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>
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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>
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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>
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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>
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