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.
A World War I-era postcard by Arthur Thiele. Speaking of a fear of cows (bovinophobia or taurophobia), we previously found a cure for it in this vintage ad.
Here's Switzerland's Teufelsbrücke ("Devil's Bridge"), the construction of which was attributed to the Devil (who received the first thing to pass the bridge in exchange for his help. The people of the valley sent a dog across to trick him.)