The Betty Black Blog

A continuation of my post from last month.

7. The multiple time zone clock was invented by a Jamaican.
In 1935, P. L. Huffstead, who worked for the New York Rapid Transit Company invented a “tell the time around the world clock.” The clock, which was installed in Grand Central Station, was three feet in diameter and had large hour, minute and second hands which told the time in New York. Within the main dial were eight smaller dials which gave the time in eight other world cities, including Kingston. Huffstead was born, and trained as a watchmaker, in Kingston. (The Gleaner, The Negro Yearbook 1946)

8. Jamaica’s first team sent to the Olympics won Medals.

400m, 1948. Arthur Wint Gold, Herb McKenley Silver.

In the1948 Summer Olympics, 59 nations competed in 136 events. Jamaica’s first team consisted of Arthur Wint, Herb McKenley, George Rhoden, Les Laing, Byron LaBeach and one lone woman, Cynthia Thompson. Accompanying the team were Coach Joe Yancy and Manager Herb MacDonald.
That year we brought home three medals: 400m Gold: Arthur Wint 400m; Silver: Herb McKenley; 800m Silver: Arthur Wint. (The Gleaner, JamOlympic.org)

9. The first breed of cattle developed in the Western Hemisphere was in Jamaica.
As a child growing up in rural Jamaica, T. P. Lecky was concerned about the difficulty of farming European cattle breeds in Jamaica’s climate. After years of training in Jamaica and Canada he embarked on his research programme to develop a breed more suited to tropical conditions.
By the early 1950s he had developed the Jamaica Hope bred from Holstein, for milk production; the Jersey, compact size and the Indian Sahiwal, tropical and disease resistant. On the 25th of June 1952, members of the Governments of Jamaica and other Caribbean countries as well as cattle farmers and scientists from all over the world gathered at the Bodles Agricultural Station near Old Harbour, St Catherine for the introduction of this new breed of cattle, the first developed in the Western Hemisphere. (National Library of Jamaica, FAO)

10. James Bond was “born” in Jamaica.

Fleming at his desk at Goldeneye (Getty Image)

In 1952, Ian Fleming, journalist and former intelligence agent bought a home in St. Mary which he called Goldeneye after his wartime operation. Here he spent winters formulating a secret agent who would carry out exploits roughly based on some of the missions he had planned during wartime.
He wanted a name for his protagonist which was very ordinary and English. While visiting a neighbour in St Mary, he picked up a book from their coffee table; the book was Guide to the Birds of the West Indies by James Bond. The final detail in place, he could now complete his novel. (IanFleming.com)

11. Jamaicans were part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Most of us are more than aware that Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. Books had been written, a documentary had been made and an Oscar had been won. What many people don’t know however is that the IPCC included a team from the University of the West Indies: Dr Leonard Nurse, Dr John Agard and team leader, Prof. Anthony Chen. (The Gleaner, IPCC.ch)

12. Jamaica has more cellular phones per capita than either the USA or Canada.
In 2007 one of our major providers claimed that Jamaica had more mobile phones per capita than anywhere else in the world. As suspected this was just advertising hype, we are actually 53rd but here’s the interesting bit. Jamaica’s population of 2,670,000 own 2,495,000 cell phones: 93% of the population. Compare this with the USA’s population of 307,210,000 owning 255,000,000 phones: 83% or Canada’s population of 33,490,000 owning 18,750,000 phones: 56%.
(CIA World Factbook, STATIN)

I have lots of other interesting facts on my website www.jamaica-allspice.com so please visit.