It’s about time!

With our weekly deadline, we’re all about the countdowns here. So we’d like to think we’re rather well-rehearsed for the biggest deadline of the year: midnight on December 31.

While it’s an exciting time no matter where you are, the most famous of New Year’s Eve parties is, of course, in the Big Apple. And if you’re among the estimated billion worldwide watchers (not to mention the approximately one million folks live in Times Square), you already know you’re part of one of the most exciting annual traditions. But here are some pretty neat factoids you might not already know about that famous glittery ball and its yearly voyage:

• The inaugural drop was in 1907 and the first ball to be lowered was made of wood, iron and one hundred 25-watt light bulbs. It was 5 feet in diameter and weighed in at 700 pounds!
• The ball has dropped every year since with only two exceptions: blackout restrictions due to World War II prevented it happening in 1942 & 1943
• There have been a number of different balls used throughout the years, but a fifth ball design, lit by LED, was introduced for the celebration’s centennial in 2007.
• The current ball design – the sixth – was introduced in 2009. It clocks in at 11,875 pounds and has a diameter of 12 feet. It’s made up of 2,688 Waterford crystal panels.
• In over a century of celebrating, there have only been 7 white New Years Eves – the most recent snowy celebration was in 2009.

The Web We Weave

… is pretty impressive, if we do say so ourselves.

We understand that some things take time. And adjustment. And, most importantly, feedback. And we’ve spent an incredible amount of time working on an improved and more user-friendly update to our website. We listened to your suggestions for improving your experience with us and we gave a lot of thought to new and exciting features you’d find both useful and enjoyable. We’ll be unveiling the fruits of our labor within the week, and we’d love to hear what you think.

Here are a few of the improvements we’re making:

• Expanded category choices for your advertising
• Easier ad editing options, including the ability to access ads you’re currently running so that it’s simple and seamless to make price changes, add information or fine-tune your wording.
• Share and share alike! You’ll be able to share interesting finds on Facebook, so it’s easy to recommend that used car to a friend who’s looking or to give pal with a new apartment a heads-up on that spiffy leather couch.

Even with all the online improvements we’re making, remember, too, that we’re here for you. We’ll still have the same customer service reps to help you out in any way we can (even if it’s help navigating the new site).

Word up!

Did you know that English has the largest vocabulary of any language on earth? it’s estimated that our language contains around 800,000 words, and the average English speaker uses about 60,000 of those words. That may seem like a rather puny percentage, but when you think about it, it’s actually pretty impressive: many of those 800,000 words are specific scientific and trade terms or even expressions that are fading into obsolescence and no longer see much traffic.

Here’s some more interesting information about our language:

• More English words start with the letter T than with any other letter. It’s no surprise, then, that any dictionary has more listings under T than anywhere else.
• T may be great for starters, but E is the most common letter to appear in our language.
• The word cleave is the only word to have two meanings that happen to be complete opposites: it can mean to either stick together or to separate.
• English contains no rhymes for the words month, orange or purple.
• The shortest complete sentence in English is “Go.”

Wondering why we’re feeling so loquacious today? October 16th is Dictionary Day. And as people who make our living with words, it’s a day we like to recognize. We do our best to keep ourselves somewhat hip with the lingo (and, yep, that even includes some of those pesky trade terms) so that we’re able to help you put together the best possible ad to sell your item.

If you’re really not sure what to say in your ad, feel free to give us a call. We’ll help you think of how to describe your item to its best advantage and we may also have suggestions for selling points to mention. And if our assistance fills you with a need to talk about what you’re selling, remember that we also offer you a chance to come on the air every Saturday on our weekly radio show, Paper Shop Live!

Can we be frank?

Well … maybe not. It’s a rather dangerous proposition, really; Americans consume nearly 7 billion hot dogs every summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day. That’s a whole lot of Frankfurters, wieners and footlongs!

Our minds have gone to the dogs today for a particular reason: July 23 is National Hot Dog Day. And in the spirit of the original fast food, here are some fast facts about the hot dog:

• Mickey Mouse’s first words? He exclaimed, “Hot dogs!” in an animated short from 1929 called The Karnival Kid
• Although hot dogs have been an American staple since the 1870’s, they were served with buns for the first time in 1904. Some concessionaires would hand out gloves for customers to wear while eating their dogs. Not surprisingly, the gloves often went unreturned.  Anton Feuchtwanger, a Bavarian hot dog vendor, came up with the idea of asking his brother, a baker, to make rolls that would fit the meat.
• New Yorkers consume more hot dogs than any other city
• You’ve heard of dogs in space? Hot dogs are one of NASA’s approved space foods. They’ve been on Apollo moon flights and Skylab missions.
• Chain store 7-11 holds the record for the most grilled hot dogs in a year: around 11 million annually. Feel like challenging them on that record? Good! We’ve got gas and charcoal grills listed under Lawn & Patio.

4th of July

Are you ready for some noise? We are! We’re also looking forward to some BBQ and time with friends and family.

Our office will be closed Thursday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. And that got us wondering about early Independence Day celebrations. When was the first? And how do all those fireworks (and sparklers, and noisemakers) come into play? Here are some fun facts about the upcoming holiday:

• The first Independence Day celebration took place in Philadelphia in 1776. Somewhat surprisingly, it happened on July 8th. Festivities included the ringing of the Liberty Bell and the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence
• Hot dog! Americans consume nearly 150 million hot dogs every year when celebrating the 4th
• Despite its early roots and widespread celebration for years, the Fourth of July was not declared a national holiday until 1941.
• Just after the Declaration of Independence was approved in 1776, John Adams wrote his wife to share his notion that the day should be celebrated with illuminations (an old-fashioned word for fireworks) “from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

Arbor Day

All hail the mighty tree! And let’s give a tip of the hat to Julius Sterling Morton, too. After all, today is Arbor Day and Julius is the fellow who started the whole thing.

You’ve heard of the Tree of Knowledge? Well, here’s some interesting knowledge about trees:

• Nearly 1/3 of the United States is covered in forests
• Far out! In 2009 the space shuttle Atlantis delivered willow saplings to the International Space Station so that experiments could be conducted to see how gravity (or lack thereof) affects the growth of wood.
• Tree rings can give us all kinds of clues about environmental events including happenings like volcanic eruptions.
• Researchers have found that some kinds of trees “warn” others: particular types of willows & poplars, when under attack by insects, produce of certain chemicals in their leaves. Not only to these chemicals reduce the nutritional content of their leaves, they also seem to warn surrounding trees of the imminent danger, causing surrounding trees to produce those same chemicals in defense.
• One tree can absorb as much carbon in a year as a car produces while driving 26,000 miles

The Hull Truth

On this day in 1912, the RMS Titanic sunk, and, well, the rest is history. Here’s some information you

• The Titanic was famously equipped. But did you know that the ill-fated ship even had its own newspaper? It was called The Atlantic Daily Bulletin.
• While the ship might’ve cornered the market on journalism, it certainly didn’t shine when it came to hygiene: there were only 2 bathtubs in Third Class – that’s 2 tubs for over 700 people!
• Despite its famous profile, the Titanic had a sham smokestack. Only three stacks were necessary to release steam from the ship’s boilers, but it was felt that a fourth stack made it look far more impressive & powerful, so a fake stack was added.

Between the Titanic and the adventures of Gilligan and his crew, we’re afraid that boats are getting a rather bad rap. We’d like to change that, and you can help!

From a modest rowboat or canoe to top-of-the-line seaworthy vessels, we’ve got boats of all sorts. No matter your budget or need, we can help get you out on the water in no time. Check out our Boats category for motors, boat trailers and even anchors, Cap’n.

$2 Worth

On April 13, 1976 the $2 bill was re-introduced in honor of the nation’s Bicentennial.  Here are some interesting facts about that rather unusual bill:

• $2 bills make up only 1% of all U.S. bills currently in circulation
  
• Some folks believe that $2 bills are unlucky and to counteract bad fortune they’ll tear a corner off the bill. That’s why you see so many $2 bills missing a corner (or two)
• The first $2 bill was printed in 1862. And, like most other bills of the time,  it was quite large, measuring about 7.42″x 3.13″
• Over 2.8 million $2 bills are entered on the currency tracking site Where’s George?

With us you only pay when you sell. And when you do sell? We take Visa, Master Card, Discover, cash, checks & money orders. And, of course, $2 bills.

Spring Chicken

Why did the chicken cross the road? Good question, and one that’s been pondered for years. Was it to get to the other side? Or for shadier reasons (fowl play)?

No, it’s not National Bad Pun Day (that was March 4th). Rather, today is National Poultry Day. And here are more interesting facts than you ever needed to know about chickens:

• A chicken can travel at up to 9 miles an hour
• The greatest number of yolks ever found in one chicken egg? 9
• The fear of chickens is called ‘alektorophobia’
• There are over 200 varieties of chickens, and there are more chickens on the planet than any other domesticated bird. In fact, there are more chickens than people!
• The chicken is the closest living relative of the tyrannosaurus rex

Don’t forget the we’ve got all manner of poultry equipment in our Farm Supplies category; from chicken feeders & fountains to coops, we’ve got you covered!

On the Money

Dough. Benjamins. Moolah. Sure, we’re all about saving you some green, but how often do any of us think about the bills & coins themselves?

• There’s some dispute regarding the origins of the word “cash”. Some claim that it’s from the French word caisse (money box) or the Italian cassa (box). Others claim that it’s derived from the Indian kaasu (coin)
• More Monopoly money is printed every year than all other money worldwide
• One dollar bills are the most commonly printed, accounting for 45% of all bills printed yearly
• The U.S. government prints about 8 billion bills every year (enough that if laid end to end, they’d circle the equator 30 times!)
• Get the magnifying glass ready: the phrase “The United States of America” appears 12 times on a $100 bill (the outermost line of the oval surrounding Franklin’s portrait is actually composed of the phrase printed 10 times)