Comments on: Happy Giant Panda Day

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:51:02 +0000

Can’t wait to see tomorrows events! (Today)

By: khan

khan — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:33:19 +0000

I recall the Blackout.

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:26:15 +0000

I love the picture of the blackout!!!!

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:23:31 +0000

There were differences, and one might guess that a single paragraph could not possibly capture the details.

And one of those differences is rate at which people expected things to be done.

The CWA itslelf ran for five months and had little effect on the economy. It was the repeated use of this technique at much larger scales over the next six or seven years followed by a big-ass war that did the trick. Same president the whole time, though. Funny that.

Yes, there is a difference.

FYI, here’s some rough data on Gross Domestic Product and Unemployment rates (the latter are in some cases interpolated. Source: googled the net.)

1929 GDP 790 UE 8.7
1930 GDP 720 UE 8.7
1931 GDP 674 UE 23.6
1932 GDP 584 UE 22
1933 GDP 577 UE 22
FDR takes office, CWA established GDP
1934 GDP 641 UE 22
1935 GDP 698 UE 18
1936 GDP 790 UE 17
1937 GDP 831 UE 17.5
1

By: lawguy

lawguy — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:08:38 +0000

As far as your comments about FDR as compared to the most recent occupant of the White House and the difference in the way people acted in the elections then and now. I recommend that you check out a real history of the time (the 30s) unemployments was going down. There were a great number of programs to put people to work. The banks and Wall Street were being treated like the theives they were (and are). See a difference?

The electorate responded appropriately both times.

By: The MadPanda, FCD

The MadPanda, FCD — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:30:35 +0000

And let us not forget the Red Panda, which was the first of the two to be discovered by Western naturalists (by some fifty-odd years, IIRC).

I have had the dubious pleasure of surprising a Chinese guide during a visit to the Panda World in Fuzhou by a) knowing about the little red ones and b) being more interested in them than the big black and white ones.

Thanks for the anniversary listing, Dr. Laden. I knew about Jack T. Ripper and Dr. Sagan, but somehow the bit about Rolling Stone was off my radar.

The MadPanda, FCD