A day of infamy

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Sep 11, 2002

NEW YORK (AP) -- Today is the 254th day of 2002. There are 111 days left in the year. Here are some business and legal highlights from this date in history:

In 1789, Alexander Hamilton was appointed the first U.S. secretary of the Treasury.

In 1814, an American fleet scored a decisive victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812.

In 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) by pressing a key in Washington to signal the start-up of the dam's first hydroelectric generator in Nevada.

In 1941, Charles A. Lindbergh sparked charges of anti-Semitism with a speech in which he said "the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration" were trying to draw the United States into World War II.

In 1962, the Beatles made their first record for EMI, Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You, at EMI studios in London.

One year ago, on Sept. 11, 2001, in the worst act of terrorism committed on U.S. soil, two hijacked jetliners crashed into New York's World Trade Center, causing the twin towers to fall and killing more than 2,800 people; a commandeered jetliner smashed into the Pentagon, claiming 189 victims; and a fourth plane with 44 passengers and crew crashed in western Pennsylvania as the passengers apparently fought with the hijackers.

Sobering statistics

NEW YORK (NYT) -- How badly hit was domestic leisure and business travel by last September's terrorist attacks? The Travel Industry Association of America, the travel business trade group, offers some sobering statistics:

* More than 359,000 travel industry jobs lost; 273,000 of them in the first three months after Sept. 11.

* Domestic travel spending by fell $27 billion, to $455 billion, in 2001 and will likely drop another $2 billion this year.

* Individual business trips dropped to 206.6 million in 2001 from 212.9 million in 2000. A slight recovery, to 209.4 million, is projected for this year, but business trips will not reach 2000 levels until 2003, the travel group said.

The future of the dollar?

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- When Mexicans have to pay a taxi driver or buy some tacos, they will likely start pulling out the plastic. The country isn't going credit-card crazy. It's just changing its 20 peso bill, worth about $2, from paper to a form of plastic. There are 130 million 20 peso bills in circulation, and they will slowly be replaced starting Sept. 30. Officials estimate it will take a year before the majority of paper bills are removed from Mexico's streets.

Besides being difficult to counterfeit, the plastic bills last up to four times longer than those of paper -- although they cost 50 percent more to produce. Mexico decided to start with the 20 peso note -- its smallest denominated bill -- because it gets the most use in Mexico. If the plastic bill is successful, officials may convert the 50, 100, 200 and 500 peso bills, all of which are more likely to be counterfeited.

Australia began using plastic money in 1988. Some 20 countries -- including New Zealand, Brazil, Thailand and Northern Ireland -- have followed its lead. Officials said the new plastic bills -- which are paper-thin and the same size as their paper counterparts -- have been tested successfully in automatic teller machines.

Houses of tomorrow

TOKYO (AP) -- Not sure what to wear for that high school reunion? Just ask your closet. Wondering how to get rid of that pimple on your chin? Consult the mirror for advice on clear skin.

Japan's leading electronics companies are hard at work trying to make this nation's notoriously cramped houses smarter -- and more convenient -- with a high-tech touch. At its new Tokyo showroom, Matsushita Electric Industrial, maker of the Panasonic brand, is enticing Japan's gadget lovers with two model "houses of tomorrow." On show are a toilet that analyzes your urine and automatically sends suspicious results to the doctor via the Internet, and a closet that picks out clothes according to weather forecasts -- and whether you need to impress the boss. "These are ideas that in a few years, we'll be able in some way to sell," Matsushita spokesman Wilson Solano said. "This is market potential."

The products, which are not priced yet, are slated to go to market in 2005 or beyond.

Meager Japanese abodes are infamous for paper-thin walls and tight quarters. Floor space averages only 350 square feet, which is barely half a floor in a typical American house. But the trend is clear. What they lack in size, some are trying to make up in smarts. Toilets flush by remote control and have motorized seats that adjust to your height. Lights are primed to switch on when someone walks in a room. And the Japanese have been adopting high-speed Internet access much faster than Americans.

Part of Matsushita's push are products that afford extra elbow room. That includes the all-in-one washer-dryer, especially useful in Japan where the typical washing machine is only half as big as its American counterpart and where most people hang clothes outside. Matsushita also introduced a kitchen table with a touch-screen computer built into it that doubles as a flat-screen television.