Tuesday Open Line


We’re all used to thumbing through the catalogs that arrive in the mail almost daily for the latest bargains. However, this pastime may be older than you think. The first such catalog was sent out by Montgomery Ward this week in 1872. That first catalog consisted of only one page, but the idea was so successful that by 1904, the Ward’s catalog weighed in at four pounds. Today, the mail-order business is still thriving, generating an increasing amount of sales on the Internet. There are more than 100,000 electronic shipping and mail-order houses, and each year they sell $224 billion worth of goods. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.