It’s quite a feat to be the 1st to do something, to be remembered at the first to do something.
It is something that can’t be erased.
Being the 1st to do something, can’t be taken away.
If it’s a sports accomplishment, perhaps a record (as in my 1st’s list #2 below), then that record might be broken, but if it’s a landmark, then that athlete can still be remembered as the first to do something.
I wanted to find out who was the first to do something. So I did a little research.
*Side Note 1 – it’s amazing what you can find on Google.
I’ll # them, not to assign importance, but to separate them for your reading ease.
You might know 1 of them, but the other 4 were interesting to me.
And as you know, if I find it interesting, then YOU TOO will find it interesting because after all, it’s “Because Jim Says”
*Side Note 2 – You’re welcome.
1) Arthur Sullivan was not only smart and a visionary, but he was a man after my own heart. See, Arthur knew that he had created something that could not only make you smile, but also something that might make you cringe. 1n 1888, Arthur Sullivan’s recorded song of “The Lost Chord” was etched onto a phonograph cylinder, and is regarded as the earliest recording of music. At the time, Arthur said, “I can only say that I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the result of this evening’s experiments: astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever.” Clearly, Arthur was looking to the future and in his mind’s eye he heard “Oh Mickey, You’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind”.
2) This one I am sure you know: Medical student Roger Bannister is the first runner to break the 4:00 minute mile. On May 6, 1954 Roger went to Oxford, England for an annual match between his team, The Amateur Athletic Association and Oxford University. The rest is history. Roger used a pace setter, which brought him through 3 laps in 3:00.7 – right on pace, but dangerous. When Roger crossed the line at 3:59.4 the crowd held it’s breathe until the announcer announced the time. For many years, many runners had tried to break the 4:00 barrier, and it was widely believed that it was a physical impossibility. But many runners in the 1950s dedicated themselves to break that barrier.
*Side Note 3 – I never did. I got semi close, but wow – under 4:00 is impressive. SUPER impressive.
3) Poor Walter Arnold. Poor poor Walter Arnold. Back on January 28 1886 – Walter Arnold was the first person to get a ticket for speeding. See, Walter was somewhat of a speed demon. In England (Paddock Wood, Kent to be specific) Walter decided to say “To Hell with the man” and threw caution to the wind, got in his hot rod and tore through town. A constable was on the scene and after a 5 mile chase – yes, a five mile chase – pulled over the speed demon. Not only was Walter breaking the maximum speed, but he also did not have a person walking in front of him waving a red flag to alert pedestrians that a car was coming down the road. Yes, at the time, not only were you supposed to go only 2 MPH, but you also had to have someone walking in front of the car waving a red flag.
*Side Note 4 -= do you realize just how slow 2 MPH is? Can you imagine this 5 mile police chase, with Walter doing about 8 MPH and the police care chasing him at 5mph.
*Side Note 5 – no joke – why didn’t the police officer just get out and run?
SO how fast was Walter going. Well…. He was going at 4x the speed limit and he was “observed” as going 8 MPH. OH THE HORROR. And what was his fine? 1 shilling.
4) The University of Buffalo has an infamous “first”. It is in the University of Buffalo course catalog in 1929 that “101” is used as a numerical assigned Introductory class. In the 1930s, students started regarding college degrees as a means to a better job, so schools started using digits to identify their courses. But the numerical sequence was vastly different from college to college. Eventually colleges began to use a more unified 3-digit code. The 1st digit indicated the academic level (1=freshman, 2= sophomore, 3=junior and 4=senior). The 2nd digit used to represent the department (English, Science, History etc…) and the 3rd digit signified the level of class within the department. But as the 3 digit coding became more commonplace, it became known and accepted that the designation 101 would represent the basic beginning course, regardless of the subject area.
*Side Note 6 – If you are on Jeopardy and this comes up and you correctly answer in the form of a question, “What is The University of Buffalo?” – will you give me credit for your correct response?
5) John David Sweeney, Jr. was the first. Yet you don’t even know his name or what he did. Jeez – it’s possible he didn’t even know he was the first. But in November of 1936 John David Sweeney, Jr. was declared to be the first official Social Security Record.
*Side Note 7 – his SS # was 055-09-0001 (it’s public record)
When the Social Security Board started their plan to issue numbers, they joined forces with the Postal Service. SS-5 forms were sent nationwide to employers for their employees to fill out. The forms were either mailed back to the Post Office or returned in person. Then, a Social Security Number was assigned and a card was typed up. The first 1,000 cards all went out at the same time, so it’s impossible to identify the person that received their SS Card first. The records of the 1st 1,000 cards were sent to the main processing center in Baltimore, where the process began to create the permanent file where that card holder’s earnings could be recorded. The head of the Division of Accounting Operations pulled the top form off the pile to enter the information for the 1st time and it was John David Sweeney, Jr., who is declared to be the 1st official Social Security Record
*Side Note 8 – Sweeney, Jr. passed away at the age of 61 and never collected any Social Security benefits. But his widow did, until she passed away in 1982.
*NEW* 6) In Oklahoma on December 21 of 2023, Willis Gibson, who is 13 years old – THIRTEEN – did something that I’m guessing most people reading this has done. He played Tetris. But Willis did something no one else has done. Willis hit the score of 999999 and the game froze. Willis actually beat Tetris. When he hot that score, the game froze. It wasn’t programmed to go beyond that. Willis had beaten Tetris. In freezing the game, Willis became the 1st person to beat the game causing it to freeze. It has been said to have happened before, but only credited to artificial intelligence (AI). Willis got to Level 157. It is believed that the game could go beyond where Willis went. When Willis hit the score and “broke” the game, he had cleared a single row of blocks. It is believed that had he cleared 2,3 or even 4 rows, the game might not have frozen.
So there you have it.
Well, maybe not “it”, but there you have something.
And what you do with it is up to you.
My Take on Life and Events 