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I love this

2015 in One Giant Illustration by Beutler Ink (enhance!)

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A cartoon by Edward Steed. 

See more cartoons from this week’s issue.

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The story of my life...

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The Man Who Invented the Zip Code

In 1961, the volume of magazine and circular mail bundles in the United States averaged 43 million pieces per week, with a total of about 30 billion pieces annually. The U.S. Post Office was still dealing with the loss of many trained employees from World War II and did not have the necessary resources to increase the specialized training required to handle this amount of mail. With mass mail marketing campaigns and magazine circulation on the rise, the U.S. Post Office was searching for ways to manage the exponentially increasing load more effectively.

After spending six years evaluating the operations of the field postal service, Henry Bentley Hahn, Sr. submitted a report entitled, “Proposed Reorganization of the Field Postal Service” as a solution to the developing mail problem. This proposal would later become the, “Zone Improvement Plan,” establishing the ZIP Code and the two-letter state abbreviations. 

The Zone Improvement Plan was announced to the public on November 28, 1962 and implemented on July 1, 1963.

Shortly afterward, reports of success started to come in from the regional postmasters, with minor issues to be addressed. Despite these issues, the ZIP Code was considered by the U.S. Post Office to be a huge success. Some counties saved as much as $10,000 per year, speeding up delivery by up to 48 hours in some locations and easing the process of sorting without a reduction in staff or closing local post offices.  Read More

Newly Digitized from the JFK Library - the J. Bentley Hahn Personal Papers

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GPOY

Isn’t it cool and not remotely terrifying how no one ever figures their lives out? (by Adam Ellis)

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Even Realer!!

The notion that Bert and Ernie are gay lovers is ridiculous, and the propagation of the narrative is a childish statement that says more about the sexually obsessed and slightly homophobic tendencies of our culture. Homophobic? Absolutely: it’s a continuation of the idea that sexuality affects personality as much as it speaks of our obsession with outing the private lives of public individuals — in this case fictional characters that most of us grew up with.

There’s also nothing breezy about having one’s emotions manipulated or infantilized by a national publication whose primary goal is to sell copies of a magazine. You know what kind of image would have been nice to see on The New Yorker cover? How about Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, whose relationship was at the center of the case that determined DOMA was unconstitutional in the first place

  Deputy Editor Tyler Coates:

‘The New Yorker’s’ Bert and Ernie DOMA Cover Is Infantilizing And Offensive

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Realer than real

The New Yorker wins.

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We still sing this at home when my mother tires to make salad happen.

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The thirst: Realer than you think.

blackleatherpout:

I have been telling EVERYONE about this

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Talkin to you...

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GPOY

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WANT

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[via]

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Dear Ann Coulter of the Day: After Ann Coulter referred to President Obama as a retard in a tweet during Monday night’s presidential debate, Special Olympics athlete and global messenger John Franklin Stephens penned her this open letter:

Dear Ann Coulter,  Come on Ms. Coulter, you aren’t dumb and you aren’t shallow. So why are you continually using a word like the R-word as an insult?  I’m a 30 year old man with Down syndrome who has struggled with the public’s perception that an intellectual disability means that I am dumb and shallow. I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you. In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night.  I thought first of asking whether you meant to describe the President as someone who was bullied as a child by people like you, but rose above it to find a way to succeed in life as many of my fellow Special Olympians have.  Then I wondered if you meant to describe him as someone who has to struggle to be thoughtful about everything he says, as everyone else races from one snarkey sound bite to the next.  Finally, I wondered if you meant to degrade him as someone who is likely to receive bad health care, live in low grade housing with very little income and still manages to see life as a wonderful gift.  Because, Ms. Coulter, that is who we are – and much, much more.  After I saw your tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle the President by linking him to people like me. You assumed that people would understand and accept that being linked to someone like me is an insult and you assumed you could get away with it and still appear on TV.  I have to wonder if you considered other hateful words but recoiled from the backlash.  Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor.  No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much.  Come join us someday at Special Olympics. See if you can walk away with your heart unchanged.  A friend you haven’t made yet, John Franklin Stephens Global Messenger Special Olympics Virginia

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Because EVERYONE should watch this. 

Simpsons Intro IRL of the Day: Well, the Russian version.

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