CRAIG CONLEY (Prof. Oddfellow) is recognized by Encarta as “America’s most creative and diligent scholar of letters, words and punctuation.” He has been called a “language fanatic” by Page Six gossip columnist Cindy Adams, a “cult hero” by Publisher’s Weekly, a “monk for the modern age” by George Parker, and “a true Renaissance man of the modern era, diving headfirst into comprehensive, open-minded study of realms obscured or merely obscure” by Clint Marsh. An eccentric scholar, Conley’s ideas are often decades ahead of their time. He invented the concept of the “virtual pet” in 1980, fifteen years before the debut of the popular “Tamagotchi” in Japan. His virtual pet, actually a rare flower, still thrives and has reached an incomprehensible size. Conley’s website is OneLetterWords.com.
An illustration from a 1901 issue of The Lady's Realm magazine. The caption reads: "The mysterious something was dancing slyly in her eyes. His own fired suddenly."
Did you know that potatoes have stars in their eyes? Here's a piece from Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook, inspired by Jeff Hawkins' unlikely pairing of vegetables to astronomy.
The text reads, "The so-called eyes of nightshade tubers always connect to form the constellation Cassiopeia, the original 'couch potato.'"
An illustration from a 1914 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. The caption reads: "She leaned forward as if hypnotized and stared at her reflected image. 'I will look,' she whispered hoarsely, 'until those eyes stop glaring like that!'"
An illustration from a 1910 issue of Hampton's magazine. The caption reads: "Luminous waves rolled toward me, covered with the faces of the dead. I saw blue eyes all around the room."