Early November in the United States means election season. Last year, we experienced the traumatic return of Donald Trump —an upset victory that I clearly got wrong—and launched a thousand essays from self-proclaimed election geniuses that will carry on for the foreseeable future, eager to lecture a political party on what they need to change.
Since it’s 2025, we’re spared from the stress of the presidential election. Instead, we can worry about the states, redrawn electoral maps, and House races coming up next year. Okay!
But looking back, the elections we had in years ending in zero have been incredibly consequential—at least to me. We spent the 2024 ranking the presidential elections, thinking nothing of how the 2024 would ultimately come in dead last if I ever get over my political and civic-minded depression and rank them again.
So let’s go through the week and highlight a few that stand out:
Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the presidential election on November 3, 2020. You can see we ranked this one pretty high. That was a good time. It feels like forever ago.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term on November 5, 1940. This broke the tradition of only serving two terms established under George Washington. In response, the Twenty-Second Amendment was ratified, ensuring no one could serve more than two terms — a rule we still hope holds firm.
Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States on November 6, 1860. This was a pretty good election. For people who think the two-party system is terrible for the country, they do themselves a favor by referencing this as an outcome of multiple parties. Of course, you must like the outcome for this to be true. Lincoln wouldn’t take office until the following March. In April, the Civil War began.
Americans went to the polls to choose between George W. Bush and Al Gore on November 7, 2000. The outcome wouldn’t be known for another month, and the Supreme Court stepped in and decided it for everybody. We are rooting for ya, Twenty-Second Amendment!
Finally, on November 8, 1960, John F. Kennedy defeated Richard M. Nixon for the presidency of the United States. We elected the first Catholic! Despite his promise not to give everyone another chance to kick him around, Nixon roared back and won the White House twice, which did not end well.
Okay, let’s highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here’s what I got:
1. James and John Ritty of Dayton, Ohio, patented the first cash register on November 4, 1880. The brothers owned several saloons and wanted to track their cash transactions better. After taking a river cruise in Europe, where James learned the mechanics of keeping track of how many times the propeller spun, he returned to Ohio and invented a machine that recorded each sale with a bell. Ritty would open a factory to mass-produce the equipment, but he was overwhelmed and sold the company and the patent. Cha-Ching to that guy who made a ton of money perfecting the machine that is now commonplace.
2. A chimpanzee was observed for the first time making and using tools on November 4, 1960. A 26-year-old Dr. Jane Goodall documented two male chimps in the wild of Africa stripping tree limbs and using them to dig out termites to eat. This discovery was the first proof of any other creature using tools. The only tool Blue uses is his nose when he wants to be petted.
3. Parker Brothers released the Monopoly board game on November 5, 1935. Elizabeth Magie was born after the Civil War to an abolitionist newspaper publisher who traveled with Lincoln to his debates with Stephen Douglas. The game was developed as “The Landlord’s Game,” which didn’t sound fun to play at all. The concept was to teach players the pitfalls of capitalism and monopolies, which makes sense when your siblings are beating the heck out of you for rent. Magie sold the rights to Parker Brothers for $500, or what it costs to land on Boardwalk.
Here’s another anniversary that caught my eye:
On November 5, 1930, Sinclair Lewis won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his novel “Babbitt.” Lewis became the first American to win the prestigious award.
The novel is a satire about the American middle class, but it has no plot. Instead, the story is about an office worker’s typical day living with his family in a generic Midwest city. The title comes from the main character’s name, George Babbitt.
Since the book was published in 1922, Babbitt captures the restless spirit of postwar America — people convinced that working harder, earning more, and upgrading everything would solve their anxieties. Babbit presented the book as “God’s purpose that man should work, increase his income, and enjoy modern improvements.”
Who knows, maybe I’ll read it one day!
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I’ll be back on Friday with another presidential essay—at least that is what I’m shooting for!
I hope you have a great week! Thanks for your support of Okay History.
Appreciate you.
Okay,
Chris
