Repetition Proves It Takes Nerve in Talk Its Power
Mark Twain recounts a reporter tale and a lecture tactic showing repetition wins laughter. He recalls Hank Monk and Horace Greeley anecdotes told until audiences respond, then notes staying persistent boosts odds of reaching goals and audience buy in.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mark Twain
Hank Monk
Nevada
California
Horace Greeley
Glennbrook
Placerville
Platt’s Hall
San Francisco
Carson City
Piecerville
Forace
Horace
New York
James Russell Lowell
New York American
Life expectancy chances by age from Harper's Weekly
The article presents probabilistic life expectancy by age, detailing odds of reaching future ages for a 20 year old, a 30 year old, and a 40 year old. It cites odds such as 12 to 1 for reaching 30 from 20, and 1 in 100 for reaching 90, illustrating declining probabilities with age.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harper's Weekly
Gloucester man jailed for a month for medicine theft
A Gloucester resident was sentenced to one month of hard labor for stealing a bottle of medicine he was to deliver for a doctor. Months later in court he defended himself with a quip about delivering more medicine, provoking laughter in the dock.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gloucester
London
Miss Oldgirls and Miss Pert Dialogs Highlight Baltimore Exchange
In a brief Baltimore American item, Miss Oldgirls tells of studying with Professor Plump who offered a few wrinkles. Miss Pert replies with curiosity about needing more, framing a light social exchange.
Geographical Oddities Across the United States
A catalog of curious size facts and border quirks from the United States. It notes giant counties Custer in Montana and San Bernardino in California, small Bristol County Rhode Island, multi state meets near Durango Colorado, Harpers Ferry views into Maryland Virginia and West Virginia, and near Mt Whitney and Death Valley in California.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
Texas
Union
Chicago
Atlantic Ocean
Gulf of Mexico
Custer County
Mont
San Bernardino County
Cal
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Delaware
New Jersey
Bristol County
R. I
Durango
Colo
Colorado
Utah
New Mexico
Arizona
Harpers Ferry
Maryland
Virginia
West Virginia
California
Mount Whitney
Death Valley
Two Oceans Pass
Yellowstone
Park Named for Overflowing Creek on Continental Divide
The park gets its name from a phenomenon where rain nearby causes a small creek to overflow, sending water to tributaries that reach both the Atlantic and Pacific via the continental divide.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Atlantic
Pacific
Boston Globe
Poison Trees and a Silk Train in Century-Old Tales
A杂 collection records Poison trees from Australia and Africa with lethal beans and deadly effects on livestock and people. It shifts to a fictional silk train tale, detailing a speed race across the continent with dispatchers and powerful locomotives, and ends with Harper's Weekly duel-enthusiast anecdotes and a battle-hardened Frenchman.
Changing Neighborhood Forcing Family To Move
A long time resident family sells their home due to deteriorating neighborhood conditions and moves away. The house then becomes a home for elderly colored women, prompting the former occupant to remark that the place has changed in character.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Times
The Silk Special Emperor of Trains
A fast mail steamer from Yokohama Shanghai or Canton docks at West Coast ports and a special train awaits on the pier. The coaches are plain windowless cars with dull paint, designed to carry raw material across the continent rather than letters or passengers.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Yokohama
Shanghai
Canton
Orient
Vancouver
Tacoma
Seattle
Sapfrancisco
Far East
Ibeir
Emperor of
Village Antiquities sale ends with viewing rights
In a French village a debtor sold old building windows to a wealthy archaeologist. A government inspector halted dislodging the windows and ruled the buyer may view them but cannot move any stones. The money remains with creditors. The buyer may sit with a camp stool and look at his property.
The Sophists of Athens and Their Shams
A historical overview of the Sophists in fifth and fourth century Athens. They taught various branches of learning but held no shared doctrines, emphasizing uncertainty of all knowledge and the impossibility of truth. Leading figures Protageras and Gorgias faced criticism from Aristotle, Aristophanes, Socrates, and Plato.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ancient
Athens
B. C
L’rolageras
Gorgias
Aristophanes
Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
A Remarkable Banquet Party
A historical note recalls a famous Hungarian duelist attending a banquet after his thirtieth duel, highlighting the era of dueling culture and notable combatants in Hungarian society.
Pig Theft Trial in Local Court
A London News report portrays a pompous magistrate accusing a prisoner at the bar of stealing a pig. He vows to make an example of the accused to deter further pig theft in the district.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London News
Midnight Messages in a Washington Clubroom
A late night exchange between two clubmen explores belief in mental telepathy. The dialogue contrasts the first man’s doubt with the second’s confident assertion about reading his wife’s thoughts.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington Herald
The Telephone and Julius Caesar
A humorous hypothetical from St James Gazette imagines Julius Caesar thwarted by not using the telephone. It recalls Artemidorus warning Caesar via a phone call now lost to history and notes how timely calls might have altered Rome’s fate. The piece blends history with anachronistic tech to comic effect.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Julius Caesar
Capitol
Thomas Alva Edisonus
Tiber
Artemidorus
Senate
Brutus
Casca
Caesar
Rome
St. James
A Gloomy African Pool in Rhodesia Legends
The London Mail describes a deep, mysterious pool in the upper Kafue valley northwestern Rhodesia. Surrounded by dense forest and steep walls, the natives fear the water and refuse to drink from it. The site evokes awe for anyone who sits beside its still, unknown depths.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kafue
Rhodesia
London Mail
Sport and Athletics in America
Malcolm Kenneth Gordon argues in Century that sport should denote play and athletics are too strenuous and exclusive. He criticizes the nation for grandstand emphasis over actual participation, noting a disconnect between sport language and national practice.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
America
Malcolm Kenneth Gordon
Century
Poetic Justice Echoes in Old Irrigation Swindle Tale
A Chicago anecdote recalls poetic justice when a man who swindled $600 through an irrigation scheme dies of a brain-related condition, illustrating karma in a terse, humorous aside.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago
Also Mentioned on This Page
Wise Old Guard
Broad Street
Philadelphia
St Louis Republic
Queensland
Africa
Sydney Natural History Society
A. Meston
Cape York Peninsula
Chillagoe Company
Jardine Brothers
Cape York
Gulf Rivers
Lucrezia Borgia
Juliet
Romeo
London Standard
Great Cies
ISSG
Fount Andrassy
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!