Know It All

According to the postmaster general, "the price of the first-class stamp, adjusted for inflation, is essentially the same as it was in 1971.”

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The first U.S. postal stamps were issued on July 1, 1847. The five-cent stamp pictured Benjamin Franklin, the 10-cent stamp pictured George Washington.

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The U.S. Postal Service established ZIP codes in 1963. Do you know what ZIP stands for? See answer at end.

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Self-adhesive stamps were first introduced in tropical climates in an attempt to avoid stamps sticking together in the humidity.

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The U.S. Postal Service employs 750,000 people.

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An 1860 employment ad in a California newspaper read "Wanted. Young, skinny, wiry fellows. Not over 18. Must be expert riders. Willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.” It was an ad for riders for the Pony Express.

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The Pony Express carried and delivered mail for only 19 months, from April 1860 to October 1861. The company lost $200,000, and failed to get the government mail contract, thus they had to declare bankruptcy.

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Most of the 600 western-themed movies made between 1960 and 1975 were financed by Italian companies, which led to the nickname "Spaghetti Westerns.”

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Italian director Sergio Leone directed the classic western trilogy that launched Clint Eastwood’s film career. The movies were "A Fistful of Dollars” (1964), "For a Few Dollars More” (1965), and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966).

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The western series "Rawhide” (1959-66) was the beginning of Clint Eastwood’s career. The television show centered on a group of men who drove cattle to market in the old west. Clint’s character, Rowdy Yates, became the trail boss in Rawhide’s final season.

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Clint Eastwood has starred in all four of the western movies that he directed. The movies are "Unforgiven” (1992), "Pale Rider” (1985), "Outlaw Josey Wales” (1976) and "High Plains Drifter” (1973).

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Steven Spielberg purchased Clark Gable’s 1934 Oscar for $607,500, then donated it to the Academy.

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Paul Newman, Steven Spielberg, Annie Oakley and Clark Gable were all born in Ohio.

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Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were married in 1958. They had appeared together in 10 movies during their 46-year marriage.

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Joanne Woodward was the first person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She received the star, located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd., on Feb. 9, 1960.

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New stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are added at the rate of about two per month. Today there are a total of 2,150 stars.

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"Laverne and Shirley” stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.

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A spin-off from "Happy Days,” "Laverne & Shirley” ran from 1976 to 1983. It was the highest-rated program of the 1978 and 1979 seasons.

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Answer: ZIP means Zoning Improvement Plan. Prior to ZIP codes, the postal service staff had to manually sort all of the mail. ZIP codes made it possible to sort mail by machine. In 1983, the Postal Service began "ZIP+4.” The nine digit numbers allow machines to further pinpoint the final destination of each letter.

Know It All is by Kerry McArdle. It runs in the weekend and Wednesday editions of the Daily Journal. Questions? Comments? E-mail knowitall@smdailyjournal.com or call 344-5200 x114.