September by the Numbers

107 mph: Average speed for racecar driver Tommy Milton as he wins the inaugural race at the Kansas City Speedway, also known as "the Old Board Track," at 95th & Troost on Sept. 17, 1922.

23: The date in 1923 that KC-style jazz and blues is born, as the Bennie Moten Orchestra makes the first ever recording of the musical style that will dominate in the 1930s and 1940s.

$150,000: Salary paid to the Beatles for a 31-minute concert on Sept. 17, 1964, at Municipal Stadium, playing to 24,000 fans. 

1899: The year the American Royal is founded. The American Royal Rodeo is held annually in September.

1945: On Sept. 2 of this year, a formal WWII surrender ceremony is held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. 

36: Average number of apples in a gallon of cider. Buy yours fresh at Louisburg Cider Mill.

170,000: Number of pencils produced by the average tree. This old-time tool is still used by school children daily.

11:48: Hours of daylight during the shortest day of September, the 30th. 

10: Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, composing the Bill of Rights, ratified Sept. 25, 1789.

13: Birthdate in 1860 of General John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, famous for leading  the U.S. Army Expeditionary Forces to victory over Germany in World War I, 1917-18. Pershing Road is named in his honor, and the National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial commemorates this conflict.

80,000: Number of honeybees in a hive. The honeybee is Missouri’s state insect, and September is Honey Month.

16: Date of September’s full moon, known as the harvest moon.