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Posted by: Ellen Terrell
Today is Mardi Gras in New Orleans and I am not there. Instead I am here in Washington, D.C. at work. For some reason, this year I’m a little sad about missing all of the festivities. I have no costume to wear, and no beads or doubloons to catch. I will not be there to …
Posted in: Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, New Orleans
Posted by: Ellen Terrell
This is blog post features some images and history related to the building of the Annex now known as the John Adams Building.
Posted in: Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, John Adams Building
Posted by: Ellen Terrell
This blog post looks at the history of the board game Monopoly and the game it was borrowed from.
Posted in: Business, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Inventions
Posted by: Ellen Terrell
In the 1987 movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Steve Martin’s character is desperately trying to get home for Thanksgiving. While working at the Library of Congress, I have answered many questions which might have interested Steve Martin’s character, from how people traveled, to how much a trip cost, to how long a certain trip was …
Posted in: Favorites From the Fifth Floor, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Travel
Posted by: Ellen Terrell
James Jacob Ritty was a saloon keeper in Ohio who was trying to insure employees didn’t pocket the money from customer purchases.
Posted in: Business, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Inventions
Posted by: Ellen Terrell
The Columbus Day holiday is a good opportunity to post on the topic of trade. After all, wasn’t finding another trade route to the Orient one of the main purposes of the expedition in 1492? Since the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the land route had become difficult and dangerous. The Portuguese were working on …
Posted in: Business, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History