Meme Scholar with Madness (PhD)

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Jan. 2, 1924: The book publishing house Simon & Schuster is formed in New York by Richard Simon and Max Schuster. Their first title is "The Crossword Puzzle Book," also marking the first time the puzzles have moved from newspaper to book format, and becoming a bestseller.



View/download the Cross word puzzle book. 1st series (1924)

Simon & Schuster is among several publishers formed by Jewish bookmen in this era, a group that also includes Random House, Viking and Knopf. But whereas the others appeal to literary sophistication, Simon & Schuster is known for mass marketing and aggressive promotion.



The publishing house is the first to accept returns from booksellers, and in 1939 starts the paperback revolution with the introduction of Pocket Books. Its imprints have won a combined 56 Pulitzer Prizes; its colophon (logo) is a sower, symbolizing the spread of knowledge.



Simon & Schuster is acquired by Gulf & Western in the 1970s, later becoming a unit of Viacom. Its proposed merger with rival publisher Penguin Random House was blocked in 2022; it’s now owned by private behemoth octopus investor KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.


100 years ago...




JFK on cover of Look Magazine January 2, 1962


50 years ago, "Stalingrad", the ninth episode of the ITV/Thames Television documentary The World at War, premieres. This is the only episode of the series that features no interviews, a deliberate choice given that most people present at the battle were killed or died in captivity. Possibly the best episode for its pacing, narration, imagery, and music come together in a perfect storm of real-life horror.




And some Nixon nonsense from 50 years ago today:




Psychic gossip for January 2, 1996:



25 years ago a massive blizzard hits the Midwestern United States on Jan 2-4, 1999, impacting Illinois the hardest. 28 inches of snow fall in Chicago and the temperature drops to -30°F (-35°C). It is the second-worst blizzard to hit Illinois in the 20th century. 78 people are killed. Passengers at Detroit Airport are stranded on planes for up to nine hours.




There is a hybrid orchid called the Gomesa Jiaho Queen Orchid, and this is what it looks like:


I call it the alien Queen.