By: Kevin Grace
In 1917, the noted journalist and philologist H.L. Mencken published an article in the New York Evening Mail concerning the history of the bathtub in the United States. According to the Baltimore writer, known as much for his satire and acerbic wit as he was for his political reporting, Cincinnati was home to this tub. Mencken asserted that America’s first bathtub was introduced on December 20, 1842 by Adam Thompson who lived, in all places, Cincinnati, Ohio. Made of mahogany and lined with lead, the vessel was introduced by Thompson to his guests at a Christmas party, described how it worked, and invited the partygoers to take a dip. Four of them took him up on his offer, and the next day the invention was widely reported in the press. Continue reading


Heather Maloney, Library Director: For fun? Clueless — as if. Action? Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. On the more dramatic side, Empire of the Sun…I saw it when I was a teenager, and I’ve been a Christian Bale fan ever since.
Michelle McKinney, Reference/Web Services Librarian: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Kellie Tilton, Instructional Technologies Librarian: I hate to be repetitive and all too recent, but Catching Fire keeps coming to mind. There quite a few more, though…
Lauren Wahman, Instruction Librarian: To name a few…Shutter Island and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Rachel Lewis, Technical Services Manager: The Hobbit
Chris Marshall, Public Services Assistant: The Notebook, love that movie, and love that book!
Have you read the latest Stephen King novel? Are you excited for the Gone Girl movie and want to reread the Gillian Flynn best seller? Now you can check out these popular titles and more in Langsam Library courtesy of the 


