U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for August 15

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Aug 15, 2014, 12:01 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

Profile America — Friday, August 15th. Chairs have a history going back to the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, or even earlier in antiquity. But a couple of variants that no one was anxious to try out debuted this month in the 19th century. In 1890, the electric chair was used for the first time in Auburn, New York, to carry out a death sentence. Scarcely more alluring, a special dental chair was patented on this date in 1848 by Waldo Hanchett. His innovation was a wooden recliner with an extending headrest, and a tray-like footrest, so patients could open wide in somewhat greater comfort. Most furniture isn't so specialized, and America's 16,000 manufacturers of chairs, tables, beds and all other household furniture and related products ship over $64 billion worth of goods annually. Profile America is in its 17th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:
Kane's Famous First Facts, 2799, 4859
www.cosmetic-dentistry-center.com/dental-office-equipment-t-92.html http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=BP_2012_00A1&prodType=table NAICS 337
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=CFS_2012_00P5&prodType=table NAICS 337

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau