CALIFORNIA DREAMING
read in Turkish
This is California, where the sun loves to kiss and the Pacific Ocean never tires of caressing its shores. It rivals Paris, New York, and London as a leading destination. It inherits the rebellious spirit unique to port cities, where conservatism has no place. The nickname "Golden State” originates from its fertile lands, where the natives didn't even need to work to harvest their bountiful yields. Enriched by the cultural mosaic brought by adventurous gold seekers from all around the world, it nourished the idealism of the counterculture movements of the 60s. That's why we can say this land embraces the new; it loves supporting it. It makes room for the different and curiously takes its time with the unfamiliar. It loves creating its own traditions and even exporting them. It embraces creativity without any fear and recognizes it as a valuable asset. That's why dreaming is easy here. That's why it leans towards creating rather than just producing.
The innovations marking our everyday lives didn't emerge from nowhere; most carry California's DNA in their cells. The daydreams blend with the dreams of the night, resonating with the spirit of the time. When the future is envisioned here, it impatiently awaits the right time to enter our lives; it's safe to say we are not exaggerating. So, let's take a moment to remember how California designed its past to the present.
Amidst the long list of cutting-edge electronic devices, also known as SMART GADGETS, designed in Silicon Valley, one stands out as the most life-changing: Steve Jobs' smartphone, the iPhone. Although it wasn't the first smartphone we have seen in life, the California-born iPhone won our hearts with its design, putting a small computer in our pockets. Since its launch in 2007, it has sold over 2 billion units.
The dream of the 60s generation was to make knowledge accessible to everyone, and they turned this dream into reality by inventing the personal computer.
It all began with the Homebrew Computer Club meeting in a garage in Menlo Park in 1975. This club provided support to computer enthusiasts and amateur inventors, empowering them to build their own computers with computer kits. It's worth noting that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak unveiled their first computer, designed in another garage, at this club. The target audience for the first generation of Apple computers was these technology geeks and nerds. The 2nd generation of APPLE PCs was designed to be a simple model that could find its place in ordinary people's homes and lives. (1977) "A computer that someone who is not an electrical engineer can take home and plug in to start using” was nothing short of a revolution.
When Ruth Handler, one of the partners of Mattel company, envisioned BARBIE for her daughter Barbara, it became the first doll designed for children with an adult-like appearance. Inspired by the German-made doll, Lili, which was originally created for adult men, Barbie is far from innocent. Since its release in 1959, this beloved baby doll of the post-World War II generation has sold an estimated 1 billion units in over 100 countries, becoming the closest companion of teenage girls. While Barbie faced criticism for imposing unrealistic body proportions on young girls, she also managed to serve as an alternative to the traditional way of life by embodying around 200 different careers. The message of "You can be anything you want" was considered far too radical even for the America of the 60s.
As expected, San Francisco never fails to make a statement and has been hosting the Altered Barbie exhibitions since 2002, providing Barbie with the opportunity to be "freely reimagined." In these exhibitions, artists challenge the imposed ideal body measurements and societal gender roles by presenting Barbie versions like the one undergoing chemotherapy, the Latino Barbie, and drag queen Barbies, representing marginalized women in society.
Founded by Walter Disney in 1923 in Los Angeles, Disney Brothers Studios opened the doors to the enchanting world of animation for countless generations. Characters like Pinocchio, Alice, Sleeping Beauty, and Peter Pan leaped from illustrated and not illustrated fairy tale books to come to life in cartoons within the DISNEY WORLD. Mickey Mouse, designed by Disney during a train journey between New York and Los Angeles, became the symbol of the Disney empire, forever changing our relationship with mice. Disney Studios also marked some of the firsts in animation, such as "Old Mill," the first three-dimensional animated film, and "Toy Story," the first fully computer-animated film. The sky was the limit for Disney's dreams; he envisioned a place where children could have fun with their families. To bring this entertainment park to life, he even borrowed money from his employees. When DISNEYLAND opened in Los Angeles in 1955, the event was watched by 70 million people on television. Disneyland Paris, Tokyo, and Florida followed over time, expanding beyond Los Angeles.
Rumor has it that the FORTUNE COOKIE originated from moon cakes, which were used to secretly pass messages in the 14th century when the Chinese rebelled against the Mongols. Upon settling in San Francisco, the Chinese continued this tradition by giving each other mooncakes during lunar ceremonies. Interestingly, the fortune version of these cookies was first developed to accompany afternoon tea by Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese immigrant responsible for the Japanese Tea Garden within Golden Gate Park. However, over time, these cookies, somehow, became a symbol of Chinatown, with the inclusion of insightful quotes, well-wishes, or humorous predictions, making them a delightful way to finish a meal.
Who would have thought that the INTERNET, developed by the United States for military purposes during the Cold War, would one day be bestowed upon ordinary people like us for everyday use? In 1969, within the framework of the ARPANET project supported by the Department of Defense, the first prototype of the Internet was established, allowing a few computers to share data on a single network. These initial computers, almost the size of small houses, encountered crashes the moment the "log in" command was entered during the first trial. It would take until the invention of the world wide web (www) in 1990 for the Internet to take the form we know today. The rest is history!
During the echoes of World War I, the Italian Jacuzzi family sought refuge in California and one of their little members suffered from an illness that led to rheumatism. Upon realizing the positive response of the illness to hydrotherapy, the resourceful Jacuzzi siblings developed a hydro-massage bathtub to alleviate the child’s pain. (1954) Taking on the family name, this bathtub would later become a generic brand known as JACUZZI.
Not many know that SKATEBOARDING originated in the 1950s, related to surf culture. On windless days, it is said that Santa Monica surfers resorted to this method to practice their maneuvers on land. Placing a wooden board on top of roller skates did the trick, and voila, the skateboard was born. Its resurgence in the 80s is owed to our generation's cult film "Back to the Future."
Indeed, California's gold deposits may have made some individuals wealthy overnight, but the real winners were the entrepreneurs who met the needs of these adventurous souls. One such prominent figure was Levi Strauss. When he patented the copper-riveted canvas work overalls, designed for miners in 1873, he not only realized his own dream but also embodied the American Dream for millions of people. LEVI'S, which evolved into a global brand, achieved remarkable success in creating gender-neutral and classless clothing.
One face of American cuisine is its fast food culture, while the other is the pride of CALIFORNIA CUISINE. When Alice Waters established Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley In 1971, her dedication to cooking with organic, fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients had a enduring influence on the regional cuisine. Chez Panisse not only pioneered the region's cosmopolitan cuisine through the "Farm-to-Table" movement’s principles but also contributed to the area gaining the reputation of the "Gourmet Ghetto." The fusion of this northern movement with Los Angeles' fusion cuisine led to a culinary revolution in California Cuisine, injecting much-needed innovation into American cuisine and earning it a respected position among the world's culinary delights.
In the 20th century, as cars became accessible to the masses, embarking on long road trips offered a breath of fresh air to people who felt confined and suffocated in cities and towns. Especially in the vast American landscape, road trips became synonymous with the concept of freedom and left a lasting impact on popular culture. The main factor that made these long car journeys possible was the birth of the MOTEL concept, which combined motor and hotel. Motels were inspired by one-day distance mission monasteries, each located at a day's journey apart. The brainchild of James Vail, a hotel chain was planned along Route 101 stretching from San Diego to Seattle on the West Coast.
Although the Great Depression may have derailed this brilliant project, Vail initiated the motel frenzy by building the first motel in San Luis Obispo in 1925. Once offered for $2.5 per night, the family-run motel concept became an indispensable part of the adventure of road trips.
Today, although we may criticize MC DONALD'S for its unhealthy menu, the McDonald brothers revolutionized the food and service industries by introducing the concept of "fast food" to our rapidly paced post-World War II lives. It was 1948; the Baby Boomer generation was the first to encounter concepts like self-service, drive-thru, and paper packaging. By applying Henry Ford's assembly line model for car production to fast food, they sped up service, reduced costs, and led the way in innovation with each of their practices. The question, "Would you like fries with that?" became an iconic phrase that is hard to refuse in any language, forever etched in our memories.
The iconic cocktail featured in Bond films, the MARTINI, dates back to 1870. It all started with the phrase "One day, a miner walks into a bar."in the town of Martinez, located in the Bay Area. The miner orders a drink known as the Martinez cocktail, crafted with a bit of gin, a touch of vermouth, and a few drops of bitters. However, as the miner enjoys a few more drinks, the cocktail gradually loses the letter "z" and transforms into the Martini that we recognize and love today.
MIMOSA is a delightful excuse to indulge in sipping champagne and orange juice before lunchtime. A beloved staple of brunches, while Paris and London bartenders may boast about being the inventors of mimosa, San Francisco stands as a bold competitor. The drink's popularity surged in the 1940s, with its legend tied to Hitchcock.
Pharmacologist Dr. Murray E. Jarvik developed an interest in smoking addiction after witnessing his wife’s struggles with quitting smoking. Identifying nicotine as the addictive substance, he introduced the groundbreaking invention of NICOTINE PATCHES in 1984. If you're considering nicotine supplements, why not also try incorporating regular eggplant consumption into your routine?
18th-century travelers' accounts of Hawaii include references to a type of local wood known as koa, which was utilized to construct a massive surfboard measuring 500 meters in length and weighing 35 kilograms. However, it was a technological revolution involving the invention of materials like fiberglass and polyurethane foam that allowed SURFBOARDS to become lightweight enough for us to carry under our arms and take to the beach. Thanks to this innovation, California flooded Pacific Ocean shores in the late 50s, and Beach Boys' song "Surfin USA" immortalized the beach and surf culture of the 60s.
THE WAVE was first performed during a baseball match in Oakland in 1981 but earned its popularity at the Mexico Olympic Games in 1984.
Although its origin is in Egypt, the beloved staple of hipster breakfasts, SOURDOUGH BREAD, became inadvertently famous in San Francisco thanks to the microclimate of the region, which created the yeast - lactobacillus sanfranciscensis.
Taking its name from the Frisbee brand of pie tins that Yale University students used to toss around for fun, the FRISBEE took its familiar form with the efforts of Californian inventor Walter Morrison in 1948.
HEATH CERAMICS, known for its timeless designs in earthy tones, was born in California in 1948, transforming ceramics into exquisite tableware.
Outdoor sport brands that fuel our passion for nature, NORTH FACE and PATAGONIA, were created in California.
The fun toy of the Baby Boomer suburban generation, HULA HOOP, was inspired by the Hawaiian dance hula and was first produced in California, Pasadena, in modern times (1958).
When 11-year-old Frank Epperson left a flavored, carbonated drink on his San Francisco home's veranda overnight, leading to it freezing in the night chill, he began selling it at the beach, giving birth to the POPSICLE. (1905)
The logarithmic RICHTER SCALE, developed along the Pacific Ocean coast by physicist Richter and geophysicist Gutenberg while studying the San Andreas fault line that frequently disturbed San Francisco, was born in California. (1935)
During the Prohibition era, when neighbors suspected him of making a distillation machine, they called the police, but in reality, the device that the electrical engineer Farnsworth was tinkering with in his San Francisco home was the TELEVISION. (1927)
*Hillsider Magazine # 96, Fall 2020