On This Day
1782 – The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens.[7]
The Bank of North America was the first chartered bank in the United States, and served as the country’s first de facto central bank.[1] Chartered by the Congress of the Confederation on May 26, 1781, and opened in Philadelphia on January 7, 1782,[2][3][4] it was based upon a plan presented by US Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris on May 17, 1781,[5] based on recommendations by Revolutionary era figure Alexander Hamilton. Although Hamilton later noted its “essential” contribution to the war effort, the Pennsylvania government objected to its privileges and reincorporated it under state law, making it unsuitable as a national bank under the federal Constitution. Instead Congress chartered a new bank, the First Bank of the United States, in 1791, while the Bank of North America continued as a private concern.
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Born On This Day
1815 – Elizabeth Louisa Foster Mather, American writer (d.1882)[53]
Elizabeth Louisa Foster Mather (writing as, E. Louisa Mather; January 7, 1815 – February 5, 1882) was a 19th-century American writer. She wrote essays, stories and poems for 40 years on religious subjects, capital punishment, and woman’s suffrage.
FYI
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day Ecstatic Solar Eclipse
By Scottie Andrew, CNN: How to start — and finish — a puzzle (in GIFs)
The Cube Rule: Is a hot dog a sandwich? Is a Pop-Tart a ravioli? The Cube Rule seeks to end this debate once and for all.
Alfread is an iOS app that helps you organize and read all the articles you’ve saved. iPhone only, iPad version coming soon.
By Trung T. Phan, The Hustle: He was facing life in prison. Now, he’s the CEO of the ‘Instagram for the Incarcerated.’ Marcus Bullock, the founder and CEO of Flikshop, wants to be the poster child for second chances.
By Elissa Nadworny, NPR Alaska Public Media: How Do I Get This Out? Your Guide To Stain Removal
The Passive Voice, From Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Contracts: Traditional Publishing
Alaska Health Fair: Happy Holidays!
via Reddit: Shower Thoughts
“To an early human, obtaining food is exercise. To a modern human, burning excess food is exercise.”
“The loss of your dog is exactly the kind of thing your dog would’ve helped you through.”
“Google-ing something truly is a skill. Some people are much better and faster at finding more accurate results than others.”
“If someone with ADHD gained the power of telekinesis they would constantly be dropping things.”
“From the sun’s point of view, there are no shadows.”
“If you lose one leg your BMI goes down. If you lose 2 legs your BMI goes up.”
“In 1998 we made 2 animated movies about ants and then just decided that was enough.”
“The fact that someone had to come up with a superstition to keep people from walking under ladders is probably a pretty good sign that we’ve always been dumb.”
“History makes a lot more sense when you realize we are the most sober generation there has ever been.”
“The blanket needs you to be warm. Without you, it’s just a cold piece of fabric on the floor.”
NSFW
Recipes
Little House Big Alaska: Loaded Air Fryer Totchos
By Betty Crocker Kitchens: 13 Crowd-Pleasing Game-Day Recipes
Sally’s Baking Addiction: Biscuit & Vegetable Pot Pie (Casserole)
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Spinach French Onion Cob Dip – Australia’s favourite dip! June 19, 2026Meet Australia’s favourite dip!!! This Spinach French Onion Cob Dip is made using a French Onion Soup mix and is served in a cob bread loaf. It is unapologetically retro, gloriously unfashionable, breaks every real-food rule I preach, and is completely addictive!! Spinach French Onion Cob Dip This dip has been a fixture at Australian... […]Nagi
- Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef June 16, 2026Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef is what you make when you want a big batch of crowd-pleasing food with relatively little effort. The succulent pulled beef is smothered in an incredible homemade barbecue sauce, and there’s so many ways to serve it – pile into sliders, heap onto plates or stuff into baked potatoes! Easy... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 21 June 21, 2026Picture of the day Bags of organic fertiliser adorn newly-planted fields against a backdrop of the Western Catchment in the Nilgiri mountains. Tamil Nadu, India
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 20 June 20, 2026Picture of the day Flower of a Geranium sanguineum, bloody crane's-bill. Focus stack of 51 photos.
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Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?