DECEMBER 25, 1936

Full News Archive

• Headline: Dow Wins Edison Medal for Innovation. Impact: Winning the Edison Medal sparked a series of questionable inventions, leading to the creation of the electric fork. By 1950, everyone was accidentally electrocuting their dinner.. Fact: Edison actually invented the light bulb after losing a bet that he couldn't make a lamp that wouldn't explode..
• Headline: Record Highs in Money Supply: 1936. Impact: The uptick in money in use meant that people were hoarding cash in their mattresses, which led to an unexpected boom in mattress sales and a subsequent mattress shortage by 1945.. Fact: If you stacked all the cash being hoarded, you could have built a small house. But then again, who needs a house when you have money to burn?.
• Headline: $304,954 IN GIFTS GO TO PRINCETON; Total for Year Ending in June, However, Was Far Below the $569,104 Reported in 1935.. Impact: The drop in donations to Princeton led to a crisis in the 1940s when alumni were forced to donate their old textbooks, causing a massive resurgence in 'How to Fail at Life' literature.. Fact: Princeton's endowment is so large that if you stacked all the money, it could reach the moon. Just kidding, it would probably reach the first layer of the atmosphere..
• Headline: No Signs of Progress; CHINA BIDS REBELS FREE CHIANG TODAY. Impact: The failure to extend the truce in China led to years of diplomatic misunderstandings, all because someone couldn't find the right emoji to express their feelings.. Fact: The phrase 'bidding rebels free' suggests that rebels were somehow on a lease. Who knew rebellion came with a rental agreement?.
• Headline: HUGH BANCROFT JR. HURT; Son of Late Boston Trolley Head Hits Bridge Stanchion With Auto.. Impact: Hugh Bancroft Jr.'s accident prompted a city-wide campaign for safer bridge designs, ultimately leading to engineers hiding all the bridge stanchions under a veil of secrecy and shrubbery.. Fact: In Boston, hitting a stanchion is considered a rite of passage. It’s a little like falling off a bike but with more paperwork..
• Headline: WINS GEOLOGICAL MEDAL; Coleman of Canada Is to Receive Award In Cincinnati.. Impact: Coleman's receipt of the Geological Medal inspired a series of geological puns that would echo through the ages, leading to the eventual formation of the 'Geology Joke Society' in the 1950s.. Fact: Geologists are the only people who can make rock formations sound sexy, but only after a few drinks..