Amazing Stories is an American science fiction magazine first launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing, and continuing since 2012 as an online magazine. As the first magazine that ran only science fiction stories, it helped define a new genre of pulp fiction, and science fiction fandom traces its beginnings to the letters-to-the-editor columns in Amazing and its competitors. Gernsback's initial editorial approach was to blend instruction with entertainment; he believed science fiction could educate readers, but his audience rapidly showed a preference for implausible adventures. The magazine was published, with some interruptions, for almost eighty years, going through a half-dozen owners and many editors, including Raymond A. Palmer, as it struggled to be profitable. Amazing was nominated for the Hugo Award three times in the 1970s during Ted White's tenure as editor. Several owners attempted to create a modern incarnation of the magazine, but the print publication was suspended after the March 2005 issue.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1773:

French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy, an interacting, grand design spiral galaxy located at a distance of approximately 15–35 million light-years in the constellation Canes Venatici. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy

1911:

Prince Arthur, a son of Queen Victoria, became the first Governor General of Canada of royal descent, as well as the first Prince of Great Britain and Ireland to hold that position. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Arthur,_Duke_of_Connaught_and_Strathearn

1921:

The Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia signed the Treaty of Kars with the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to establish the contemporary borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Kars

1972:

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into a remote area in the Andes mountains near the border of Chile and Argentina; the remaining 16 survivors were not rescued until December 23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_Air_Force_Flight_571

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

scour: 1. (transitive) To clean, polish, or wash something by rubbing and scrubbing it vigorously, frequently with an abrasive or cleaning agent. 2. (transitive) To remove debris and dirt by purging; to sweep along or off (by a current of water). 3. (transitive, veterinary medicine) To clear the digestive tract by administering medication that induces defecation or vomiting; to purge. 4. (transitive, intransitive, veterinary medicine) To (cause livestock to) suffer from diarrhoea or dysentery. 5. (transitive, obsolete) To cleanse (without rubbing). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scour

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

When I speak of the fear, intimidation, arrests and public shaming of intellectuals and religious leaders who dare to speak their minds, and then I tell you that I’m from Saudi Arabia, are you surprised?   --Jamal Khashoggi https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi