Image description:
“In Event of Moon Disaster”, July 18, 1969.
White House speechwriter, William Safire, was asked to write a speech that President Nixon would make in case the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the Moon.
It was never delivered, and this speech was quietly tucked away into Nixon’s records.
From - “American Originals” Treasures from the National Archives
Source: Nixon Library
Over the years, it has grown to 19 museums and the National Zoo. View photos from its past to celebrate.
Image description: As a publicity stunt in the 1888 presidential campaign, supporters of Benjamin Harrison rolled a huge ball covered with campaign slogans halfway across the country. The ball was a replica of one built for Harrison’s grandfather, William Henry Harrison, for his 1840 presidential campaign. The gimmick gave rise to the phrase, “Keep the ball rolling.” Learn more about this historical event.
Photo from the Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Image description: These U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators are “tasting” tea. The Tea Importation Act of 1897 was enacted to improve the quality of America’s imported tea, described as “little better than hay or catnip.” Organoleptic experts at FDA sampled lots of every tea entering the country for nearly a century. FDA’s last tea taster, Robert Dick, retired soon after Congress rescinded the law in 1996.
Photo from the FDA
Image description: Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) illustrated this World War II poster for American soldiers about mosquitoes and malaria before he was a famous children’s book author. Warning: this document was created for adults fighting in war zones, and might not be considered appropriate for young kids.
Preventing malaria was a priority for the U.S. military in the South Pacific during World War II, as the debilitating disease sent more soldiers to the hospital than injuries from combat.
Published in 1943 by the U.S. Army. Digitized image courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
