BEAT THE COUCH · THE DAILY ARCHIVE · DEALT JUL 27, 2026

Day 16 · The Postwar Jitters

THE SECRET WINDOW: APR 29, 1946 TO MAY 3, 1948 · 504 TRADING DAYS

On July 27, 2026 everyone who opened the game got the same secret two years: April 29, 1946 to May 3, 1948, the postwar jitters. The couch bought on day one, never sold, and turned $10,000 into $9,256 (-7.4%). 59% of the players who tried beat it.

THE COUCH'S $10,000, DAY BY DAY, REAL DAILY DATA

What the couch did

ENDED WITH$9,256 (-7.4%)

WORST DRAWDOWN-26% by Oct 9, 1946

WORST SINGLE DAY-9.9% Sep 3, 1946

BEST SINGLE DAY+4.2% Dec 9, 1946

CASH INSTEAD (T-BILLS)+1.2%

The era

The postwar jitters. The war ended, prices jumped, and everyone expected the Depression to come back. The market fell hard in 1946 and then went sideways for three years. Dull, nervous and expensive to second-guess.

THE EXHIBIT: THE POSTWAR JITTERS. EVERYONE WHO PLAYED WAS THERE.

What the players did

BEAT THE COUCH58.6%

WITH CERTIFIED SKILL11.1%

BY LUCK47.5%

COUCH WINS18.2%

DEAD HEAT2.0%

ENLIGHTENED (TOUCHED NOTHING)21.2%

MEDIAN RESULT vs THE COUCH+1.8%

MEDIAN TRADES3

MEDIAN TIME IN MARKET88%

The read

A falling market, and the humans finally showed up: 59% of players beat the couch. Before anyone frames it, only 11.1% passed the monkey audit. Most of the winners were simply out of the market while it fell, which is not the same as knowing it would.

Player figures count every official and replayed attempt at this exact hand filed on the day it was dealt, from the run export of October 31, 2026. A win counts as SKILL only if it beats 90% of 1,000 monkeys replaying the same window with the same trade count and the same time in the market. Across the whole ledger the couch wins 62% of 120,800 games.

The archive has the long version of this stretch: Could You Have Dodged the Forgotten Crash of 1946?

Play the past handthe same two years everyone got on Jul 27, 2026. Free, no signup. No streak, no standings: filed as a REPLAY.

Or play today's hand. It stays secret until tomorrow.

Frequently asked

What was the Beat the Couch daily hand on July 27, 2026?

Day 16 dealt the two years from April 29, 1946 to May 3, 1948, the postwar jitters. A couch that bought on day one and never sold turned $10,000 into $9,256 (-7.4%).

How often did players beat the couch on day 16?

58.6% of the players who filed the hand beat the couch. 11.1% passed the 1,000-monkey skill audit; the rest of the winners were stamped LUCKY.

Can I still play the day 16 hand?

Yes. The past hand button deals the exact same window. It is filed as a replay: it does not touch your streak, the daily standings or the public ledger.

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Not financial advice. The couch is not licensed for anything.