I have always been curious about how things get started. Usually it starts with something I hear in the background as I listen to Cheryl watching some TV show. She is laying down and resting for now but one of her shows she likes is Mo Rocca‘s “The Mo you Know” on CBS Saturday morning. It is part of a series of shows intended for young teens. All of the shows are educational in some fashion.

This morning he asked the question, where did the pledge of allegiance come from. His show always has a few little multiple choice questions sprinkled around. I recognize the technique from my teaching days. Kids like to show off what they know.

The questions are always multiple choice. These are a teacher’s grading favorite. One of the answers was “magazine promotion.” That was so off the wall that it had to be true so I fell into the rabbit hole of looking for the answer during the commercial break.

It is so. The magazine was called “The Youth’s Companion” and was published from 1827-1929. After that it merged with another magazine called “The American Boy.” The Wikipedia article notes that the magazine was published by several different publishers over time the latest of which was the Perry Mason Company. The connection to Erle Stanley Gardner becomes obvious with this fact. Erle was a reader of this magazine in his childhood.

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The ability to read and to read well is so very import to teach our children. If one reads well all else is easy. If someone is a poor reader then every belief they hold dear has been told to them by another better reader.

Carpe rabbit hole diem.