U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for February 3

U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for February 3

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3: FIRST MOVIE STUDIO

Profile America -- Thursday, February 3rd. Picture this -- a plywood box, 50 feet long, covered in tar paper, mounted on a turntable, and with a roof that could be opened to let in sunlight. It was the world's first movie studio, finished on this date in 1893 by Thomas Edison at his New Jersey laboratory. Nicknamed "the Black Maria," it cost less than $700 to build. It was used the next day to take the first closeup in film history, called "The Record of a Sneeze," starring Edison's assistant Fred Ott. That sequence was also the first motion picture to be copyrighted. Now, making, distributing and showing motion pictures is close to an $81 billion a year industry, employing nearly 300,000 people. Profile America is in its 14th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 109, 114

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 1128

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

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
U.S. Census Bureau

CONTACT: Rick Reed of the U.S. Census Bureau, +1-301-763-2812, fax: +1-301-763-3762, rreed-at-census.gov

Web Site: http://www.census.gov

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