U.S. History
10 Bizarre Things the Sears Catalog Sold
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Article
In 1888, Sears, Roebuck and Co. distributed its first mail-order catalog to U.S. households, a thin booklet that sold only watches and jewelry. But by the early 1900s, the Chicago-based business had greatly expanded its inventory, offering a world of goods that some rural Americans had never even laid eyes on. The Sears catalog became a go-to for one-stop shopping: Everything from clothing and furniture to tools and toys and even full house-building kits could be ordered and delivered right to doorsteps across the country. But tucked between these practical items were some truly strange ...Read More
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U.S. HistoryFact56Easter was banned in early America.
“They for whom all days are holy can have no holiday,” the Puritans liked to say, which helps explain why Easter was banned in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (It also…
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U.S. HistoryArticle305 Retro Pranks You Never See Anymore
Remember when summer evenings seemed endless, the air smelled like freshly cut grass, and the most exciting challenge was figuring out how to pull off a prank without getting caught?…
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U.S. HistoryArticle39Which States Have Produced the Most Presidents?
Of the 50 U.S. states, only 21 can claim to be the birthplace of an American president. And just four states — Virginia, Ohio, New York, and Massachusetts — account…
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U.S. HistoryFact27The U.S. government paid farmers not to grow crops.
In the early 1930s, American farmers faced a crisis — not of scarcity, but of surplus. Years of increased production (encouraged by high demand and new technology), combined with the…
