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On this day in history, Nov. 18, 1883, North American railroads create time zones, reshape global life

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American and Canadian railroads enacted time zones — a concept that schedules all aspects of life today — on this day in history, Nov. 18, 1883. 

The rail industry’s creation of time zones was a brazen attempt to bend time to its will. 

It brought sanity to a sprawling patchwork system of local timekeeping based on the ancient method of following the sun, the system used since human time began.

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“Back in the early 1800s, the sun served as the official ‘clock’ in the U.S., and time was based on each city’s own solar noon, or the point when the sun is highest in the sky,” Union Pacific railroad writes in its history of time zones. 

“This timekeeping method resulted in the creation of more than 300 local time zones across the country — not to mention disparity in local time depending on your location. So, for example, while it could be 12:09 p.m. in New York, it could also be 12:17 p.m. in Chicago.”

Union Pacific Diesel Locomotive Train, Cajon Pass near Ono, California, 1964. Sprawling distances across North America and a patchwork of local methods of timekeeping encouraged railroads to adopt time zones in 1883.

Union Pacific Diesel Locomotive Train, Cajon Pass near Ono, California, 1964. Sprawling distances across North America and a patchwork of local methods of timekeeping encouraged railroads to adopt time zones in 1883.
(Photo by: GHI/Universal History Archive via Getty Images)

The system that railroads pioneered did not become federal law until the passage of the Standard Time Act on March 19, 1918, amid World War I

With an estimated 100,000 Americans alive today over the age of 100, tens of thousands of U.S. citizens still alive now were born into a world without uniform time. 

“Back in the early 1800s, the sun served as the official ‘clock’ in the U.S.” — Union Pacific railroad

Charles F. Dowd, an educator at what’s now Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, first proposed the concept of time zones across the U.S. in 1870. 

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“Dowd’s plan divided the country into four time zones. He used the 75th meridian, which runs through New York State, as the base for his Eastern Standard Time,” explains the Madison Historical Society from the Connecticut hometown of the time pioneer. 

A color map showing the divisions of standard time, Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern, across the United States, 1922. 

A color map showing the divisions of standard time, Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern, across the United States, 1922. 
(Photo by Interim Archives/Getty Images)

“He then assigned three cross-country meridians: Central Standard (90th); Mountain Standard (105th); Pacific Standard (120th). Each zone time was set one hour apart.”

Dowd slowly built support for his plan from academics. But the fractured railroad industry, with hundreds of companies competing for traffic and dollars, proved harder to harness.

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He found an influential ally in William F. Allen, a railroad engineer and editor of the “Traveler’s Official Railway Guide.”

“With his helpful modifications — and Dowd’s continual work — Allen convinced railroad officials to adopt (time zones),” the Madison Historical Society explains. 

Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan opened in 1913 just 30 years after railroads pioneered the creation of time zones — and five years before the system became federal law in the United States.

Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan opened in 1913 just 30 years after railroads pioneered the creation of time zones — and five years before the system became federal law in the United States.
(Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)

“On November 18, 1883, Allen was on hand at the Western Union Telegraph System building in New York City to witness the plan’s implementation. Room 148 contained the company’s regulator clock. At 9 a.m., the clock was stopped for precisely three minutes and 58:38 seconds. The clock was then restarted, and Eastern Standard Time was born.”

The concept of time zones quickly spread around the world.

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“The following year a conference was held in New York City to determine the location of the prime meridian, which refers to zero degrees longitude,” reports the website of California cartographer GeoJango Maps. 

“It was decided that Greenwich, England, would act as the Earth’s prime meridian and that the 24 time zones would be based off … this location.”

The four continental North American time zones used today — Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific — look substantially similar to those envisioned by Dowd in the 1870s. 

In this November 1943 file photo, bodies and wrecked amphibious tractors litter a battlefield after U.S. Marines from the 2nd Division forced back the Japanese on Betio island in the Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati. The nation of Kiribati sprawls across both the International Date Line and the equator. 

In this November 1943 file photo, bodies and wrecked amphibious tractors litter a battlefield after U.S. Marines from the 2nd Division forced back the Japanese on Betio island in the Tarawa Atoll, Kiribati. The nation of Kiribati sprawls across both the International Date Line and the equator. 
(AP Photo, File)

The time zone concept, as clean as it may appear, creates chaos in one isolated Pacific Ocean island nation.

Kiribati sprawls across about 1.4 million square miles of ocean. The World War II Battle of Tarawa, pitting United States Marines against entrenched Japanese defenders, took place in what’s now Kiribati.

The nation straddles both the International Date Line and the equator. So it can be Friday and Saturday in Kiribati — and both summer and winter — all at the same time.

The nation created its own unilateral time zones, bucking the international standard, on Dec. 31, 1994, to solve the problem.

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“These rarest of time zones were established by Kiribati,” writes watchmaker TAG Heuer, “for the purpose of removing certain absurdities from the daily lives of its citizens.”

“Today, the U.S Department of Transportation oversees the nation’s time zones and the uniform observance of Daylight Saving Time,” writes Union Pacific, “including exercising the authority that allows a state to change its official time zone.”

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/this-day-history-nov-18-1883-north-american-railroads-create-time-zones-reshape-life

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Dave Portnoy blisters WaPo ‘hit piece’ with viral statement announcing the ‘death of honest’ journalism

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy released a press release blasting a recent Washington Post “hit piece” against him.

Portnoy’s statement accusing the outlet of causing the “death of honest and fair journalism” in attacking him with “untrue narratives” went viral on X Friday, receiving millions of views in hours and prompting a social media pile on of the Washington Post.

In the statement he posted to X, Portnoy explained his side of a recent feud between him and the outlet over a story the Post published. The piece reported on criticism advertisers and pizzerias got for working with the mogul for his upcoming “One Bite Pizza Festival” in New York City.

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dave portnoy and the washington post

Bartstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy responded to a Washington Post hit piece on him with a press release he published to X Friday. ((Fox News/Getty Images))

The piece, published by Post reporters Tim Carmen and Emily Heil Friday, described Portnoy as someone who “has been no stranger to controversy.” It mentioned his history of “sexist” and other insensitive comments, as well as allegations of sexual impropriety. 

The statement from “Team Portnoy” opened, stating, “Today marks the official death of honest and fair journalism in America. Emily ‘Caught Red Handed’ Heil and Tim ‘Probably An Ugly Loser’ Carman of the Washington Post put the final nail in the coffin with their weak and dishonest hit piece against David S. Portnoy and his One Bite pizzafest.”

The letter continued, explaining how Portnoy “caught wind of this hit piece” before it was published. It claimed he noticed that “Heil started reaching out to advertisers and pizzerias to try and shame them for participating in what will be the greatest day in the history of pizza.”

Portnoy’s feud with the outlet went public when he called Heil and argued with her over her intentions in publishing it.

Taunting the reporters, Portnoy’s letter continued, “It had already been a rough week for Portnoy, who’s been having trouble finding his coffee in his colossal new Miami mansion. And now he had to deal with this.”

Mentioning the phone call, the statement added, “So he called up Heil to confront her and caught her red-handed in a lie where she denied saying anything negative about Portnoy in emails. (She would later clarify that she only tells negative lies about people as a reporting tactic. As if that was supposed to help her case somehow.)”

Returning to the piece itself, the statement read, “It was mostly the same old tired, reused, and untrue narratives about Portnoy. Although they did make the groundbreaking investigative discovery that he sometimes takes more than one bite in his pizza reviews.”

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The text added, “no pizzerias or advertisers decided to pull out of Pizzafest.” 

X users weighed in on Portnoy’s post, with many siding with the Barstool owner. 

The Federalist senior contributor Rich Cromwell read the post and declared, “This is art.”

Publicist and conservative Beth Baumann posted, “This is the best press release I’ve ever read and I’m a publicist. Lol.”

Neither The Washington Post nor the two reporters who wrote the piece about Portnoy immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

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Strawberry Jell-O pie that’s simply delicious: Try the easy recipe

For the strawberry lovers who are on the hunt for an easy-to-make dessert, this simple strawberry pie is just the thing.

Besides simplicity, Cara Lanz of midwesternhomelife.com says this pie is a delicious dessert dish.

“The only hard part about making it is waiting for it to set up in the fridge,” said Lanz, Minnesota.

This recipe takes mere minutes of prep time and, to Lanz’s point, the fridge does the work.

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Grab that pint of strawberries and attempt this amazingly easy dessert.

No Bake Strawberry Jell-O Pie by Cara Lanz of midwesternhomelife.com

Makes 8 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes

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Chill/set time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

whole strawberry jello pie

Sink your teeth into this soft and delicious strawberry pie made with Jell-O. (Cara Lanz, midwesternhomelife.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 oz. box strawberry Jell-O

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  • 4 cups sliced strawberries, plus more for serving, optional
  • 9″ graham cracker crust (store-bought or homemade)
  • Whipped cream for serving (optional)
Cara Lanz, midwesternhomelife.com

Plop a dollop of whipped cream on top of this sweet, strawberry after-dinner treat. (Cara Lanz, midwesternhomelife.com)

Directions

1. Mix water, sugar and cornstarch together in a saucepan. Heat to a boil over medium heat. Stir for one minute. Remove from the heat.

2. Add the strawberry gelatin and stir until it has dissolved, about 2 minutes.

3. Let the mixture cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes.

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4. Stir in the strawberries. Pour the mixture into the graham cracker crust.

5. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 2 hours.

6. Serve with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

This original recipe is owned by midwesternhomelife.com and was shared with Fox News Digital.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

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Pumpkin tiramisu, turkey pot pies and more: Here are delicious fall recipes to celebrate the season

Celebrity chef George Duran kicked off the first day of fall on “Fox & Friends Weekend” with some autumnal-themed recipes on Saturday, Sept. 23. 

Duran joined the “Fox & Friends Weekend” crew to reveal three recipes that feature fall ingredients. 

“Kids love sweets during the fall,” said Duran. 

He enlisted the help of special guest Rex Hegseth – son of co-host Pete Hegseth – to create the first dish, an “out of this world” variation on tiramisu. 

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Instead of using ladyfingers, as in a traditional tiramisu recipe, Duran substituted Nilla Wafers for a more kid-friendly option. 

For a fall twist, Duran mixed coffee with coffee creamers flavored with pumpkin spice and apple crumble.

Fox & Friends team, plus Rex Hegseth, an 8 year old boy, with George Duran

Chef George Duran joined “Fox & Friends Weekend” (including special guest, birthday boy Rex Hegseth) to show off some fall recipes. (Fox News)

“Because of the pumpkin purée or apple crumble flavor, it kind of adds more of a dimension to it, and kids can really help with that,” he said. 

Shifting to appetizers, Duran explained that “fall to me is about the taste of potatoes.” 

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Little Potato Company, he said, has pre-packaged small potatoes that are ready to eat after a quick trip to the microwave or air fryer.

“I like to spend more time with my family and less time cooking,” said Duran. 

“In five minutes, you take these bags, you can microwave them and you have cooked little potatoes.”

bags of Little Potato Co. potatoes

Little Potato Co. sells potatoes that are easy to prepare for a hearty fall meal, said Chef George Duran during a “Fox & Friends Weekend” appearance. (Fox News)

“You don’t have to peel them,” he said. 

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The Little Potato Company also sells pre-seasoned, microwaveable potatoes. 

“It’s the big thing — it’s a hardy fall thing.” 

“Instantly, you have these herbed potatoes you can actually serve to your family,” said Duran. 

George Duran and the Fox & Friends weekend hosts with pot pies

In addition to the first day of fall, Saturday, Sept. 23, is also “National Great American Pot Pie Day.”  (Fox News)

Turning to a main dish, Duran noted that in addition to the first day of fall, Sept. 23 is also “National Great American Pot Pie Day.” 

To mark the occasion, Duran made mini pot pies — with a fall twist, of course. 

“It’s the big thing — it’s a hardy fall thing,” he said. 

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Instead of using the oven, as is traditional, Duran cooked his pot pies in the air fryer using a puff pastry crust. 

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“Taste this fall vegetable pot pie,” he said.

“You don’t have to just use chicken. I’ve used turkey, because it’s the holiday.” 

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

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