 1838.
Useful: Also carving its place in history is the Officer’s and Sports Knife – predecessor of today’s famous Swiss Army Knife – which was patented on June 12, 1897, by Swiss inventor Karl Elsener (with an impressive six tools built in, including large and small blades, a screwdriver and a can opener).
Koch me if you can: The Queensboro Bridge is a masterpiece of cantilever construction.
Mayoral: Now officially known as the Ed Koch Queensborough Bridge (after the late U.S. congressman and longtime New York City mayor), the Queensborough Bridge officially opened 115 years ago today.
Memorable: It might not have been the very first animated cartoon, but American artist J.R. Bray’s “The Artist’s Dream” established animation as a mainstream entertainment when it debuted on this date in 1913.
Emotional: And it was June 12, 1942, when history’s most famous diary was gifted to a 13-year-old girl in Amsterdam.
Anne Frank would begin filling the pages of her birthday present – including her famous letters to imaginary friend “Kitty” and other observations of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands – two days later. (And for the record, she wrote much more than just her famous journal.)
Master of disaster: American film and television producer and director Irwin Allen (born Irwin Cohen, 1916-1991) – a science-fiction auteur who later became the defining voice of the disaster-film genre, with such glorious cheesefests as “The Poseidon Adventure” and “The Towering Inferno” – would be 108 years old today.
Hack job: Margherita was among the first women to study deep-space phenomena.
Also born on June 12 were Swiss children’s author Johanna Spyri (1827-1901), whose masterwork “Heidi” has never been out of print since it was first published in 1880; Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack (1922-2013), an oft-published science disseminator; 41st U.S. President George H.W. Bush (1924-2018), who brought a lifetime of public service and traditional American values to the Oval Office; retired American sportscaster Marv Albert (born Marvin Aufrichtig, 1941), a Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame talent beloved for his distinct basketball, football and hockey play-by-play skills; and Canadian psychologist, author and commentator Jordan Peterson (born 1962), a controversial character who’s bashed liberals, feminists and transgender people en route to becoming a right-wing Internet superstar.
Mozilla vs. Kong: And take a bow, Blake Ross! The American software engineer – currently Facebook’s product-management senior director, but known best for co-creating the Mozilla Firefox Internet browser to take on the big boys – turns 39 today.
Wish the Internet innovator well at editor@innovateli.com, where we love to browse your news tips and calendar events.
About our sponsor: Presberg Law P.C. is Long Island’s premier “IDA” and business law firm for businesses locating, relocating and expanding on Long Island. Founded in 1984, this multigenerational practice focuses on the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of commercial and industrial real estate, SBA and other loan transactions, construction projects and business sales and acquisitions.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Terminal velocity: Construction of New York’s first offshore-wind port – a key component of the state’s ambitious energy plans – is officially underway.
Norwegian energy firm Equinor, which this month secured a new state contract for its 810-megawatt Empire Wind 1 project, has broken ground on construction at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, aiming to transform the longtime port facility into a critical offshore-wind hub. Including a staging area for wind-turbine machinery and an onshore power-relay substation, the 73-acre Sunset Park site will provide maintenance and operational support for Empire 1 – under construction about 15 miles south of Jones Beach Island – and future wind farms rising off the regional coastline.
The SBMT reconstruction – greenlit in May by the New York State Public Service Commission – marks a “defining moment” for New York’s long-term renewable-energy goals, according to Equinor Renewables America President Molly Morris. “We are proud to restore this historic working waterfront,” Morris said Monday. “This construction will result in union jobs and local economic benefits while supporting a project that will … position the state as a leader in the advancing offshore-wind industry.”
High five: The Tatum T1 has the right touch for deafblind persons.
Assistive advances: A state-of-the-art showcase hosted last month by a regional nonprofit highlighted a range of advanced assistive technologies for the sight- and hearing-impaired communities.
More than a dozen cutting-edge vendors graced Tech Blitz 2024, hosted May 16 by Sands Point-based 501(c)3 Helen Keller Services. The unique gathering featured next-generation innovations designed to enhance the lives of low-vision, blind and deafblind individuals, including self-guided mobility devices (picture a walking stick with motorized wheels), Bluetooth-enabled vibrating alarm clocks, a robotic hand that can replicate the American Sign Language manual alphabet through tactile sign language (which communicates through touch) and more.
The impressive technologies are more than flashy, fancy devices, according to Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults Adaptive Technology Supervisor Ruth Fuller. “In today’s world, technology is more than just a convenience – it’s a vital tool for independence, communication and engagement,” Fuller said in a statement. “For those who are blind, deafblind or have low vision, it opens up new avenues for independence, employment and community involvement.”
TOP OF THE SITE
Leo the lion: Treated with cutting-edge biotechnology for an ultra-rare genetic disorder, a 2-year-old from Setauket has become a poster boy for personalized “precision medicine.”
Form up: The medical school dean, the gadfly attorney, the social-justice warrior, the NBA power forward, the Mother of all Cops, the Father of Bioelectronics … master innovators take many forms on Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast. Pick a guru and hear how they did it.
VOICES
Had enough of all the Trump-Biden noise? So have a majority of your fellow Americans, who’ve come down with a bad (and early) case of election fatigue. Fortunately, ZE Creative Communications Executive Vice President and Voices Media Anchor David Chauvin can suggest some effective remedies.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Sure thing: Exploring the leadership values demanded by tech-driven enterprises. Forbes leads the way.
You sure about that? Behold, the absolutely worst one-word text message you can send. HuffPost keeps it short.
You … don’t sound sure: When death by sharks vs. death by electrocution is the sensible part, a speaker has come unglued. Salon digests word salad.
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ Anterior, a New York City-based, AI-powered healthcare administration platform, raised $20 million in Series A funding led by New Enterprise Associates, Sequoia Capital, Blue Lion Global and Neo.
+ Eyebot, a Massachusetts-based developer of rapid point-of-sale eye-prescription technologies, raised $6 million in seed funding led by AlleyCorp and Ubiquity Ventures.
+ FirmPilot, a Florida-based, AI-powered marketing engine for law firms, raised $7 million in Series A funding led by Blumberg Capital and DoubleVerify.
+ Fizz, a NYC-based provider of credit-building debit cards for students, raised $14.4 million in seed funding led by Kleiner Perkins.
+ Phonely, a California-based AI-driven phone answering service, raised $500,000 in funding. Y Combinator made the investment.
+ SiTration, a Massachusetts-based materials recovery innovator, raised $11.8 million in seed funding led by 2150, BHP Ventures, Extantia and Orion Industrial Ventures.
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 Presberg Law). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (To The Heart Through The Stomach Edition)
‘Wich craft: Gotta love it.
String theory: When you understand those annoying banana strings, you kind of love them a little.
Affection, on a roll: When you understand the truth about sandwiches, you kind of love them a lot.
Exquisite ‘Taste’: Amazing cuisine, passionate romance and everything else you missed in the foodie movie of the year.
Tastes great, less confusing: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Presberg Law, which is always cooking up the smartest and simplest solutions for clients’ real-estate issues. Check them out.
