By Lady Williamson
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Smokey Bear is an American campaign and advertising icon of the U.S. Forest Service in the Wildfire Prevention Campaign, which is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history. The Ad Council, the United States Forest Service (USFS), and the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), in partnership with creative agency FCB, employ Smokey Bear to educate the public about the dangers of unplanned human-caused wildfires.
A campaign began in 1944 featuring Smokey and the slogan “Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires”. His slogan changed to “Remember… Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires” in 1947 and was associated with Smokey Bear for more than five decades. In April 2001, the message was officially updated to “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires” in response to a massive outbreak of wildfires in natural areas other than forests (such as grasslands), and to clarify that Smokey was promoting the prevention of unplanned outdoor fires, not prescribed burns. Smokey has also had other lines throughout the years, but these have remained his central slogans. According to the Ad Council, 80% of outdoor recreationists correctly identified Smokey Bear’s image and 8 in 10 recognized the campaign PSAs.
Smokey Bear’s name and image are protected by the Smokey Bear Act of 1952 (16 U.S.C. 580 (p-2); previously also 18 U.S.C. 711). Smokey’s name has always intentionally been spelled differently from the adjective “smoky”.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Izaak Walton (writer) –
- William Alfred Fowler (physicist) –
- Robert Shaw (actor) –
- Sam Elliott (actor) –
- Jonathan Kellerman (mystery writer) –
- Melanie Griffith (actress) –
- Whitney Houston (singer) –
- Brett Hull (hockey player) –
- Deion Sanders (football player) –
- Gillian Anderson (actress) –
- Thomas Lennon (actor) –
- Dan Levy (writer and actor) –
- Forrest Landis (actor) –
Died
- Herman Hesse (author) –
- Jerry Garcia (musician) –
- Gregory Hines (dancer & actor) –
- Fay Wray (won fame as the damsel held atop the Empire State Building by a giant ape in the 1933 film King Kong) –
- Matthew McGrory (actor) –
- Bernie Mac (comedian & actor) –
- Frank Gifford (NFL Hall of Fame football player) –
Events
- The Webster-Ashburton Treaty was signed, delimiting the eastern section of the Canadian-American border. The treaty established the boundaries between the St. Croix and Connecticut rivers, between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, and between Lakes Huron and Superior–
- Henry David Thoreau published Walden–
- Thomas Edison received a patent for a two-way telegraph–
- Edward VII crowned king of the United Kingdom–
- Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, established–
- Betty Boop premiered in the animated film Dizzy Dishes–
- Jesse Owens stole the limelight by winning four gold medals in track at the Olympic Games in Berlin and became the first American to win four medals in one Olympics–
- Smokey Bear was chosen as a fire prevention symbol. Posters were released by the Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council.–
- The second atomic bomb, Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan–
- Fatal missile silo explosion occurred in Searcy, Arkansas–
- Richard M. Nixon resigned as President of the United States–
- The Edmonton Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky to the L.A. Kings–
- Donald Duck received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame–
- A magnitude-4.5 earthquake struck the Greater Los Angeles area–
- A magnitude-7.5 earthquake struck east of Jakarta, Indonesia–
- In Karlsruhe, Germany, police responded to an emergency call: A baby squirrel was chasing a man down the street and would not give up. When police arrived on the scene, the squirrel was still in pursuit, but then the exhausted rodent suddenly stopped and fell asleep. The police named the small squirrel Karl-Friedrich and took him into custody. Soon after, he was taken to an animal rescue center, where he was later reported to be doing well. Police said likely the baby squirrel had lost its mother and had fixated on the man as a replacement.–
Weather
- A twister passed along the north side of Wallingford, Connecticut, killing 31 people and destroying more than 30 homes, a church, and a schoolhouse–
- 113 degrees F in Perryville, Tennessee–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
