Mickey Mouse

On November 18, 1928, Mickey Mouse made his debut in a black and white cartoon called "Steamboat Willie." Created by Walt Disney (1901--1966), over the years Mickey has acquired an adoring public. It is not surprising that along with T-shirts and Mickey Mouse hats, the cartoon's fans would want to wear Mickey's smiling face on their wrists. Mickey Mouse watches have evolved over time with the popularity of the cartoon character.

The First Watch
1. Mickey Mouse turned out to be the unlikely savior of the Ingersoll-Waterbury Clock Company. Walt Disney Productions teamed up with the watch manufacturer and in 1933 the first Mickey Mouse watch was produced. Promoter Herman Kamen, who had an impressive track record for introducing new products, launched the watch at the World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois. The original price was $3.25, later reduced to $2.95. The first watch had a round bezel with a standing Mickey depiction and the words "Mickey Mouse Ingersoll" written on the dial. His yellow-gloved hands kept track of minutes and hours. At the bottom of the bezel, three little Mickeys went round and round on a tiny disc that served as a second timer.
Early English Ingersoll Watches
2. Mickey Mouse was a global phenomenon, so it is not surprising that the watches would start making their appearance overseas. In 1934, the Ingersoll Company's London division started manufacturing the watches for the British market. The first watches were sometimes called the "Balloon Trousers Mickey" watch because of the seriously inflated pair of red shorts on the bezel. When the 1936 edition of the British Mickey Mouse watch came out, the shorts were of more normal size and the hands and feet were larger to compensate. The original watches sold for roughly 15 shillings, a considerable amount for that time period.
Time Flies Backwards
3. The Ingersoll Company continued to make the Mickey Mouse watch for the next three decades. The name changed to US Time in the 1960s, eventually to become Timex. Mickey had company on his watch faces. Minnie sometimes shared the bezel face with Mickey, at others she was on her own watch, effectively being marketed to girls. In 1972, Goofy ended up being on the most unusual watch of all. The numbers were put on in backwards counting order and Goofy's hands went round counter clockwise. Even though one had to in effect learn how to tell time all over again, these backwards timepieces were a hit. Once sold for $19.95, if you are lucky enough to find an original, you can expect to pay up to $700 for the timepiece.
Mickey and the Mod Watch
4. In the 1970s, things that were bigger were in many cases considered better. The Mickey Mouse watch was no exception. After popularity seemed to decrease during the 1960s, Mickey's smiling face was back on the latest fad of the times, the Mod Watch. The oversized bezel and extra wide wristband were the height of fashion on both sides of the Atlantic. A full-figured Mickey was featured with wristbands of every color and varying materials. Ingersoll/Timex also introduced the water-resistant and electric battery-powered watches during this time period. The company would produce its last Mickey Mouse watches in 1971.
Today's Mickey Mouse Watch
5. Bradley Watchmakers, part of Elgin National Industries Inc., took over the making of the Mickey Mouse watch and other Disney watches in 1972. Their premier watch had Mickey's rotating hands in bright red gloves and an enviable Swiss movement design. The Bradley Company continued manufacturing the watches until 1987, when the Lorus Company took over. Several well-known watchmakers now make Mickey Mouse watches, including Seiko, Colibri, Fossil and the Disney Time Works company brand. They can be found with the familiar white dial with a colorful Mickey smiling in the center or in more upscale versions encrusted with Swarovski crystals or diamonds. Mickey can even be found in silver silhouette with the Mickey Mouse March ready to signal the passing of the hours. Senior citizen Mickey Mouse has had no problem changing with the times.

Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid was written in 1836, and first published by C.A. Reitzel in Copenhagen 7 April 1837 in Fairy Tales Told for Children. The Little Mermaid (Danish: Den lille havfrue) is a fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince.

The Little Mermaid lives in a utopian underwater kingdom with her father the sea king, her grandmother, and her five elder sisters, each born one year apart. When a mermaid turns 15, she is allowed to swim to the surface to watch the world above, and as the sisters become old enough, one of them visits the surface every year. As each of them returns, the Little Mermaid listens longingly to their various descriptions of the surface and of human beings.

When the Little Mermaid's turn comes, she ventures to the surface, sees a ship with a handsome prince, and falls in love with him from a distance. A great storm hits, and the Little Mermaid saves the prince from a near-drowning. She delivers him unconscious to the shore near a temple. Here she waits until a young girl from the temple finds him. The prince never sees the Little Mermaid.

After that, The Little Mermaid drinks the potion and meets the prince, who is attracted to her beauty and grace even though she is mute. Most of all he likes to see her dance, and she dances for him despite her excruciating pain. When the prince's father orders his son to marry the neighboring king's daughter, the prince tells the Little Mermaid he will not, because he does not love the princess. He goes on to say he can only love the young woman from the temple, who he believes rescued him, but adds that the Little Mermaid is beginning to take the temple girl's place in his heart. It turns out that the princess is the temple girl, who had been sent to the temple to be educated. The prince loves her and the wedding is announced.

The prince and princess marry, and the Little Mermaid's heart breaks. She thinks of all that she has given up and of all the pain she has suffered. She despairs, thinking of the death that awaits her, but before dawn, her sisters bring her a knife that the Sea Witch has given them in exchange for their long hair. If the Little Mermaid slays the prince with the knife and lets his blood drip on her feet, she will become a mermaid again, all her suffering will end and she will live out her full life.

Homer Simpson

Full Name: Homer Jay Simpson.
Height: 6 feet.
Weight: Between 239 pounds and 300 pounds.
Age/Birthdate: Could be 17-23-56, 05-12-56 or 05-10-55.
Blood Type: B positive.
Earmuff Size: XL.

Homer has had many life-long dreams. Some of them include Monorail conductor, run out on a baseball field during a game, manage a beautiful country singer, eat the world's biggest hoagie, be a blackjack dealer, appear on "The Gong Show", to own the Dallas Cowboys, to live in the woods and bowling a perfect game. He has also won several awards, including the 1st Annual Montgomery Burns Award For Outstanding Achievement In The Field Of Excellence, Grammy for "outstanding soul, spoken word, or barbershop album of the year with the B-Sharps and a medal for "making what could have been a Chernobyl into Three Mile Island."

Homer is also full of nuggets of wisdom. Following are some of my favorite words of advice he has given.

* "Kids, you tried your best, and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try."
* "Marge, it takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen."
* "If something's hard to do then it's not worth doing."

After reading about his life and philosphies, it's easy to see why Homer Simpson continues to be a favorite character for many fans.