💳 George Washington's $300,000 library fine | Bulletin #161

This week: A carriage pulled by kites 🌬️

August 26, 2026

Portsmouth Kite Festival 📍 Portsmouth, United Kingdom 📸 Josh Edgoose

Hey Adventurers! 🪁 In the 1820s, a kite-powered carriage committed the unthinkable: it overtook the Duke of Gloucester's coach. Breaching etiquette was apparently worse than defying physics, and the driver had to pull over to let nobility pass. At the reins was English schoolteacher George Pocock, the inventor of the Charvolant - a carriage pulled by two giant kites instead of horses, capable of reaching 20 mph. But his real motive was cleverer than speed: since road tolls at the time were charged per horse, a horseless carriage paid nothing at all. Authorities were, unsurprisingly, not thrilled.

MUCHAS GRACIAS

Buenos Aires and Uruguay with the incredible team at Skyscanner were more amazing than we remembered, and we owe all of you a massive thank you. Your suggestions led us to a hidden chapel, a pencil museum, and more colorful doors than we could count. Our AWA Ambassadors Matías De Caro, Gaston Calivari, and Vanessa Bell knew exactly which corners to turn, doors to knock on, and faded signs to follow. Consider this our official letter of appreciation and stay tuned for much more to come! (PS: We postcards are in the mail for those of you that sent us your addresses 💌)

THIS WEEK IN AWA AWESOMENESS

☀️ An ode to summer
📚 Forgot to return a library book? No problem.
🎸 An ode to Dolly
🔬 Our favorite middle school science teacher

Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is coming to an end. Before we fall into autumn, here’s a look back at some of our favorite Summer 2026 stories🌞

Boston Public Library 📍 Boston, Massachusetts, USA 📸 Marjorie Becker Photo

FINES ARE FINE

In 1789, George Washington borrowed The Law of Nations from the New York Society Library and never returned it. By 2010, when Mount Vernon discovered the oversight, the first president had racked up a theoretical $300,000 in late fees. The library waived the fine, but Washington's overdue book foreshadowed something bigger…

Martin Guitars 📍Nazareth, Pennsylvania, USA 📸 Marjorie Becker Photo

DOLLY PARTON’S TEENY MARTIN

In the tiny town of Markneukirchen, Germany, a family of cabinet makers would make an unlikely pivot to manufacture an instrument that would establish themselves in the music industry—and leave an indelible mark on a young girl from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Thanks to a doting uncle, a young Dolly Parton became a passionate fan of an itsy-bitsy Martin Guitar.

Gellért Thermal Bath 📍 Budapest Hungary 📸 Abdullah Cetinkaya

ABDULLAH DOESN’T NEED A CAMERA

AWA Ambassador, Abdullah Cetinkaya has never owned a real camera, just a string of smartphones since 2014, and he's used them to capture candy colored trams, Art Deco facades, and midcentury gems from Budapest to Munich to Oklahoma City. Born in Türkiye and raised in Kosovo before landing in the US as a middle school science teacher, he treats every new city like a case to crack, hunting for symmetry, a distinct color palette, and character.

Snail mail's making a comeback this week, Adventure style. Our secret link winners are getting an AWA Postcard Book delivered straight to their door. Happy searching 🐌