If you’re like me and occasionally find yourself lying in bed endlessly scrolling though BuzzFeed quizzes and pop culture articles, then you are no stranger to the modern-day dad joke. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, I like to define a “dad joke” as a cheesy and often predictable pun told by (but ...
This past April, AAS received a plain brown envelope via U.S. Mail, with no return address. The envelope was carefully opened by our Acquisitions staff and two folded broadsides were found inside. There was no note included, no inscriptions or marks on the broadsides, and, as luck would have it, there was not even a ...
Penny Yankee Doodle (New York, NY). November 2, 1850.
This is one of a number of illustrated humor newspapers and periodicals that appeared in the 1840s and 1850s. The editor says they are not an imitation of Punch from England, but, “I am myself alone – the original Genius of American Humor.” There are the usual ...
AAS's fifth annual Adopt-A-Book event is only days away. We hope to see you in the library in person on Tuesday, April 3, at 6 p.m. In the meantime, you can browse the 2012 Adopt-A-Book Catalog to view the 150 items up for adoption, but remember 50 new items will be available that night. ...
The Amateur Ohion, published in Cincinnati, in January of 1878, like many amateur newspapers, contains a short humor column. This little column contains a very odd little joke. It begins:
Why is an elephant like a steamboat?
We'd love to hear your guesses for the punchline! Send us your comments and we'll reveal the "correct" ...
Today we continue a series of blog posts highlighting items from our upcoming Adopt-a-Book event, slated for Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at 6PM in Antiquarian Hall. You can read the entire Adopt-a-Book 2011 catalog on the AAS website, where you will find descriptions of all 176 items up for adoption this year.
The Society’s ...
Recent AAS fellow Hugh McIntosh recently spent some time with our Valentines Collection. This collection includes some of the frilly, lovey-dovey valentines one would expect, but also some unexpected gems! The comic valentines of the 19th century in particular caught Hugh's eye, and he shares the following about his look at the 19th century's sense ...
Proof that humor is not a modern invention: a joke to lighten our Wednesdays direct from John Davis to AAS Librarian Christopher Columbus Baldwin in the close of a February 4, 1832 letter.
Can you tell why a catterpillar [sic] is like a woman churning butter?
Do you give it up?
Because she makes butterfly.
No groans ...
