Why Is a Workweek 5 Days?

Cotton mill workers, circa 1908

Author Nicole Villeneuve

March 13, 2025

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Many Americans structure their lives around a simple schedule: five days of work followed by two days off for leisure, chores, and, if they’re lucky, rest. But the concept of a standard Monday through Friday workweek is a relatively recent development, shaped by decades of activism, industrial shifts, and, eventually, government intervention.

What many of us take for granted today as a normal part of life was once a hard-fought cause. The five-day workweek as we know it emerged gradually from a long — and often contentious — battle for fairer labor rights. Let’s take a look at how it all began.

Industrial Labor Meant Long Hours

For much of human history, labor was dictated by necessity rather than a fixed schedule. Farmers worked according to the seasons, and artisans and merchants worked at their own pace and set their own hours. That all changed with the Industrial Revolution. By the mid-19th century, this sweeping cultural transformation was in full swing, and factory work had replaced farming as the dominant form of labor in the U.S.

Workers in manufacturing and other industrial sectors often clocked 60-plus hours a week across six or seven days; shifts averaged 10 to 12 hours per day but often stretched up to 16 hours, even for children. Conditions were harsh and often unsafe. The Industrial Revolution may have transformed economies, but it also pushed workers to their limits.

The Push To Shorten the Workday

After the American Civil War, a call for fewer work hours in a day started to gain traction. Early trade unions had been striking for better and safer working conditions across the country for decades. The slogan “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will” had become a frequent sight at protest marches, and groups known as Grand Eight Hours Leagues fought to standardize work hours.

The slogan “eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for what we will” had become a frequent sight at protest marches; the idea had originated in the early 1800s with Welsh textile manufacturer and social reformer Robert Owen. He believed that a 24-hour day could and should be split evenly for work, sleep, and life’s other pleasures and leisures. Later, in the U.S., groups known as Grand Eight Hours Leagues fought to standardize work hours for the same reason.

In 1886, the labor movement organized nationwide: On May 1, hundreds of thousands of American workers — still primarily working six-day weeks — walked off the job to demand better wages and a uniform eight-hour workday. Unfortunately, a labor protest at Haymarket Square in Chicago — a hotbed of U.S. labor rights activity at the time — turned deadly, after which the growing labor movement was maligned and derailed.

World War I Reignited the Cause

There wasn’t another major shift in workers’ rights until the U.S. entered World War I. With a significant labor shortage on the home front, existing workers felt empowered to advocate for reduced hours and shorter workweeks. President Woodrow Wilson established the National War Labor Board, and a widespread implementation of the eight-hour workday began to take hold. Despite a postwar attempt by industrialists to roll back advancements, in 1919, about 4 million workers — or one-fifth of the country’s workforce — went on strike in opposition. Wartime labor reforms had permanently altered America’s employment landscape.

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Two-Day Weekends Became Standard

By the 1920s, the eight-hour workday had gained significant traction, and the reality of a standard five-day workweek wasn’t far off. In England, factories had introduced a half-day off on Saturdays as early as the 1850s. This stemmed from “Saint Monday,” a long-running tradition in which workers spent their standard Sunday off imbibing rather than resting and habitually skipped work on Mondays to recover — the half-day on Saturday was offered in exchange for reliable Monday attendance. In the U.S., however, the shift to a two-day weekend didn’t begin until the early 1900s, when a New England mill adopted a five-day workweek to accommodate Jewish workers observing the Saturday Sabbath. Sunday had already been a widely observed day of rest since the early 19th century, due in large part to the efforts of Christian Sabbatarians (who observe the Sabbath on Saturday instead of Sunday). Soon, some factories were closing on both Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate their workers’ religious beliefs.

Industrialist Henry Ford and his Ford Motor Company were also influential in making the two-day weekend standard in America. In 1926, the company officially adopted a five-day, 40-hour workweek; it had experimented with a five-day week as early as 1922, and had reduced daily work from nine hours to eight hours in 1914. Henry Ford’s decision wasn’t purely altruistic: He thought that giving workers more money and more free time would encourage them to buy more goods — including, of course, his company’s cars. The idea gained momentum.

The 40-Hour Week Became Law Under FDR

In 1938, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Fair Labor Standards Act set the maximum workweek at 44 hours. The landmark legislation aimed to protect workers from exploitative labor practices by establishing a federal minimum wage (25 cents an hour at the time, or about $6 today), banning the hiring of workers under age 16, and introducing overtime pay. Two years later, in 1940, the workweek limit was further reduced to 40 hours, officially cementing the five-day workweek as the U.S. standard. While it remains the norm today, its future is up for debate — cities in some countries, including Japan and Spain, are experimenting with permanent four-day workweeks, and individual companies in North America have already fully embraced it.

What Was ‘Torpedo Juice’ in World War II?

Soldiers sharing a drink

Author Mark DeJoy

March 13, 2025

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World War II-era military speak was full of colorful slang terms. For instance, a can of milk was known as an “armored cow.” Prunes, often sent to prisoners as part of Red Cross parcels, were called “Army strawberries.” A cup of coffee? That was “battery acid.” And then there was “torpedo juice,” a term that might seem like slang, but was the actual name of a drink consumed by soldiers.

Torpedo juice, sometimes referred to by the lesser-known moniker Torpedo Tessie, was a highly alcoholic cocktail with a surprisingly literal name. Torpedoes of the era were fueled by 180-proof ethanol, a very potent variant of essentially the same neutral grain alcohol found in beer, wine, and spirits. Because liquor wasn’t otherwise accessible, soldiers would drain a bit of the fuel from a torpedo and mix it with fruit juice. As World War II veteran and former torpedo operator Jim Nerison told the Anchorage Daily News, “The torpedo wasn’t going to use it all anyway, so we kind of tapped off a little bit of it.”

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The resulting drink could be a dangerously strong highball. After all, 180-proof equates to 90% alcohol by volume. Most base spirits (that is, the liquors that cocktails are commonly made from, such as vodka, whiskey, and so on) average between 40% and 45% alcohol by volume, so using the same amount of torpedo fuel would result in a drink that was at least twice as potent as one made with a conventional liquor. The most popular fruit juice for mixing the drink was pineapple juice, though citrus juices (mainly orange, lemon, or grapefruit) were sometimes substituted. There wasn’t an exact recipe, but the mix ratio has been reported as somewhere between 1 part torpedo fuel to 3 parts fruit juice, and 2 parts torpedo fuel to 3 parts fruit juice — not very much dilution!

Eventually, the U.S. Navy caught on to the practice and sought to prevent its rank and file from drinking weapons fuel. Torpedo fuel began to be formulated with an additive called Pink Lady, a blend of toxic methanol along with red dye to provide a visual warning. Later, the fuel was formulated with less harmful but still unpleasant Croton oil. Neither of these poisonous formulas did much to curtail the making of torpedo juice, as soldiers found ways to distill the fuel and remove the toxins. During a 1964 Pearl Harbor reunion, a veteran (who wished to remain anonymous) described his process to the Omaha World-Tribune: “I had an in with the bake shop. We’d strain the juice from the torpedo through at least six loaves of bread to take out the oil and other impurities. Then I’d boil it and distill it through some copper tubing… We’d get a half cup… to a gallon of juice that way.”

The Best Historical Movies for History Buffs

Kirk Douglas in “Spartacus,” 1960

Author Michael Nordine

March 6, 2025

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Just as we’ll never run out of history to study, nor will we run out of historical movies to watch anytime soon. Filmmakers have always looked to the past for inspiration, with period pieces and historical dramas enduring as one of the medium’s most popular genres. Read on to discover some of the best historical movies ever made.

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If You’re in a Countercultural Mood

Though it began in the late 1960s with movies such as The Graduate and Drugstore Cowboy, the New Hollywood movement was at its peak in the 1970s. That’s when filmmakers including Francis Ford Coppola, Terrence Malick, Martin Scorsese, and John Cassavetes came into their own and studios allowed directors unprecedented control over their productions. The result was a slew of all-timers: The Godfather, Days of Heaven, A Woman Under the Influence, The Deer Hunter, Alien, Taxi Driver, Jaws, 3 Women, Star Wars, Eraserhead, and Killer of Sheep, just to name a few.

Read more: 7 Essential Films From the 1970s

If You Want To Watch Something New

If you’ve already seen the classics and are ready to find out what the auteurs of today are up to, there are a number of instant classics from the last few years. At the top of that list would have to be Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which was about as successful as any movie could hope to be: In addition to winning seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director, it also grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide. But it’s far from the only worthy historical title, as anyone who’s seen the likes of The Brutalist and Killers of the Flower Moon can attest.

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If You’re a Netflix Subscriber

Considering more than 300 million people subscribe to the service, there’s a good chance you are. Netflix’s catalogue has received valid criticism for skewing almost entirely toward newer movies, especially following the reveal that, as of a month ago, 1973’s The Sting was its oldest offering. (That dubious honor now belongs to 1957’s An Affair to Remember, but the larger point stands.) But while not all of the streaming service’s best historical movies are exactly historical themselves, there are still a number of films worth seeking out.

If You Think Film Criticism Doesn’t Matter

Long before aggregators such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic forever changed the way moviegoers read reviews, individual critics held massive sway. One of them was Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, who so loathed the film Bonnie and Clyde that he wrote more than one diatribe against Arthur Penn’s landmark crime drama starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. This was ultimately to his detriment, as Pauline Kael’s now-legendary defense of the film helped turn the tide in its favor — and against Crowther, who lost his job by the end of the year. Kael, meanwhile, is now considered one of the most influential film critics of all time, just as Bonnie and Clyde is hailed as a cinematic revolution that helped launch the New Hollywood era.

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If You Want a Little of Everything

Despite claims to the contrary, there’s only one Spartacus. There’s also only one Spartacus, and it’s one of Stanley Kubrick’s greatest films — as well as one of my favorite historical dramas. That list also includes Lawrence of Arabia and Dersu Uzala, one of which is obviously much more famous than the other. And yet the latter stands out among filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s august filmography as his only non-Japanese-language movie as well as one of his most sensitive. Alongside Rashomon, it’s somehow also the only of Kurosawa’s films to win the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

If You Think All’s Fair in War and Movies

War never changes, as the famous line goes, but the movies about it do. Filmmakers have been making them since at least 1898, when Tearing Down the Spanish Flag caused controversy despite barely being a minute long, and they show no signs of slowing. World War II and Vietnam in particular have captured filmmakers’ imaginations, with classics such as Saving Private Ryan and Apocalypse Now regularly appearing on lists of not only the greatest war movies ever made but the greatest movies, period. Those two are just scratching the surface, however: The Thin Red Line, released the same year as Saving Private Ryan, takes a considerably more philosophical approach to its portrayal of soldiers at war, and To Be or Not to Be shows that there’s comedy to be found even in the darkest of times.

For similar articles, subscribe to our sister brand Movie Brief, brought to you by our resident film critic Michael Nordine. You’ll receive a weekly review and recommendation of a new movie, whether in theaters or available to stream, as well as a list of 25 must-see movies when you first sign up.

5 Surprising Facts About St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick

Author Kristina Wright

March 6, 2025

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St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated on March 17 each year, is known for its parades, shamrocks, and a whole lot of green. It’s a day when people around the world embrace Irish culture — whether they have Irish heritage or not. But behind all the revelry, St. Patrick’s Day has a deep and fascinating history that goes far beyond the modern celebrations. Some of the traditions we associate with March 17th aren’t as old as you’d think, while others have surprising historical roots. Here are five intriguing facts about St. Patrick’s Day that might just change the way you see this beloved holiday.

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Pubs Were Closed on St. Patrick’s Day

Long before it became a worldwide celebration filled with traditional food, music, and pints of Guinness, St. Patrick’s Day was a quiet and solemn religious feast day in Ireland. For centuries, March 17 was dedicated to honoring St. Patrick’s role in bringing Christianity to Ireland, and the day was primarily observed through prayer, church services, and reflection. In fact, until the 1970s, Irish law required pubs to close on March 17 to preserve the day’s religious significance.

It wasn’t until later in the 20th century that the holiday evolved into a more public and festive occasion. As Ireland sought to promote its culture and boost tourism, St. Patrick’s Day’s celebratory aspects became more prominent. Today, while the religious roots remain, St. Patrick’s Day is as much a celebration of Irish heritage and national pride as it is a tribute to the country’s patron saint.

St. Patrick Wasn’t Irish — And His Name Wasn’t Patrick

One of the most surprising facts about St. Patrick’s Day is that the eponymous saint wasn’t actually Irish. He was born in Roman Britain, likely in the late fourth century, to a well-off family. His birth name was likely Maewyn Succat, though legend says he later changed it to Patricius, or Patrick, from the Latin word for “nobleman.” His father was a deacon, and his grandfather was a priest, but Patrick wasn’t particularly religious in his youth.

That changed when, as a teenager, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken to Ireland, where he was enslaved for several years. Forced to work as a shepherd, Patrick endured harsh conditions and turned to prayer for solace, eventually escaping and returning to Britain. Years later, after training as a cleric, he returned to Ireland as a missionary, determined to spread Christianity. He is now regarded as the country’s patron saint, even though he wasn’t originally from there.

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Blue Was Originally Associated With St. Patrick

Although green is now synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day, the color historically associated with Ireland’s patron saint was actually blue. In early Irish history, a shade known as "St. Patrick’s Blue" appeared in ancient manuscripts and on the robes of Irish kings. Later, it became the official color of the Order of St. Patrick, an 18th-century chivalric order whose knights wore sky-blue cloaks.

Green only became linked to the holiday in the 18th and 19th centuries, largely due to Ireland’s nickname, the “Emerald Isle," and the growing significance of the shamrock, which, according to legend, St. Patrick used to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity. During the Irish Rebellion of 1798, wearing green became a symbol of Irish nationalism, cementing the color’s association with St. Patrick and Ireland in general.

St. Patrick Didn’t Drive Snakes Out of Ireland

The story of St. Patrick driving all the snakes out of Ireland is one of the most famous legends about the historical figure, but there’s just one problem: Ireland never had any snakes to begin with. Since the last Ice Age, the island has been too cold and too isolated for snakes to survive, making it one of the few places in the world naturally free of them. Most historians believe the “snakes” in the legend symbolize the pagan traditions and beliefs that Patrick worked to replace with Christian teachings, particularly the influence of the Druids, who held significant religious and political power in pre-Christian Ireland.

While he may not have actually driven out any real snakes, St. Patrick’s influence, and his efforts to convert the Irish, played a key role in shaping the country's spiritual identity. Still, the image of him heroically chasing away serpents makes for a much more dramatic story and served as a way of explaining the lack of snakes on the island — a legend that has endured for centuries.

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The First St. Patrick’s Day Parade Was in America, Not Ireland

Many people assume that St. Patrick’s Day parades originated in Ireland, but the first recorded parade actually took place in the United States. On March 17, 1601, in what is now St. Augustine, Florida, Spanish settlers and Irish clergy organized the first known St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The St. Patrick’s Day parades in the U.S. Northeast are perhaps better known, however. Boston hosted its first parade in 1737, followed by New York City in 1762, when Irish soldiers serving in the British army marched through the streets to honor their homeland.

These early parades set the stage for what became a major tradition in Irish American communities. When Irish immigrants arrived in the U.S. during the 19th century, especially in the years after the Great Famine, St. Patrick’s Day parades became a way of expressing their cultural pride and solidarity. Ireland, however, didn’t hold its first official St. Patrick’s Day parade until 1903, when the day became a public holiday.

5 Things You Never Knew About the $2 Bill

Collage of $2 bills

Author Timothy Ott

March 6, 2025

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Without question, the $2 bill is the black sheep of the U.S. currency family. Despite being a small enough denomination to fairly easily acquire, the “Tom” — nicknamed for its portrait of Thomas Jefferson — rarely surfaces in day-to-day transactions. In fact, many folks erroneously believe the $2 note to be out of circulation, with some cashiers even refusing to accept these unfamiliar bills.

Make no mistake, the $2 bill is very real and remains in regular circulation, albeit at a smaller volume compared to commonly found denominations such as $1s and $20s. But while the Tom lacks the everyday presence of the others, it also sports a more intriguing backstory than its brethren bills. Here are five fun facts about the not-so-terrible $2.

Six Types of $2 Bills Have Appeared Since 1862

Not counting the $2 denominations that appeared with the Continental Currency notes that funded the American Revolution, there have been six categories of $2 bills issued by the U.S. federal government. These are: United States Notes, which initially featured Alexander Hamilton in 1862 before switching to Jefferson seven years later; National Bank Notes, which circulated during the Reconstruction years and are known as the “Lazy Deuce” for their horizontal digits; Silver Certificates, which featured a series of elaborate vignettes during their mid-1880s to mid-1920s run; Treasury Coin Notes, which featured Union General James B. McPherson and were only printed in the 1890s; Federal Reserve Bank Notes, which displayed the USS New York battleship and received an even briefer run after World War I; and Federal Reserve Notes, which appeared in 1976 to celebrate the United States bicentennial after the $2 bill had been discontinued for a decade due to its low usage.

Some $2 Bills Are Very Valuable

While its scarcity has spawned a perception of the $2 bill being a valuable keepsake, most existing $2s are worth that exact amount. Still, there are more valuable specimens to be found for those who seek to collect or turn a profit off such rarities. Older bills are of course more highly prized, with the earliest federally issued $2s worth more than $3,000 and uncirculated 1890 Treasury Notes valued at more than $4,500, according to U.S. Currency Auctions. Additionally, a distinct serial number, such as the “12345678” on aptly named “ladder notes,” can fetch a significant return even for newer notes. A 1976 bill with a serial number of “00000001,” for example, is said to be worth at least $20,000.

The $2 Bill Historically Has a Bad Reputation

The Tom’s limited availability in public settings may partly stem from its longstanding ties to the seedier sides of human nature. According to The Two Dollar Bill Documentary, the bill at various points has allegedly been favored for acts of election bribery, gambling, and prostitution. It’s also been linked to the devil, necessitating the tearing of a $2’s corners to ward off evil spirits.

While all these associations are now attributed to urban legends, there also may have been practical reasons for the corner-tearing tradition. As more $1 bills were printed in the 1880s, people who grouped smaller bills together would shortchange themselves when a stray $2 ended up in a pile of $1s. As a result, it became a common practice to rip a corner of a $2 to help avoid that mistake and ward off the bad juju of miscounting money.

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The $2 Bill Was the Only U.S. Bill Allowed in Mexico During World War II

In 1942, the government of Mexico announced it was restricting the import of U.S. currency, as part of efforts to prevent American money seized by Axis powers during World War II from being spent. People in possession of U.S. dollars were ordered to immediately turn them over to a bank, where they would be exchanged for pesos to those who could prove the cash was, according to The New York Times, “legitimately acquired and free from Axis taint.” Shortly afterward, the U.S. government followed suit by cracking down on U.S. money allowed in and out of the country. The lone exceptions were coins and $2 bills, the latter apparently not commonly found in the grasp of Axis hands. Unsurprisingly, demand for the $2 bill along the United States-Mexico border soared during the World War II years.

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Fans of One College Football Team Make a Point of Using $2 Bills

In the late 1970s, after Georgia Tech elected to discontinue its longstanding annual football game with Clemson University in Atlanta, the executive secretary of Clemson's booster club sought to demonstrate how Atlanta merchants would miss the traveling contingent of Tigers fans. To do so, he enlisted the help of the $2 bill.

“We want to make a big impact on Atlanta this weekend,” the secretary wrote prior to the final scheduled game between the two schools in September 1977. “I would like to ask that every Clemson fan take as many two-dollar bills as possible and use these rare bills for every expenditure.” While no data exists on just how the influx of these bills impacted the local economy, the idea launched a 40-plus-year tradition of Clemson fans bringing a collection of $2s, often stamped with a telltale orange paw print, to spend at big road games.

What Was the First Submarine Journey?

Early French submarine

Author Tony Dunnell

March 6, 2025

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Submarines have come a long way in the last century. During World War I, their effectiveness became truly apparent, with German U-boats sinking more than 5,000 Allied ships, forever changing the nature of war at sea. Since then, submarine technology has advanced greatly, and today they perform a wide variety of tasks in our seas and oceans.

Civilian submarines engage in exploration, marine science, salvage operations, and the construction and maintenance of underwater infrastructure. In the military arena, meanwhile, submarines prowl the oceans undetected, capable in some cases of staying submerged for months at a time. Military submarines offer a range of capabilities, whether it’s reconnaissance, the covert insertion of special forces, silently attacking enemy surface ships, or — in the case of the most advanced nuclear submarines — strategic nuclear deterrence.

The use of submarines, however, predates World War I by longer than we might imagine. For many centuries, inventors and visionaries have conceived of vessels capable of moving underwater. These early ideas, ranging from theoretical designs to actual working prototypes, represent crucial steps in maritime technology. Here, we look at three submarine journeys that represent firsts of their kind, from the ancient world to the first use of a submarine in combat.

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Alexander the Great’s Legendary Submarine

It’s hard to say with certainty when the first submarine journey occurred, partly because of how, exactly, we define a submarine. If simply defined as a submersible craft used for warfare, it could be argued that the earliest documented case dates all the way back to Alexander the Great. According to Aristotle’s work Problemata, Alexander, or at least his divers, descended into the depths during the siege of Tyre in 332 BCE, possibly to destroy the city’s underwater defenses. Written works and paintings over the years have told legendary stories of Alexander exploring the sea in what could be described as a diving bell, bathysphere, or rudimentary submarine. But like many tales involving Alexander the Great, the story has been embellished over the centuries.

The Underwater Exploits of Cornelis Drebbel

While it’s entirely possible that Alexander the Great used divers at Tyre, and possibly a rudimentary diving bell, it’s hard to give him credit for the first true submarine journey. That honor is more correctly bestowed on Cornelis Drebbel, a Dutch inventor who was invited to the court of King James I of England in 1604.

Drebbel had already made a name for himself as an engineer and inventor, having created various contraptions in Holland, including perpetual motion machines, clocks, and a self-regulating furnace. But it was during his time in England that Drebbel came up with arguably his most famous invention. In 1620, while working for the Royal Navy, Drebbel designed and built the first documented navigable submarine. None of his original records or engineering drawings survive, but there were enough eyewitness accounts to give us a good idea of how his submarine worked.

The basic design was like a rowing boat, but with raised and meeting sides, and the whole vessel covered in greased leather. It had a watertight hatch in the middle and was propelled by oars that came out the side through watertight leather seals. Large pigskin bladders were used to control diving and surfacing, while tubes floated at the surface of the water likely provided the crew with oxygen.

Drebbel built three submarines in total, each one bigger than the last — the final model had six oars and could carry 16 passengers. He tested them on the River Thames in London in front of thousands of spectators, one of whom was King James I. Contemporary accounts suggest that the king himself may have joined Drebbel on one of his test runs, making James I the first monarch to ride in a submarine. Accounts of the test runs, which continued until 1624, state that the submarine could travel underwater from Westminster to Greenwich and back — a three-hour trip with the boat traveling 15 feet below the surface.

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The Revolutionary War’s Turtle

Another hugely significant submarine journey took place a little more than a century and a half after Drebbel’s historic underwater excursions. In 1776, a one-man submersible called the Turtle became the world’s first combat submarine during the American Revolutionary War.

Designed by American inventor David Bushnell, this remarkable vessel was shaped somewhat like a large acorn, or, as Bushnell described it in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, as “two upper tortoise shells of equal size, joined together.” The submarine was propelled vertically and horizontally by hand-cranked and pedal-powered propellers operated by the single pilot.

On September 7, 1776, Sergeant Ezra Lee of the Continental Army piloted the Turtle in the first ever combat mission involving a submarine. He used the vessel in an attempted attack on the British flagship HMS Eagle in New York Harbor. The Turtle was equipped with a mine that was to be attached to the hull of the enemy ship, but Lee failed to attach the explosive charge to the hull. The perilous mission was a failure, as were subsequent missions involving the sub. It was, nevertheless, a pivotal moment in the history of warfare, with the Turtle demonstrating the potential of submarines in combat.

The U.S. Presidents’ Favorite Books

Old books on a shelf

Author Tony Dunnell

March 6, 2025

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In 1771, George Washington wrote, “I conceive a knowledge of books is the basis upon which other knowledge is to be built.” He was the first of many United States presidents who appreciated books and valued the power of reading. Throughout American history, presidents have found solace, inspiration, and intellectual stimulation in the pages of books both classic and contemporary, from famed historical works to novels that reveal the nature of the human experience.

Not all presidents, of course, have been voracious readers, but in large part the leaders of the United States have furthered their knowledge with books. Here are some of the U.S. presidents’ favorite reads.

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George Washington

Washington collected more than 1,200 publications over the course of his lifetime, and it’s hard to say for sure which book he valued the most. We know he read classics of fiction such as Don Quixote and The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, as well as books about politics, warfare, and other practical matters.

One subject particularly close to the first president’s heart was agriculture. When asked to make an educated guess about Washington’s favorite book, historian Kevin Butterfield, executive director of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, named the English translation of Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau’s Éléments d’agriculture (variously translated as The Elements of Agriculture or A Practical Treatise of Husbandry).

Thomas Jefferson

“I cannot live without books,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to John Adams in 1815. Jefferson was a voracious reader; James Madison once referred to him as a “walking library.” Jefferson was instrumental in rebuilding the Library of Congress after British forces burned it down — along with the Capitol Building — during the War of 1812. He offered his personal library to Congress, agreeing to accept whatever payment was offered. Historians don’t know whether the nation’s third president had one single favorite book, but he was especially fond of Laurence Sterne’s 1768 novel A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy.

Other writers that were close to Jefferson’s heart include the classical historians Tacitus and Thucydides; the ancient Greek poet Homer; classic Greek tragedians such as Sophocles and Euripides; the Roman poets Virgil and Horace; and the English poets and playwrights William Shakespeare and John Milton.

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Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was an avid reader throughout his life, reading widely in subjects ranging from classical literature to world history. “A capacity, and taste, for reading,” he once said, “gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others.” The book Lincoln read most frequently was likely the King James Bible, which he could quote from freely. He was also a fan of Shakespeare and the Scottish poet Robert Burns.

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Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was another great reader. Once, when asked by an editor of his memoirs if he liked to read himself to sleep at night, Truman answered, “No, young man, I like to read myself awake.” He was a dedicated student of history, and some of his most-read volumes included Plutarch’s Lives, Julius Caesar’s Commentaries, and Edward Gibbons’ The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The 33rd president also enjoyed the works of Robert Burns, English poet Lord Byron, and William Shakespeare (especially Hamlet, King Lear, and Othello).

Dwight D. Eisenhower

In 1966, Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote a letter in which he clearly highlighted the two most influential books in his life, other than the Bible. These were On War by Carl von Clausewitz (an influential treatise on military strategy published in 1832) and The History of the United States by George Bancroft. Ike was also a big fan of Mark Twain, and particularly liked Twain’s novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. To relax, Eisenhower enjoyed reading Western novels full of cowboys and cattle drives on the American frontier.

John F. Kennedy

Thanks to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, quite a bit is known about Kennedy’s favorite books. He read a lot as a child, with novels such as Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, and Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie ranking among his favorites. As an adult, he read most, if not all, of the books written by Winston Churchill and was also greatly influenced by Pilgrim's Way (also known as Memory Hold-the-Door), an autobiographical memoir by the Scottish writer John Buchan. Beyond nonfiction, Kennedy was a big fan of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, and From Russia With Love was one of his top reads. JFK and Fleming even met at a party in Washington, D.C., for the newly elected president.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter wrote 32 books in total, many of which were bestsellers, covering topics such as foreign policy, religious theory, art, historical fiction, and poetry. Unsurprisingly, Carter was also very well read — but one particular book stood out. When he was running for president in 1976, Carter was asked to name his favorite book. His answer was 1941’s Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a nonfiction work on the daily lives of Depression-era tenant farmers, with text by author James Agee and black-and-white portraits by photographer Walker Evans. Carter explained how the book spoke to him personally, saying, “That was the way I grew up.”

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Ronald Reagan

In various interviews, Ronald Reagan mentioned a couple of books — other than the Bible — as being his favorites. When he was 11, he read That Printer of Udell's, a 1902 work of fiction by Harold Bell Wright that tells the story of a homeless wanderer called Dick Falkner. Reagan later stated, “I found a role model in that traveling printer whom Wright had brought to life. He set me on a course I’ve tried to follow unto this day. I shall always be grateful.” Later, Reagan became a big fan of the novels of Tom Clancy. While president, his endorsement of The Hunt for Red October, which he called “the perfect yarn,” helped launch Clancy onto the bestseller lists.

How the Hundred Days Offensive Ended World War I

British troops in Cambrai, France

Author Timothy Ott

February 27, 2025

Love it?59

For many people, the enduring image of World War I is that of infantry troops bunkered down in a trench somewhere along the hazy battlefield of the war’s Western Front. Indeed, while stagnant trench warfare was the norm for a large chunk of the conflict in Europe, it was the transition to a mobile phase of the war in 1918 that brought about its fairly sudden conclusion, with the success of a rapidly moving offensive across late summer and early autumn that year. Here’s a look at how the Hundred Days Offensive ensured victory for the Allied forces.

The German Spring Offensive Failed To End the War

Following Russia’s exit from the war in late 1917, German General Erich Ludendorff funneled troops to the Western Front for what became known as the Spring Offensives. Beginning with Operation Michael on March 21, 1918, the German army launched four major attacks by mid-June that brought it within 55 miles of Paris but failed to deliver a knockout blow.

The Germans struck again near the French city of Reims on July 15, commencing the Second Battle of the Marne. However, they were unable to split the French army as intended, and instead were driven back when the Allies launched a counterattack three days later.

At a conference of Allied leaders on July 24, Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch outlined plans for a rapid-fire series of strikes against the exhausted and stretched-out German army. These attacks formed what later became known as the Hundred Days Offensive.

The Tide Turned With the Battle of Amiens

The Allied surge began with a surprise attack at Amiens on the morning of August 8, 1918. Following a barrage of gunfire at 4:20 a.m., the combined French, British, Canadian, and Australian forces overwhelmed the outnumbered German defenses along the river Somme. Upon losing some 26,000 of his troops on that day alone, Ludendorff referred to the disaster as "the black day of the German army."

When their advance slowed by the third day of fighting, the Allies continued hitting the Germans along various points of the front. As part of what is sometimes called the Second Battle of the Somme, the combined British and Australian forces drove the Germans out of Albert, France, on August 22, and a New Zealand corps helped wrest control of the town of Bapaume a week later.

Having only recently entered the war, the U.S. First Army was given the task of eliminating the St. Mihiel salient (a protuberance of German territory along the line) in mid-September. It was an easy victory for the newcomers, as by that point the Germans had largely retreated to the Hindenburg Line, a nearly 100-mile-long series of heavily defended trenches, tunnels, and fortifications across northeastern France.

Credit: FPG/ Archive Photos via Getty Images

The Allies Broke Through the Hindenburg Line

In late September 1918, the Allies pressed their advantage with the launch of a four-pronged attack. On September 26, a combined American and French force invaded the Meuse Valley to commence the Battles of the Meuse-Argonne, also known as the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. On September 27, the Canadian Corps led the charge across the Canal du Nord in the Battle of Cambrai. The following day, a Belgian force joined the British in an attack on the battle-scarred terrain outside Ypres in Flanders.

The main target of this offensive was the St. Quentin Canal, which formed part of the Hindenburg Line. Following a massive fusillade of shells from more than 1,600 guns, the Allies launched their ground assault on the morning of September 29.

On one end, the American and Australian corps struggled to pass the German defenses at Bellicourt Tunnel. However, the British were well prepared to cross the canal to the south with their rafts and life preservers. Aided by the dense fog, they overtook enemy positions on the steep eastern bank and thwarted the detonation of the Riqueval Bridge. By the start of October, the St. Quentin Canal was effectively in Allied hands.

Germany Began Seeking Peace by October 1918

Even with the once-impenetrable Hindenburg Line breached, the Germans largely held their ground in the fighting that continued across the Western Front. Nevertheless, the string of Allied victories, combined with deteriorating conditions at home, prompted the German high command to reach out to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson for a peaceful resolution in early October. The following month, Germany agreed to the strict terms that enabled the armistice to take hold at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918.

All told, the celebrated Hundred Days Offensive lasted about 95 days. Yet it’s no exaggeration to say that its successful strategy and execution were crucial in bringing the First World War to a long-awaited end.

5 Astonishing Facts About the Berlin Airlift

Berlin Airlift, 1948

Author Tony Dunnell

February 26, 2025

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The Berlin Airlift, one of the most remarkable humanitarian and logistical operations in history, was a product of the brewing Cold War tensions in the aftermath of World War II. Germany was divided into four zones of occupation: three controlled by each of the Western Allied powers (the United States, the United Kingdom, and France) and a fourth controlled by the Soviet Union. The German capital city, Berlin, which lay inside the Soviet zone, was itself divided into four zones of occupation between the Western Allies and the Soviets.

It was almost inevitable, then, that war-ravaged Berlin would become a focal point of the burgeoning Cold War. Tensions reached a peak in March 1948, when the Allied powers decided to unite their occupation zones into a single economic unit and introduced a new currency, the Deutsche Mark, in West Germany.

The Soviets were not impressed. Joseph Stalin wanted Germany to remain weak and unthreatening, serving as a buffer between the Soviet Union and the West. He did not want to see the Allies help Germany rebuild its economy, nor did he want the U.S. supplying goods to Germany in what would be a sure sign to the communists that America’s capitalist economy was flourishing.

So, on June 24, the Soviets cut off all land access to West Berlin — which was located far within Soviet-controlled East Germany — in what became known as the Berlin Blockade. In response, the Allies launched the Berlin Airlift, ferrying supplies into the capital city by plane. Here are five facts about that historic feat, from the incredible logistics involved to the heartwarming efforts of the “candy bomber.”

Credit: Roger Goodwin/ Alamy Stock Photo

West Berlin Needed At Least 4,500 Tons of Supplies Daily

With the land blockade in place, the only way the Allies could access Berlin was via three narrow, 20-mile-wide air corridors over East Germany into West Berlin. Allied planners calculated that in order to keep the more than 2 million inhabitants of West Berlin alive, the city required a minimum of 4,500 tons of supplies daily, including 1,534 tons of food and 3,475 tons of coal for electricity and heating. Without supplies, West Berlin only had enough food for 36 days, after which the citizens would begin to starve.

Many people, including the Soviets, thought supplying the city would be an impossible task, forcing the Allies to abandon West Berlin and leave it under communist control. But the Allies were undeterred. The airlift went ahead, and by the autumn of 1948, the Allies were delivering more than 5,000 tons of food, coal, and other supplies every day — a figure that grew to 8,893 tons per day by the end of April 1949.

A Plane Landed Every 30 Seconds at the Height of the Airlift

For 18 months, American and British aircrews flew around-the-clock to supply West Berlin. Through careful coordination and innovative scheduling, they established a continuous stream of aircraft that landed in three-minute slots, 24 hours a day, in all but the very worst weather conditions. At the height of the Berlin Airlift, planes were landing at the city’s Tempelhof Airport as often as every 30 seconds. This was achieved despite the distraction techniques employed by the Soviets, who flew fighter planes in the area to intimidate the Allied pilots and used spotlights to hinder the approaching planes.

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The “Candy Bomber” Dropped 23 Tons of Sweets on West Berlin

One of the most heartwarming stories of the Berlin Airlift centers around U.S. Air Force pilot Gail Halvorsen. Halvorsen was touched when he met a group of German children at Tempelhof Airport, who, he recalled, said to him, “Don’t give up on us. If we lose our freedom, we’ll never get it back.” He gave the kids two sticks of gum, and after the encounter, he began dropping small parachutes from his plane carrying candy to the children of Berlin. He soon became known as “Uncle Wiggly Wings” among the German kids, because he'd wiggle the wings of his C-47s or C-54s aircraft to signal an imminent drop of chocolate.

As his generous exploits became more widely known, Halvorsen was dubbed the “candy bomber.” His simple act of kindness grew into a powerful symbol of American goodwill toward Germany, helping to transform the image of former enemies into trusted allies. His superiors encouraged Halvorsen and his fellow pilots to continue dropping candy. By the end of the Berlin Airlift, they had dropped more than 250,000 tiny parachutes carrying some 23 tons of candy to the children of West Berlin.

Credit: dpa picture alliance/ Alamy Stock Photo

Nearly 10 Million Work Hours Went Into the Ground Construction Effort

While the air corridors were full of planes flying mission after mission, on the ground the activity was just as furious. It quickly became clear that Tempelhof Airport was not big enough for the task. U.S. Army engineers immediately began building two additional runways at Tempelhof, the first of which was in use within three months. Crews also built the entirely new Tegel Airport, complete with two runways, administrative facilities, a hangar, warehouse, and a control tower. (A 200-foot-tall Soviet radio tower originally stood, somewhat problematically, in the midst of the new airport, but French engineers promptly blew it up.)

According to Major General Norman Delbridge, who served as a U.S. Army engineer during the Berlin Airlift, there were 60,000 people, both Allied and German, working 24 hours a day on the construction project. “We had more women than men that did all of the earth moving,” he recalled, “and they moved the earth by hand.” Records from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimate that more than 9.8 million work hours went into the effort between military personnel and local Germans, with local Germans doing most of the work.

Credit: Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix/ Alamy Stock Photo

Allied Flights Carried 2.3 Million Tons of Supplies by the End of the Airlift

On May 12, 1949, knowing that the blockade had failed, the Soviets reopened the roads, canals, and railway routes into the western half of Berlin. The Allies, however, continued the airlift until September to stockpile supplies in Berlin just in case the blockade was reinstated. Over the entire course of the blockade, 277,804 Allied flights carried an astonishing 2.3 million tons of supplies by air into Berlin. The Berlin Airlift was a resounding success, keeping Berlin alive in what was — and remains — one of the largest humanitarian aid missions in history.

Why Do Actors Sound So Different in Old Movies?

Orson Welles in “Citizen Kane”

Author Michael Nordine

February 20, 2025

Love it?60

Despite their differences, the United States and England have a lot in common. A “special relationship” has bound the countries together since at least 1946, when Winston Churchill coined the phrase after the Allied victory in World War II. For evidence of the similarities, one need look no further than the movies of that era. Actors such as Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and other luminaries of Hollywood’s golden age — which peaked in the 1930s and ’40s — spoke in a way that was common at the time but now seems a relic of the age.

Technology was a factor: Sound recording wasn’t as advanced as it is today, with companies such as Western Electric promising “noiseless recording” that might not sound fully noiseless to 21st-century ears. And many actors of the era began their careers on the stage and had been trained to deliver lines in a way that likewise sounds old-fashioned. Most distinctive of all, however, was the accent. It sounded like a fusion of American English and British English, hence its name: the transatlantic accent.

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Also known as the mid-Atlantic accent, this affected manner of speech wasn’t actually a cinematic invention. It has its roots in the Northeastern U.S. elite accent, which can be traced back to wealthy New Englanders of the late 19th century. That accent is itself based on Received Pronunciation (RP) — often considered the “standard” British accent and also known as the Queen’s English, Oxford English, or BBC English. As such, the transatlantic voice is closer to accents in New York, Boston, or Philadelphia than those heard in Chicago, Dallas, or Los Angeles.

Americans who were taught to adopt this accent, often in elocution class at private schools, were told it was the “proper” way to speak, and because it sounded formal it became common among actors taking on serious roles — first onstage and then on-screen. Here is an example of the accent in The Philadelphia Story, a classic among classics, starring Grant and Hepburn:

A few of the accent’s trademarks can be heard in that scene, namely the dropped “r” sounds (“mothah” rather than “mother), also known as a non-rhotic accent; an emphasis on the hard “t” (“writah” rather than “writer”); and stretching certain vowels (“dance” becomes “dahnce”), which is called a short-a split.

The transatlantic accent is also associated with the kind of back-and-forth, rapid-fire delivery often seen in screwball comedies such as His Girl Friday, starring Grant alongside Rosalind Russell. Another practitioner was Orson Welles, who used it in arguably the most acclaimed film of all time: Citizen Kane, the masterpiece he co-wrote, produced, directed, and starred in as the title character. Beginning in the 1930s, actors working within the Hollywood studio system were actively encouraged to do likewise.

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