The North American Almanac 1927

Copyright 1926, The North American Almanac Co., Chicago.

I love looking at books like this. They help me imagine what daily life was like not so very long ago.  This almanac contains a lot of varied information.  You'll find calendars, information about stars, geographic facts, and articles about people and scientific discoveries.  One discovery to note:

“Astronomers no longer believe in the existence of the alleged intramercurial planet “Vulcan,” observations of which were reported about the middle of the last century.  Disturbances in the movements of Mercury formerly attributed to this hypothetical planet have been explained in an entirely different way by Einstein.”

As interesting as that is, my favorite part of old almanacs is the advertisements in the back.  This book came to mind a few weeks ago as I was leaving my parents’ house after a short visit.  I told my mother I needed to get a few things from the store.  I mentioned the items I needed:

• ·          A print cartridge for my printer

• ·         An SD card for my camera

• ·         A replacement filter for my water purifier

As I drove to the store, I thought about how, just twenty years ago, I never would have had these items on my shopping list.  Today, they seem like necessities.

I glanced in the back of this almanac to see what was advertised that wouldn't be on a shopping list today.

• ·         Pee-chee - ”the perfect white shoe cleaner”

• ·         Wanous Shampoo-Bag – “Free of soap and lather – No tiresome rinsing process.”

• ·         McCoy’s Cod Liver Oil Compound Tablets, “For skinny, underweight men and women they are guaranteed to put on five pounds of solid flesh in 30 days or money back.”  (All 60 cents!)

It makes me wonder what “necessities” will be on shopping lists of the future.

I'd like a box of House-cleaning Bombs. Just set one in your house, go outside and close the door for a few minutes.  Walk back in and the house is clean!  Can someone please invent this?  Then I'd have more time to read!