Get the latest tech news

My mother declared my bedroom a disaster area (1984)

President Reagan responds to a unique request for funding

The picture of Ronald Reagan peering into a child’s messy bedroom—which I’m now realising, as I type, is mildly sinister?—is in fact, believe it or not, two photos mashed together. As one would expect, Ronald Reagan was the recipient of thousands of letters each month during his presidency; a mailbag so voluminous, in fact, that a gang of patient volunteers were tasked with opening them all on his behalf and passing him approximately 30 each week to read and respond to. Letters arrived from all over the world, written by a diverse group of people: men, women, fans, critics, average Joes, celebrities, world leaders, and, marking a moment in history, a letter from a 13-year-old boy from South Carolina named Andy Smith, written exactly 40 years ago on 18 April 1984.

Get the Android app