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March 26, 2026
Mar 26, 2026
Word
philately
noun
Definition
the collection and study of postage and imprinted stamps : stamp collecting
Example
Given his interests in both philately and football, Michael was excited to learn about the post office’s new series of stamps featuring legendary quarterbacks.
Origin
Who wouldn't love something tax free? George Herpin did. He was a French stamp fancier back in the 1860s, when stamps were a fairly new invention. Before stamps, the recipient of a letter -- not the sender -- had to pay the postage. Stamps forced the sender to foot the bill, and created a lot of stamp lovers among folks on the receiving end of the mail -- and a mania for stamp collecting. "Timbromania" was toyed with as a term to affix to this new hobby -- from the French word for stamp, "timbre." But when Herpin suggested "philatélie" (anglicized to "philately"), combining the Greek root "phil-," meaning "loving," with Greek "ateleia," meaning "tax-exemption," stamp lovers everywhere took a fancy to it and the name stuck.
Webster's Dictionary
Idiom
know which side of one's bread is buttered
Be aware of where one's best interests lie, as in Jerry always helps out his boss; he knows which side of his bread is buttered. This expression alludes to the more favorable, or buttered, side of bread and has been used metaphorically since the early 1500s.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
Fun facts
  1. The side of a hammer is called a cheek.
  2. Blackboard chalk contains no chalk.
Snapple's under-the-cap 'Real Facts'
Artist
Fikret Mualla Saygı
1903 - Jul 20, 1967

Fikret Muallâ Saygı was a 20th-century avant-garde painter of Turkish descent. His work reflects influences from Expressionism and Fauvism, with subject matter focusing on Paris street life, social gatherings such as cafés and circuses.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historical figure
Sargent Shriver
Nov 9, 1915 - Jan 18, 2011

Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. was an American diplomat, politician and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family. Shriver was the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, and founded the Job Corps, Head Start, and other programs as the "architect" of the 1960s "War on Poverty." He was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in the 1972 presidential election.

Born in Westminster, Maryland, Shriver pursued a legal career after graduating from Yale Law School. An opponent of U.S. entry into World War II, he helped establish the America First Committee but volunteered for the United States Navy before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During the war, he served in the South Pacific, participating in the naval Battle of Guadalcanal. After being discharged from the navy, he worked as an assistant editor for Newsweek and met Eunice Kennedy, marrying her in 1953.

He worked on the 1960 presidential campaign of his brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy, and helped establish the Peace Corps after Kennedy's victory. After Kennedy's assassination, Shriver served in the administration of Lyndon B.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historic event
Liberation of Paris
Aug 19, 1944 - Aug 25, 1944

The Liberation of Paris was a military battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been ruled by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Second Compiègne Armistice on 22 June 1940, after which the Wehrmacht occupied northern and western France.

The liberation began when the French Forces of the Interior—the military structure of the French Resistance—staged an uprising against the German garrison upon the approach of the US Third Army, led by General George Patton. On the night of 24 August, elements of General Philippe Leclerc's 2nd French Armored Division made their way into Paris and arrived at the Hôtel de Ville shortly before midnight. The next morning, 25 August, the bulk of the 2nd Armored Division and US 4th Infantry Division entered the city. Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison and the military governor of Paris, surrendered to the French at the Hôtel Meurice, the newly established French headquarters. General Charles de Gaulle of the French Army arrived to assume control of the city as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Quote
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for.
John A. Shedd