The origin of the dollar

Ernest Vincent Wright's 1939 novel Gadsby has 50,110 words, none of which contains the letter e.

Don't believe that a novel could be without any e's? Here's an excerpt from page one of Wright's Gadsby:

"If youth, throughout all history, had a champion to stand up for it; to show a doubting world that a child can think; and, possibly, do it practically; you wouldn't constantly run across folks today who claim that "a child don't know anything." A child's brain starts functioning at birth; and has, amongst its many infant convolutions, thousands of dormant atoms, into which God has put a mystic possibility for noticing an adults act, and figuring out its purport."

- Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright. Published 1939

Tourism is a $4 trillion-a-year industry, affecting more than 200 million jobs, or 1 in 10 workers. But tourism actually is an old industry, dating back to the first Olympics in 776BC. Even in ancient Rome it was popular to travel up the Nile to Thebes to view the statues.

The first book on travel, aptly called "Travel" was published by Jehan de Mandeville (anglicized to Sir John Mandeville) in 1357. It became a best seller and was translated into 9 languages.

Trips used to be organized by individuals or small groups who accompanied their guests. In 1758, Cox & Kings became the world's first travel agency - not necessarily escorting the travelers to their destination. Thomas Cook (1808 - 1892) also took large groups on tour and then founded his company in the 1860s. The first travel agency in the United States was founded in 1887 by Walter T. Brownell.

Tourism is the biggest industry in most countries - except the United States, where entertainment is the biggest industry.

In 1758, Cox & Kings became the world's first travel agency.