Sunday, August 2 — National Coloring Book Day

Sometimes ordinary things carry more history than they should.

Today, we begin with the first U.S. census in 1790, when the young country started counting itself and turning population into representation. Then we head to Deadwood in 1876, where Wild Bill Hickok was shot during a poker game and a hand of black aces and eights became known as the dead man’s hand. Finally, we look at the Lincoln penny, which entered circulation on August 2, 1909, drew crowds when it first appeared, and now sits at the end of its own long production story.

We also celebrate the birthday of Peter O’Toole, one of the most magnetic actors of the twentieth century.

History has a way of turning forms, playing cards, coins, and movie screens into something much bigger than they look at first.

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