84 Days of Ben Franklin
What do you give a scientist-statesman-patriot-publisher for his 204th birthday? The Saturday Evening Post decided that what he'd want most is his own Twitter account. ... More
What Would Ben Franklin Say?
More In What Would Ben Franklin Say?
Signs of Economic Recovery
Dr. Franklin believed in looking squarely and unflinchingly at problems, and never indulging in the luxury of comforting lies. He continually warned his almanac readers... More
The Origins of Thanksgiving
Our Dr. Franklin, that man of rare good sense and goodwill, describes how the idea of Thanksgiving reflected a shift in American thinking.... More
Should We Lose Daylight-Saving Time?
It’s an ongoing debate. What are the benefits of daylight-saving time? And who gets them? While some benefit from the time change, others are inconvenienced... More
Ben Franklin and the Slow Movement
The Huffington Post (no relation to The Saturday Evening Post) recently started a book club and chose In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honoré for... More
Influenza: Epidemic Control Gone Too Far?
Several months ago, Mexico shut down completely. Public health officials, concerned about the rapid spread of a new strain of Influenza A virus, closed schools,... More
Haute Cuisine
The novel and now movie—Julie and Julia—about French cooking has revived interest in this subject and returned Julia Child’s 1961 cookbook, Mastering the Art of... More
Catching Colds
Many people believe that dampness makes us susceptible to colds and influenza, especially when we get our feet wet. How many times have our mothers... More
Living Inside Your Means
Mortgage rates have dropped again, and analysts are hoping to see a rise in home buying. However, the drop from 5.08 percent to 5.07 percent... More
Influenza Pandemic
Many people fear the exceedingly rare complications of vaccines, preferring instead to risk the disease itself. What would Ben Franklin say about individuals who decline... More
The High Cost of Learning
Public education in most states is being trimmed to fit reduced budgets. Meanwhile, college tuition is rising again—the average cost for a year of college... More
Political Debate
Of course, it would be interesting to know Benjamin Franklin’s opinion about a new, government-run health care program. But we believe he would want to... More
Surviving the Dog Days
What would Ben Franklin say about our annual pilgrimage through the dog days of August? While some prefer to head indoors or to the pool,... More
Where Is the Government’s Health Care Plan?
Why hasn't the government resolved the issue in over a half century of deliberation? What would Dr. Franklin have to say about this?... More
What’s To Be Done with Fools?
Web sites show a video of an event in which Buzz Aldrin, the second astronaut to step onto the moon, was confronted by a man... More
To Reach Old Age, Stop Counting
Ben Franklin liked to point, with pride, to the number of elderly Americans. Every man and woman who reached 80 was further evidence of the... More
Franklin and Cook, Part II: Cook’s Death
Aloha from Hawaii! This is the second part of my previous posting from Maui in which I wrote about Ben Franklin’s attempt to raise enough... More
