For more than a quarter of a century, from 1732 to 1758, Poor Richard’s Almanack was a bestseller in colonial America. Why did so many colonists find it imperative to buy and read this yearly publication that was written and published by Benjamin Franklin? In part, they purchased the work for practical reasons. Like other almanacs, it offered useful information about the weather and other important matters. What set Franklin’s yearly volume apart from others of its kind, however, was the pithy advice it offered, sometimes delivered with a wry sense of humor, about life in general. Many of Franklin’s clever sayings urged people to work hard and be steadfast in their determination to live a good, honest life. Others warned them about about bad habits and other dangers to watch out for. Among the most famous of these pieces of advice are: “What you seem to be, be really,” “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and “Fish and visitors stink after three days.”