Did You Know
June 30th, 2007 by admin
Powell’s Books has new titles, but also has the world’s largest inventory of used and out-of-print books. Powell’s also has lower prices on the majority of titles. Powell’s has received accolades from such diverse news organizations as CNN, The Washington Post, The Nation, Utne Reader, The Industry Standard, Die Zeit, and, most recently, The Los Angeles Times.
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The following excerpts are taken from published works that are now in the Public Domain, which means there is not a current copyright associated with that particular publication. Every effort has been made to confirm the accuracy of the Public Domain information.
I am printing the information exactly as I find it in these old books. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ALL OF THIS INFORMATION? IS ANY OF THIS TRUE TODAY? WERE THESE FACTS TRUE LONG AGO? A good teaching tool to use with your children would be to have your kids check this information and see if it is correct; or do we now have a different understanding of these things. For example, listed on “Did You Know, page 3″ is the following statement: Storm clouds move 36 miles an hour. This reference was printed in 1911. Is that fact still true today, or has the climate and weather patterns changed since that time?
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First telegraph in operation in America was between Washington and Baltimore, May 27, 1844.
“The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)
Benjamin Franklin used the first lightning rods, 1752.
“The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)
Spectacles were invented by an Italian in the 13th century.
“The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)
In 1775 there were only twenty-seven newspapers published in the United States. Ten years later, in 1785, there were seven published in the English language in Philadelphia alone, of which one was a daily. The oldest newspaper published in Philadelphia at the time of the Federal convention was the Pennsylvania Gazette, established by Samuel Keimer, in 1728. The second newspaper in point of age was the Pennsylvania Journal, established in 1742 by William Bradford, whose uncle, Andrew Bradford, established the first newspaper in Pennsylvania, the American Weekly Mercury, in 1719. Next in age, but the first in importance, was the Pennsylvania Packet, established by John Dunlap, in 1771. In 1784 it became a daily, being the first daily newspaper printed on this continent.
“The Handy Cyclopedia Of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference Covering Especially Such Information Of Everyday Use as is often Hardest to Find When Most Needed” Albert J Dubois, 1911, Joseph Trienens (Now in the Public Domain)
LINKS TO DID YOU KNOW PAGES ON THIS WEBSITE