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.
From Nebelspalter, 1910. Though the secrets of how to be a human-headed serpent locomotive are closely guarded, the secrets of transforming into a lion person are now revealed: How to Be Your Own Cat.
Not only is this a precursor to How to Be Your Own Cat, but check out that word "metamorphosiological"! This is the only instance of that word in print that we've found.
Gary responds: "Thanks for this One Odd Minute. I love seeing these strange beguiling charmingly sly and witty videos. Maybe it could double as a ‘how to break into your own library video.’"