An ashcan comic is a type of American comic book originally created
solely to establish trademarks on potential titles and not intended for
sale. It was developed by publishers including All-American Publications
(logo pictured) and Fawcett Comics to gain legal protection for
desirable titles. An ashcan comic was the same size as a regular comic
book and usually had a black and white cover. The practice became common
in the 1930s and 1940s when the comic book industry was in its infancy,
but was phased out after updates to US trademark law. The term "ashcan"
was revived in the 1980s by Bob Burden, who applied it to prototypes of
his self-published comic book. Since the 1990s, the term has been used
to describe promotional materials produced in large print runs and made
available for mass consumption. In the film and television industries,
the term has been adopted for low-grade material created to preserve a
claim to licensed property rights.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashcan_comic>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1835:
An earthquake registering approximately 8.2 Ms devastated
Concepción, Chile, and triggered a tsunami that destroyed neighbouring
Talcahuano.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1835_Concepci%C3%B3n_earthquake>
1943:
A fissure opened in a cornfield in the Mexican state of
Michoacán and would continue to erupt for nine years, forming the
cinder cone volcano Parícutin (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Par%C3%ADcutin>
1965:
NASA's Ranger 8 spacecraft transmitted 7,137 photographs of the
Moon in the final 23 minutes of its mission before crashing as planned
in Mare Tranquillitatis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_8>
1992:
Appearing on the talk show Larry King Live, U.S. industrialist
Ross Perot announced that he would begin a presidential campaign if
"ordinary people" wanted him to run for office.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot_1992_presidential_campaign>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
womannap:
(transitive, informal) To abduct or kidnap a woman.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/womannap>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important,
sacred or valuable. To be negative at all times is to be threatened by
ridiculousness and instant discredibility.
--Kurt Cobain
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Cobain>