Q: With NCR moving its headquarters to Atlanta, what are the top 10 oldest companies still operating in the United States? I can think of Dupont, Aetna and AT&T as being older. What are the others?
A: NCR, which is moving its headquarters from Ohio, was founded in 1884 by John H. Patterson. According to Google sources, the oldest company in the United States is J.E. Rhoads and Sons, founded in 1702. Among Fortune 500 companies, the oldest is Bank of New York, now Bank of New York Mellon, founded in 1784. Dupont Chemical Co. dates to 1802. Aetna issued its first insurance policy in 1850; Hartford Insurance Co. originated in 1810.
The oldest well-known American companies include Procter & Gamble, founded in 1837; John Deere, 1837; and Arrow Shirts and Western Union, 1851. Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone in 1876 became the foundation of AT&T. General Electric originated in 1890. Exxon-Mobil, tops on the Fortune 500 list this year, had its roots in the 1870 founding of Standard Oil Co. by John D. Rockefeller.
Q: Is President Obama planning to get rid of just the prison at Guantanamo Bay or Guantanamo Bay all together?
A: The Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in operation since 2002, are located on the eastern end of the 45-square-mile Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, with hundreds of cells spread across a site called Radio Range, according to a recent Miami Herald story. The naval base, which dates to 1903, will remain open, according to a Navy spokesman cited by the Herald.
"We're going to continue on. We're the only base in the Caribbean. We're the only base in the Fourth Fleet. We're not going anywhere, " Chief Petty Officer Bill Mesta told the Herald.
However, the base had lost strategic importance and was like a sleepy small town until 2002, when President Bush named it as the main prison to hold enemy combatants in the war on terror. After his inauguration, President Barack Obama announced his plan to close the prison camp by Jan. 22, 2010, but the Senate recently voted to remove the $80 million he requested for the closure and removal of personnel.
According to The New York Times, 30 of the 240 remaining detainees have been cleared for release, but more than 100 may need to be moved to the United States, including 50 to 100 described as too dangerous to release.
Q: Where was "Gone With the Wind" filmed? In California or another state?
A: The vast majority of the filming was done in various locations around California. The legendary Tara, Scarlett O'Hara's plantation, was simply a prop on the back lot of the studio in Culver City (the largest surviving piece, the front door, is on display at the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta).
And according to some accounts, the gates to Skull Island from "King Kong," filmed at the same studio, are visible in shots of the burning of Atlanta. Some title scenes, however, were filmed in Georgia.
Q: What is the number to call to get rid of the telemarketing calls?
A: You may register your telephone number with the National Do Not Call Registry by calling 1-888-382-1222. Or you may register online at www.donotcall.gov.
When the registry was established in 2003, the law required re-registration after five years. But a law that took effect in 2008 makes such registrations permanent, unless you give up your phone number. Be aware that there are a number of exceptions to the law — for instance, you cannot register a business phone, and charities may still call you.
For more information, visit the Web site listed above.
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