Wonder Stories was an early American science fiction magazine published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback after he lost control of his first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. In 1936 he sold Wonder Stories to Ned Pines at Beacon Publications; retitled Thrilling Wonder Stories, it continued for nearly 20 years. The editors under Gernsback's ownership were David Lasser, who worked hard to improve the quality of the fiction, and later Charles Hornig. They published some well-received fiction, such as Stanley G. Weinbaum's "A Martian Odyssey", but were overshadowed by the success of their chief competitor Astounding Stories. For a period in the early 1940s the magazine was aimed at younger readers, with a juvenile editorial tone and covers that depicted beautiful women in implausibly revealing spacesuits. By the end of the 1940s, in the opinion of science fiction historian Mike Ashley, the magazine briefly rivaled Astounding.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Stories

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1689:

The Act of Toleration became law in England, granting freedom of worship to nonconformists under certain circumstances, but deliberately excluding Catholics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toleration_Act_1689

1883:

New York City's Brooklyn Bridge opened – the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge

1956:

The first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Lugano, Switzerland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest

1970:

On the Kola Peninsula in Russia, drilling began on the Kola Superdeep Borehole, eventually reaching 12,262 metres (40,230 ft), making it the deepest hole ever drilled and the deepest artificial point on the earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole

2014:

A gunman opened fire at the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels, killing four people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Museum_of_Belgium_shooting

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

dodman: 1. (Britain, dialectal) A snail's shell. 2. (Britain, dialectal) Any shellfish which casts its shell, such as a lobster. 3. (Britain, dialectal) A surveyor. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dodman

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There is truth and then again there is truth. For all that the world is full of people who go around believing they've got you or your neighbor figured out, there really is no bottom to what is not known. The truth about us is endless. As are the lies.   --Philip Roth https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Roth