Friday, August 22, 2014
Did you know: The history of Liquid Soap and Spray Cans
Two ordinary items found in many or most American households both trace their creation by New York City residents to this date in August. In 1865, the first liquid soap was patented by William Shepphard. His formula flowed from mixing a pound of regular soap with 100 pounds of ammonia solution, then dissolving it in water to the consistency of molasses. And in 1939, Julian Seth Kahn received a patent for an "apparatus for mixing a liquid with a gas" — a spray can for whipped cream. Of course, aerosols didn't stop with whipped cream. Today in the U.S., soap and detergent manufacturing is a nearly $29 billion a year business, while metal can manufacturers make over $14 billion in annual sales. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Did You Know: Leos Who Changed the World
Two geniuses in the field of electronics whose inventions changed pastimes the world over were born in August. One was television pioneer Philo Farnsworth, whose 1906 birthday is noted today. He conceived the idea of television broadcasting while still in high school and realized his dream at the age of 21. The other was Lee de Forest, a Yale Ph.D. in physics. He invented the three-element vacuum tube among his hundreds of patents and was a pioneer in radio, which in the early 20th century was so unbelievable he was once arrested for selling stock to underwrite his invention. Over 225,000 Americans work in the roughly 8,900 radio and TV broadcasting establishments advanced by Farnsworth and de Forest. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Local Schools Are Critical to Millennial Home Buyers Realtor.com® Back-to-School Data Shows
SAN JOSE, Calif.-- Millennial buyers are ready to call the suburbs home if that means quality elementary schools. Just in time for the back-to-school season, realtor.com® today reveals the most popular cities and schools viewed using its search-by-school feature, which allows people to explore homes for sale based on specific schools and school districts.
Millennials – people born between 1980 and 2000 – are less likely than other generations to compromise on school districts when searching for a home. Fifty-two percent of millennials report that school districts are a deal breaker in their home search, compared with 31 percent of all buyers, according to a recent realtor.com® study.
Most of top 10 cities where people research the most school information on realtor.com® are located in affordable, suburban communities outside of larger urban areas. Generally, the suburbs attract younger buyers because of their close proximity to urban job markets and less expensive housing. In June, the top 10 neighborhoods include: 1) Bethel, N.C.; 2) Gadsden, Ala.; 3) Agoura, Calif. (near Los Angeles, Calif.); 4) Kensington, Md. (near Washington D.C.); 5) Greenwood Village, Colo. (near Denver, Colo.); 6)Greenacres, Fla. (near West Palm Beach, Fla.); 7) Watauga, Texas (near Fort Worth, Texas); 8) La Crescent, Minn.; 9) North Hollywood, Calif. (near Los Angeles, Calif.) and 10) Fairburn, Ga. (near Atlanta, Ga.).
Realtor.com® search-by-school data also reveals that elementary schools are on the minds of those looking for homes. Eight of the top 10 most popular schools viewed on realtor.com® (see chart below) include kindergarten through fifth grade. This indicates that the majority of people who research schools either have young children or expect to start a family when they buy their next home.
"Local schools are clearly more important to specific population segments – such as today's millennials, who either have or are planning to have children. High-ranking schools can have a positive impact on home values over time as new families pay a premium for access to better schools," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®, the leader in providing consumers with the most accurate U.S. residential listings online*
The realtor.com® search-by-school feature helps buyers quickly and easily filter accurate local school information so they can decide which homes meet their family's educational needs. Some of its key features include:
- GreatSchools data displayed for each school including: parent ratings, student to teacher ratio, test scores and a Great Schools ranking
- An interactive map shows GreatSchools ratings and assignment boundaries for each school in a local area
- Homes can be searched by public schools or school districts
- The 'Nearby Schools' button on the realtor.com® mobile app uses a Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to find schools in the home buyers desired neighborhood.
Most Viewed Schools on realtor.com® in June
Cities with the Most School Views on realtor.com® in June
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