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March 12, 2026
Mar 12, 2026
Word
shinplaster
noun
Definition
  1. a piece of privately issued paper currency; especially : one poorly secured and depreciated in value
  2. a piece of paper money in denominations of less than one dollar
Example
It was the same during the Civil War when the government again turned to the printing press to finance the war. So-called 'greenbacks' … and 'shinplasters,' paper 5-, 10-, 25- and 50-cent pieces, were printed by the thousands to help pay Union soldiers and relieve a coin shortage caused by hoarding." - From an article by John Schmeltzer in the Chicago Tribune, May 12, 1995
Origin
In the past, "shinplaster" referred to a small, square patch of paper that was used as a plaster in treating sore legs. In 19th-century America, the term "shinplaster" was applied to another paper Band-Aid fix: the privately-issued, poorly-secured notes substituted for the coins withdrawn from current circulation. The lexical currency of "shinplaster" spiked when it began being used for the paper money in denominations of less than a dollar-a.k.a. "fractional currency"-issued by the United States government after the depression of 1837 and during the Civil War. In 1870, the U.S.'s neighbor to the north, Canada, issued its own shinplaster, a 25-cent note, which fell into disuse in the early 20th century.
Webster's Dictionary
Idiom
sum and substance
The essence or gist of something, as in The sum and substance of their platform is financial conservatism. This redundant expression---both sum and substance here mean "essence"---has probably survived owing to alliteration. Shakespeare used it in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (4:1): "My riches are these poor habiliments [clothes], Of which if you should here disfurnish me, You take the sum and substance that I have."
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
Fun facts
  1. On average a human will spend up to 2 weeks kissing in his/her lifetime.
  2. "Way" is the most frequently used noun in the English language.
Snapple's under-the-cap 'Real Facts'
Artist
Alessandro Allori
May 31, 1535 - Sep 22, 1607

Alessandro di Cristofano di Lorenzo del Bronzino Allori was an Italian portrait painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school.

In 1540, after the death of his father, he was brought up and trained in art by a close friend, often referred to as his 'uncle', the mannerist painter Agnolo Bronzino, whose name he sometimes assumed in his pictures. In some ways, Allori is the last of the line of prominent Florentine painters, of generally undiluted Tuscan artistic heritage: Andrea del Sarto worked with Fra Bartolomeo, Pontormo briefly worked under Andrea, and trained Bronzino, who trained Allori. Subsequent generations in the city would be strongly influenced by the tide of Baroque styles pre-eminent in other parts of Italy.

Freedberg derides Allori as derivative, claiming he illustrates "the ideal of Maniera by which art are generated out of pre-existing art." The polish of figures has an unnatural marble-like form as if he aimed for cold statuary.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historical figure
Bob Kerrey
Born Aug 27, 1943

Joseph Robert Kerrey is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietnam War as a United States Navy SEAL officer and was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in combat. During the action for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor, he was severely wounded, precluding further naval service.

Kerrey was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992. He retired from the Senate in 2000 and was replaced by former Governor and fellow Democrat Ben Nelson. From 2001 to 2010, he served as president of The New School, a university in New York City. In May 2010, he was selected to become the head of the Motion Picture Association of America. The MPAA, however, could not reach an agreement with him and chose former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd instead.

In 2012, Kerrey sought election to his old Senate seat to succeed retiring Democratic incumbent Ben Nelson. He lost to Republican nominee Deb Fischer.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historic event
June 1976 protests
Jun 24, 1976 - Jun 30, 1976

June 1976 is the name of a series of protests and demonstrations in People's Republic of Poland. The protests took place after Prime Minister Piotr Jaroszewicz revealed the plan for a sudden increase in the price of many basic commodities, particularly foodstuffs. Prices in Poland were at that time fixed, and controlled by the government, which was falling into increasing debt.

The protests started on 24 June and lasted until 30 June, the largest violent demonstrations and looting taking place in Płock, the Warsaw suburb of Ursus, and particularly Radom. The protests were brutally quelled by the government using tanks and helicopters, but the plan for the price increase was shelved; Polish leader Edward Gierek backed down and dismissed Prime Minister Jaroszewicz. This left the government looking both economically foolish and politically weak, a very dangerous combination. The 1976 disturbances and the subsequent arrests and dismissals of militant workers brought the workers and the intellectual opposition to the regime back into contact.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Quote
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
Confucius