WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20: OUTLAWING FUN
Profile America — Wednesday, October 20th. Americans today would certainly protest if the government shutdown most ways of having fun because of outside threats to the country. But as war with Britain was looming, that's exactly what the Continental Congress did on this date in 1774 — issuing an order that the colonies, in their words: "discourage all horse racing and all kinds of gaming, cock fighting, exhibitions of shows, plays, and other expensive diversions and entertainments." Today, we spend a lot on entertainment. More than 23 million people go to horse races each year, nearly 70 million attend live music concerts, and we buy more than $53 billion of lottery tickets annually. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
Sources: Library of Congress, The Continental Association 1774
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2010, t. 438, 1209, 1203
Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
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