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.
If we didn't know this was the name of a party game, "Birds fly!" could be an example of the age-old Asian art of finding the simplest phrases that contain the most profound meaning. From Round Games for All Parties, 1854.
"The birds of all the world came flying up to her, and each deposited a tear in the cup." From Tales of Enchantment, illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham, 1920.