History Book: The Count turns 50

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Monday, November 28th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Next up, the WORLD History Book.

50 years ago this week, two notable beginnings—one, a popular video game and the other, the debut of a memorable television character. Plus, 75 years ago, the United Nations approves a plan that leads to the founding of the modern nation of Israel.

EICHER: But first, 100 years ago this week, a British pilot takes to the skies over New York City. Here’s Paul Butler.

NEWSREEL AUDIO: Hey, what's up everybody gawking at? What's up there looks so interesting. Why it's nothing but skywriting…

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: On November 28th, 1922, Royal Air Force Captain Cyril Turner is behind the controls of his aerobatic biplane. He writes the first documented message in the skies over the Big Apple. Audio here courtesy of Yesterdays’ Newsreel:

NEWSREEL AUDIO: (con’t) First message is: Hello USA. Letters are 10,000 feet up and half a mile wide.

Skywriting requires stable smoke that can be shut on and off as the pilot writes the letters upside down from his perspective. The pilot diverts paraffin oil through the engine’s exhaust. The oil vaporizes, producing a steady stream of smoke. A single letter can be as high as one mile and take up to a minute and a half to create. Some messages stretch 15 miles. Under ideal conditions, the message is legible for 15 to 20 minutes.

AUDIO: [NEWSREEL]

RAF pilot Cyril Turner adds to his greeting over New York: “Call Vanderbilt 7200”—the Vanderbilt Hotel telephone number. Over the next three hours, the hotel receives more than 40-thousand calls…skywriting advertising is born.

Next, 75 years ago this week, the UN General Assembly adopts resolution 181. Audio here from a 1947 British Movietone Newsreel:

NEWSREEL: Long Island—the General Assembly of the United Nations has made its decision on Palestine. The map shows what partition means. The Jewish state colored light, the Arab state dark. Jaffa to go to the Arabs, Jerusalem internationalized.

The resolution calls for the partition of British controlled Palestine into Arab and Jewish states. The city of Jerusalem is to be governed by a special international body.

Since the end of World War I, Jewish immigration to Palestine had been on the rise—increasing tensions between Arabs and immigrants to the region. After World War II, Britain wanted out of the Middle East and in April 1947, it appealed to the United Nations. After much debate, the UN voted on a two state proposal:

NEWSREEL: (con’t) …the resolution of the ... Committee on Palestine was adopted by 33 votes: 13 against and 10 abstentions.

Many in the Jewish community pointed to the resolution as the legal basis for the establishment of Israel:

NEWSREEL: And this was the scene the next day in Jerusalem: the Jewish people at once began to celebrate the United Nations decision…

But Arabs were unhappy with the UN resolution:

NEWSREEL: …the Arab reaction was to follow two days later…Arabs advancing on the center of Jerusalem at the beginning of a three day strike and an orgy of wrecking, looting and bloodshed.

Violence continues in the region to this day as the international community and foreign governments continue to search for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Next, two cultural milestones—both happening 50 years ago this week. First, Atari Inc. releases its arcade version of Pong…

AUDIO: [PONG COMPUTER SOUNDS]

Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games. It is a simple two dimensional video game meant to simulate table tennis.

AUDIO: [MAGNAVOX COMMERCIAL]

Painfully simple compared to today’s games, Pong established the video game industry along with the Magnavox Odyssey game console. Players use a paddle wheel to control a racket up and down on a vertical axis. A block representing a ball bounces from side to side. Players try to reach eleven points before their opponent—earning points when the other fails to return the ball.

And speaking of counting…that brings us to our second anniversary—50 years ago today:

COUNT VON COUNT: Do you know why they called me the count? Because I love to count things. | I know | Oh look, blocks! I will count them.

Audio here from the first episode of Sesame Street—season 4.

Count von Count is a friendly vampire. He is a parody of Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula. His first appearance includes counting blocks with Bert and Ernie.

COUNT VON COUNT: 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6!

The Count suffers from arithmomania—a legendary malady of vampires. He counts anything and everything. When he finishes counting, he usually laughs and announces the total. The final tally is frequently accompanied by a crash of thunder.

The Muppet wiki fandom page includes contradictory accounts to his supposed age, but today marks his 50th birthday on the show.

Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope you had some time—while you bounced between celebrations—to follow Count Von Count’s example…and count your blessings.

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: Count Your Blessings - Arr. by Dan Miller (Jens Korndoerfer, Organ)

That’s this week’s WORLD History Book. I’m Paul Butler.

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