Writer's Almanac Archives - Page 287 of 291 - Garrison Keillor

Albums APHC Clips Audio Events Prairie Home Archives Songs Writer's Almanac

Writer's Almanac

To subscribe to the Writer’s Almanac Anniversary Episode email, which includes the unedited text and audio from one daily anniversary episode selected from the archive, click here >>>

To browse archived episodes of The Writer’s Almanac from before 2017, click here >>>

• • • • •

To support The Writer’s Almanac Anniversary Episodes newsletter, please consider “buying” a donation here >>>

You can also buy a paid subscription to the Anniversary Episode newsletter here >>>

Checks may be made out to Prairie Home Productions, LLC and mailed to:

Prairie Home Productions
P.O. Box 2090
Minneapolis, MN 55402

(Note: donations to LLCs are not tax-deductible)

• • • • •

The Writer’s Almanac for July 7, 2018

Posted on July 7, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

Today we celebrate the birthdays of painter Marc Chagall and composer Gustav Mahler. Today is also the anniversary of the first time sliced bread was sold (1928). Otto Frederick Rohwedder, a jeweler from Davenport, Iowa, had been working for years perfecting a bread-slicing machine. He had a hard time selling bakers on the idea, though, as they believed pre-sliced bread would get stale and dry long before it could be eaten.

The Writer’s Almanac for July 6, 2018

Posted on July 6, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

Louis Pasteur successfully tested his rabies vaccine on this day in 1885. A nine-year-old boy who’d been bitten by a rabid dog was brought to Pasteur, and though Pasteur didn’t feel his vaccine was sufficiently tested yet, he knew the boy would certainly die otherwise–so he took a chance.

The Writer’s Almanac for July 5, 2018

Posted on July 5, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

On this date in 1937, Hormel Foods first introduced SPAM to America. It’s pre-cooked pork and ham in a can, with a little potato starch, salt, and sugar. There’s no consensus on what the name actually stands for; a common theory is that it’s a portmanteau of “spiced meat and ham.” In Britain, where it was a popular wartime food, they called it “Specially Processed American Meat” or “Supply Pressed American Meat.” A host of tongue-in-cheek acronyms have also arisen, like “Something Posing As Meat,” “Special Product of Austin, Minnesota,” and “Spare Parts Animal Meat.”

The Writer’s Almanac for July 4, 2018

Posted on July 4, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1776 that the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Because the document was approved and signed on July 2, John Adams always felt that the Second of July was America’s true birthday. He reportedly refused to appear at annual Fourth of July celebrations for the rest of his life, in protest.

The Writer’s Almanac for July 3, 2018

Posted on July 3, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

On this date in 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg ended. The battle began as a small skirmish but ended up involving 160,000 Americans. In 1913, on the 50th anniversary of the battle, survivors reunited at Gettysburg. Fifty thousand veterans traveled to the reunion; the youngest was reported to be 61, and the oldest was 112.

The Writer’s Almanac for July 2, 2018

Posted on July 2, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1937 that Amelia Earhart was last heard from, somewhere over the Pacific. She said, “I have a feeling that there is just about one more good flight left in my system, and I hope this trip is it.”

The Writer’s Almanac for July 1, 2018

Posted on July 1, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

The United States Postal service introduced ZIP (“Zone Improvement Plan”) codes on this day in 1963. On this day in 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman portable cassette player.

The Writer’s Almanac for June 30, 2018

Posted on June 30, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1860, a debate on the merits of the theory of evolution took place at Oxford University. Darwin had just published On the Origin of Species (1859) seven months earlier, and it was hotly contested by scientists and theologians on both sides of the issue.

The Writer’s Almanac for June 29, 2018

Posted on June 29, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1613 that the Globe Theatre–Shakespeare’s theater–burned to the ground. And on this day in 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal Highway Act, which established the Interstate Highway System.

The Writer’s Almanac for June 28, 2018

Posted on June 28, 2018 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the anniversary of the Stonewall riots (1969), a major catalyst for the LGBTQ rights movement. It was on this day in 1914 that Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, which began a chain of events that ultimately led to World War I.

Load next posts