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.
"Thou shalt not always wear a cross and ugly look especially in cold weather as the features may become frozen and crack. Look pleasant occasionally." From 1907.
"How to catch them — in 1908. Build a large Mouse Trap. Disguise the front entrance as a palatial mansion: take an empty flour sack, fill with rubbish and print a dollar sign on it. Hang on for bait. Scatter a few loose coins about the entrance for effect and await results."
"It takes turkeys a while to catch on in life" (Michael Zitz, "Wild over Turkey," The Free Lance-Star, 1990). A postcard from Rockingham County, Virginia, c. 1940.