by Bob Magruder

What was America's longest running comic strip? Where was the first traffic light? Who was the first real movie star? What was the first aphrodisiac? When and what was the first Broadway musical? Who used the first toothbrush? Did Jesus turn the water into wine or beer? The answers to these questions and a couple of gazillion more are contained in these pages, along with the fascinating stories behind them. Also within, you'll find the very first crossword puzzle (ready for solving), the remarkable chronicles of the first postage stamp, the first horror movie, the first anesthetics, the first baseball and football games, the first women's fashion magazine, the first condom, not to mention the world's oldest profession (it's not what you think). You will become privy to the origins of many timeless phrases and well-known events. You will experience how the common English working family existed in the 19th century, sans rudimentary hygiene or birth control, and how hotdogs and ice cream sodas came to be. You may be amused or shocked at some of the sexual proclivities of U. S. Presidents. And you will be treated to a number of curious stories of famous and not-so-famous men and women who changed their times and their world by being the very first at something.