Amendments

Not all good stories have happy endings. Plus, 7 other things worth your time.

In 1982, a student at the University of Texas at Austin named Gregory Watson, then 19, was reading about the U.S. Constitution.

He learned, to his surprise, that there was a proposed constitutional amendment from 1789 that had never been ratified by enough states to become part of the Constitution.

Offered by Rep. James Madison (who would later go on to become the fourth president) the amendment had been ratified by nine states over the years, but there had been no further progress.

Its goal was simple: it would delay the effective date of any Congressional salary adjustment until after there had been an intervening Congressional election.

Watson was intrigued, and he argued in a paper for a political science class that this proposed, 192-year-old amendment might still be out there, pending, in a kind of constitutional limbo. But his professor didn't buy it. 

Watson got a “C” grade, both on the paper and in the class. He appealed, but to no avail.

That ticked Watson off. So, he started wr…