When Robert B. Thomas first published his almanac in 1792 he wanted it to be "useful with a pleasant degree of humor."

The 2009 edition of the Old Farmers Almanac is no exception.

After more than 200 years, the Old Farmers Almanac is still delighting its more than 18.5 million readers with its mixture of gardening tips, planting tables, recipes, folklore, anecdotes and pleasantries and, of course, its famous weather predictions.

Where else can you find a recipe for French Farmer's Baked Beef and Barley, the causes of foot pain, the historical significance of election day cake, ways to decode your dreams and tips on how to live to be 100 all under one cover?

And that's just a sample of what's inside.

Often imitated, never equaled as the publishers like to say.

"It's the one book that will bring a smile to your face all year long," said assistant editor Sarah Perreault.

The venerable publication has been a staple in many homes in America since the days of George Washington. Almost every household in America had an almanac back in the days when most people lived on a farm.

Thomas, a New England farmer and son of a school teacher, grew up reading his father's books and developed an interest in astronomy, the planets and the weather.

After taking careful notes and making some calculations based on astronomical data and weather patterns that he observed over the years, Thomas put together his first almanac in 1792.

"He tried to figure out a way to calculate what the weather would be and when he would harvest and when he could plant," Perreault said.

He had 3,000 subscribers that first year. The almanac proved to be so accurate that the next year subscriptions tripled.

Thomas would go on to serve as editor of the almanac for 54 years. He added the word "old" to it in 1832 because his had outlasted most other almanacs.

"We are the oldest, continuously published periodical in North America," Perreault said.

The stories may change from year to year, but the almanac still retains the essence of Robert Thomas's vision.

So how does an almanac fit into the 21st century life?

The answer is simple. The same way it fit into 18th, 19th and 20th century life -- by filling a need simply, reliably and consistently.

Each issue is at once both fresh and familiar, according to its editors.

"The information in it is very useful," Perreault said. "We're always trying to find things in categories we're known for like weather, obviously, gardening, which still remains popular, and astronomy and astrology. And we try and have amusing articles like how to live to be 100 and just fun things that you can read and maybe share with others."

And just what is the secret to living to be 100? According to scientist who study centenarians, the secret to a longer life is to take it easy, use your brain, stay active, get out of the house laugh a lot and flirt. Incidentally, people who live to be 100 are the fastest growing population group in both the United States and Canada.

Want to know what that dream you had last night means? According to experts while specific dream symbols are unique to each dreamer, there are universal themes which occur like being chased (fear), appearing make in public (embarrassment or worry about an upcoming performance or test of some kind, being late for school or work or an important event (feeling unprepared) or not being able to remembers the answers to a test or the words of a speech ( failure often indicates the opposite -- success).

"This used to happen to me all the time. I'd dream I was taking a test and couldn't remember any of the answers," Perreault said. "That dream often indicated the exact opposite. So if you dream you can't do something, the outcome is usually success."

And forget about global warming. According to the almanac, we're actually entering a period of global cooling. That's not to say that urbanization and greenhouse gasses aren't having an impact.

The cooling Pacific Ocean, the yet-to-cool Atlantic and the historical reduction in recent solar activity all suggest a cooling period could continue. The Earth was actually one degree Fahrenheit cooler at the beginning of 2008 than it was in 2007.

"A lot of people are on that global warming kick," Perrault said. "But the next 20 to 40 years are going to be cooler. It's a pattern. There is a timeline showing cold periods and warm periods. It happens all the time. But it is going to be colder."

Which leads us to the most popular question asked about the almanac. Just where do they get those weather predictions?

The almanac boats an 80 percent accuracy record for predicting the weather in 16 regions of the United States and Canada.

Perreault said they don't just guess. They actually have a time-honored formula based on a combination of solar science, climatology and traditional meteorology.

"We're not sitting in the office with a dart board saying 'okay, it's going to be cold here,'" Perreault said.

In the 2008 edition they were 90 percent accurate in predicting precipitation and winter temperatures, she said.

"We were within one degree of actual temperatures," Perreault said. "So last year was a really great year for us."

And for the record, this winter will be much colder than normal with temperatures one to two degrees below normal.