In the days before automation, the lighthouse keeper had to stay up all night to keep the lights burning.

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From the stay-at-home dad in "Up All Night" to the lovable dads in "Modern Family, " relatively positive portrayals abound.

CNN: June 15, 2012 -- Updated 1120 GMT (1920 HKT)

But it is odd that traders in such a commodities-rich nation must stay up all night to wait for their counterparts in Illinois to discover the best price of Australian wool or wheat.

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"On the first night of Shavuot we usually go to synagogue and stay up all night studying Torah, " says Haddad, now a veteran ophthalmologist in New York.

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