July Is Read An Almanac Month

Have you ever had one of those days when you were just reading along and all of a sudden it dawned on you what you read 15 lines back? Well, I just did. That's when I found out that July is "Read An Almanac Month."
Johnnie helped me in the Reference Section and we located our latest almanac...The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2008. It's the 140th anniversary edition.
I remember hearing about kids who used to like to read the encyclopedias, and I must admit at the time I thought they were a little strange. But I started looking through the almanac to see why July is "Read An Almanac Month" and, you know, there's some interesting reading. Let me give you a for-instance.
First of all, even though the book is for 2008, there are some facts about 2007 in it also...like the Top Ten News Topics of 2007, The Almanac in the Internet Age, the 2007 Time Capsule, and Notable Supreme Court Decisions.
This book covers everything...economy, business and energy; crime; health and vital statistics; consumer information; the 100 most populous cities; historical figures; all kinds of sports, and all kinds of facts about the U.S. government.
Well, I didn't stop with the contents page. I decided to delve into the inner workings. The things I found amazed me.
Do you know that the size of an average farm in 1940 was 174 acres. Then in 1990 it was at the highest, which was 460. But in 2006, the average was 446. And that the number of farms (in millions) was 6.3 in 1940, 2.1 in 1990, 2.2 in 2000, 2.1 in 2005, and the same in 2006. What are we going to do if we don't have farmers someday?
I learned the number one reason for visiting an emergency room in 2005 was stomach and abdominal pain, cramps and spasms; that the drugs most frequently prescribed in physicians' offices in 2005 were antidepressants; and that the transplant waiting list in September 2007 was the highest for kidneys. There were 73,181 patients waiting on that list.
I also found the birthplace and birthdate of some noted personalities, such as Sigourney (I like that name) Weaver, Tea (like that one also) Leoni, Big Boi from Savannah, and Willie Nelson.
Listed were all the winners of Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism, Letters, and Music. Listed were the Miss America Winners from 1921 to 2007. Listed were the chemical elements, atomic numbers and the year discovered.
Oh, hey, I could go on and on. The fact is, the almanac is fascinating reading. And it's no wonder someone designated July as "Read An Almanac Month."
It's here, right here, in your favorite library. Take some time and come read it. Sorry, since it's in the Reference Section, you can't check it out. But you can sure take it to the comfortable couch in the reading area and sit a spell.
Don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself.