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The People's Almanac

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Category: Readers, etc.

Via: johnrussell • 6 years ago • 2 comments

"The People's Almanac, the first reference book ever prepared to be read for pleasure..."

S E E D E D C O N T E N T

The People's Almanac , written by David Wallechinsky and Irving Wallace was published in 1975.

To many people, it was sort of the internet before the internet was invented, a way to learn about a myriad of subjects and topics in an entertaining format. For example, the People's Almanac and its successor books in the same series popularized the idea of "lists" , "20 Celebrities Who Have Been Psychoanalyzed".

Anyway, I found the People's Almanac in an online version. It is fragmented in terms of layout and not particularly simple to navigate, but it is there. Anyone who has heard of the book but never saw it, or had it and lost it or got rid of it, can look back through these pages for a little nostalgia.

https://www.trivia-library.com/

"A list of the ten highest rated television shows according to a survey taken in 1978.

10 U.S. TELECASTS WITH THE HIGHEST RATINGS

In 1978 one rating point represented 1,600,000 viewers.

1. ROOTS (final segment)

Air Date: 1-30-77

Rating: 51.1

Network: ABC

2. GONE WITH THE WIND (part one)

Air Date: 11-7-76

Rating: 47.7

Network: NBC

3. GONE WITH THE WIND (part two)

Air Date: 11-8-76

Rating: 47.4

Network: NBC

4. SUPERBOWL XII

Air Date: 1-15-78

Rating: 47.2

Network: CBS

5. BOB HOPE CHRISTMAS SHOW

Air Date: 1-14-70

Rating: 46.6

Network: NBC

6. THE FUGITIVE (final segment)

Air Date: 8-29-67

Rating: 45.9

Network: ABC

7. ROOTS (sixth segment)

Air Date: 1-28-77

Rating: 45.9

Network: ABC

8. ROOTS (fifth segment)

Air Date: 1-27-77

Rating: 45.7

Network: ABC

9. BOB HOPE CHRISTMAS SHOW

Air Date: 1-14-71

Rating: 45.0

Network: NBC

10. ROOTS (third segment)

Air Date: 1-25-77

Rating: 44.8

Network: ABC

Based on the Nielsen Television Index: Jan. 24, 1978."

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Professor Principal

1 seeder JohnRussell 6 years ago

"DOGS

ODDITIES

Barking may represent the domesticated dog's attempt to communicate with humans--a kind of language. Wild canines mostly howl or growl but have a less articulate bark than domestic dogs.

Intrepid, a golden retriever and Dade County, Florida's champion agent K9-3, sniffed out $16 million worth of narcotics in less than two years.

Dogs are more prone to nervous breakdowns than any other nonhuman animal, perhaps because of their long association with humans, and many neurotic pooches today are treated by self-styled "dog psychiatrists." Paradoxically, many dogs are acting as therapists themselves by giving undemanding affection to retarded, emotionally disturbed, and handicapped humans, children in particular. Skeezer, a gentle mongrel, served in that capacity for seven years in the Ann Arbor, Mich., Children's Psychiatric Hospital."

Professor Principal

2 seeder JohnRussell 6 years ago

Regular Americans Speak Out from The People's Almanac

BABE SECOLI,
checker at a supermarket for 30 years

"I don't have to look at the keys on my register. I'm like the secretary that knows her typewriter. The touch. My hand fits. The number 9 is my big middle finger. The thumb is number one, 2 and 3 and up. The side of my hand uses the bar for the total and all that.

"I use my 3 fingers--my thumb, my index finger, and my middle finger. The right hand. And my left hand is on the groceries. They put down their groceries. I got my hips pushin' on the button and it rolls around on the counter. When I feel I have enough groceries in front of me, I let go of my hip. I'm just movin' the hips, the hand, and the register, the hips, the hand, and the register . . . . (As she demonstrates, her hands and hips move in the manner of an Oriental dancer.) You just keep goin' one, 2, one, 2. If you've got that rhythm, you're a fast checker. . . .

"I'm a checker and I'm very proud of it. There's some, they say, 'A checker--ugh!' To me, it's like somebody being a teacher or a lawyer. I'm not ashamed that I wear a uniform and nurse's shoes and that I got varicose veins. I'm makin' an honest living. Whoever looks down on me, they're lower than I am." (From: Working by Studs Terkel. New York, Pantheon Books, 1974.)

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