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.
Featured Book
The Young Wizard's Hexopedia
Search Site
Interactive

Breathing Circle
Music Box Moment
Cautious or Optimistic
King of Hearts of War and Peace
As I Was, As I Am
Perdition Slip
Loves Me? Loves Me Not?
Wacky Birthday Form
Test Your ESP
Chess-Calvino Dictionary
Amalgamural
Is Today the Day?
100 Ways I Failed to Boil Water
"Follow Your Bliss" Compass
"Fortune's Navigator" Compass
Inkblot Oracle
Luck Transfer Certificate
Eternal Life Coupon
Honorary Italian Grandmother E-card
Simple Answers

Collections

A Fine Line Between...
A Rose is a ...
Always Remember
Ampersands
Annotated Ellipses
Apropos of Nothing
Book of Whispers
Call it a Hunch
Colorful Allusions
Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up?
Disguised as a Christmas Tree
Do-Re-Midi
Don't Take This the Wrong Way
Everybody's Doing This Now
Forgotten Wisdom
Glued Snippets
Go Out in a Blaze of Glory
Haunted Clockwork Music
Hindpsych: Erstwhile Conjectures by the Sometime Augur of Yore
How to Believe in Your Elf
How to Write a Blank Book
I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought
Images Moving Through Time
Indubitably (?)
Inflationary Lyrics
It Bears Repeating
It's Really Happening
Last Dustbunny in the Netherlands
Miscellanies of Mr. Jonathan
Neither Saint- Nor Sophist-Led
No News Is Good News
Non-Circulating Books
Nonsense Dept.
Not Rocket Science
Old News
Oldest Tricks in the Book
On One Condition
One Mitten Manager
Only Funny If ...
P I n K S L i P
Peace Symbols to Color
Pfft!
Phosphenes
Postcard Transformations
Precursors
Presumptive Conundrums
Puzzles and Games
Constellations
D-ictionary
Film-ictionary
Letter Grids
Tic Tac Toe Story Generator
Which is Funnier
Restoring the Lost Sense
Rhetorical Answers, Questioned
Rhetorical Questions, Answered!
Semicolon Moons
Semicolon's Dream Journal
Separated at Birth?
Simple Answers
Someone Should Write a Book on ...
Something, Defined
Staring at the Sun
Staring Into the Depths
Strange Dreams
Strange Prayers for Strange Times
Suddenly, A Shot Rang Out
Sundials
Telescopic Em Dashes
Temporal Anomalies
The 40 Most Meaningful Things
The Ghost in the [Scanning] Machine
The Only Certainty
The Right Word
This May Surprise You
This Terrible Problem That Is the Sea
Two Sides / Same Coin
Uncharted Territories
Unicorns
We Are All Snowflakes
What I Now Know
What's In a Name
Yearbook Weirdness
Yesterday's Weather
Your Ship Will Come In

Archives

September 2025
August 2025
July 2025
June 2025
May 2025
April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
December 2024
November 2024
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006

Links

Magic Words
Jonathan Caws-Elwitt
Martha Brockenbrough
Gordon Meyer
Dr. Boli
Serif of Nottingblog
dbqp
Phantasmaphile
Ironic Sans
Brian Sibley's Blog
Neat-o-Rama
Abecedarian personal effects of 'a mad genius'
A Turkish Delight of musings on languages, deflations of metaphysics, vauntings of arcana, and great visual humor.
Go Out in a Blaze of Glory

December 4, 2016 (permalink)


Thanks to Brenda ConnelRoss for a 5-star review of our Magic Words: A Dictionary:
I absolutely LOVE this book. It's great if you're interested in magic, but it's really for people who love the sound of WORDS. The evening I received it, I sat on the porch swing to look through it. A half hour later, I discovered that I had been sitting for 30 minutes reading and laughing out loud. There are words and phrases from Ancient Greece to spells from the tv show Bewitched! (The yaga zoozie spell was my all-time favorite; it's in the book.) I keep it in my fifth grade class, and use magic phrases as a signal to get to work! I need another copy for home. I also ADORE the literary references. This is a brilliant book for magicians and logophiles!
#magic words #logophile
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

November 13, 2016 (permalink)

We're honored that tech guru Gordon Meyer (author of Smart Home Hacks fame) called our Seance Parlor Feng Shui project "One of the loveliest, and most lovingly created, books in my collection."

#spirits #occult #ghosts #seance parlor #spiritualism
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

November 9, 2016 (permalink)

Jim Hester performing a night flight over Ocean Park, 1920.
#vintage photo #long exposure #night photography #night flight #ocean park #photo
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

October 24, 2016 (permalink)

This is from an article about aligning reflectors in geometric forms to send signals to life on other planets.  From Cassell's, 1893.
#vintage illustration #life on mars #interplanetary #space signal #interstellar communication #life on other planets #illustration
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

October 18, 2016 (permalink)

"Scene from the last act of the ballet 'Electra, or the Last Pleaid,'" from Illustrated London News, 1849.
#vintage illustration #angels #sun #electra #illustration
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

September 28, 2016 (permalink)

The Library Shenanigans blog got the scoop on our latest collage project about “non-circulating” library books.  Most all of our pieces are set to appear in the future, but you can time travel with us and see them all here: https://www.oneletterwords.com/weblog/?c=NonCirculatingBooks&show=all

Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

September 19, 2016 (permalink)

We're often asked how and where we find the unusual imagery we post.  This photo reveals all.

#prof. oddfellow #gpoy
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

September 17, 2016 (permalink)

#chicago #quimby's #bookstore #weird books
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

September 10, 2016 (permalink)

From Rübezahl Erzählungen by K. A. Müller, 1800.
#vintage illustration #goat #flying goat #illustration #art
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

September 3, 2016 (permalink)

"Riding a live wire" is daredevil D. H. McDonnell a.k.a. Professor Arion, from his obituary in The Street Railway Review, 1897.
#vintage illustration #daredevil #electrified #go out in a blaze of glory #stuntman #electricity #illustration #art
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

August 20, 2016 (permalink)

"Let us forget about the past life in darkness and look forward to walking through light." —Andrew Pappachen
#lens flare #photographer #self portrait #out of the darkness
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

August 15, 2016 (permalink)


We're glad to have spotted this review of our Young Wizard's Hexopedia:
5 stars.  "Whether it be mage or sage, philology or philosophy, Craig Conley's Hexopedia is an splendid source for the young scholar beginning an interest in the intricacies of the language arts or the aspiring practitioner attracted to the allure of the magic arts, and a recommended reference for the most eclectic collection of sorcerer and student alike. Hexopedia is an excellent example of the dynamic of the power of language through spells, spelling, speech and sound interacting with thought-provoking imagery to intrigue the imagination, mystify the mind, and guarantee to make this wonderful work one to re-read." —Joshua Sprouse
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

August 11, 2016 (permalink)

It's commonly believed that the world's longest-lasting light bulb is the Centennial Light in Livermore, California, having glowed for 113 years.  But we know better, that the earth itself is the longest-lasting light bulb (and hence our looming fear of the lights going out in Georgia [again], for, like the font, Georgia is everywhere [except Linux]).  From Bell Telephone Magazine, 1972.
#earth #end of the world #apocalypse #lights out #lightbulb #fear of the dark
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

August 8, 2016 (permalink)


We're delighted by these 5-star reviews of our How to Be Your Own Cat:

5 stars.  "A charming and subversively 'innocent' book that delightfully combines pro-feline sentiments and self-awareness. For those who have become jaded by decades of 'visualization techniques', shifting the perspective to 'cat consciousness' is both ingenious and refreshing." —Ken Clinger, recording artist

5 Stars.  "Whether you're allergic to dander, or residential regulations prohibit pets, or your lifestyle doesn't allow for responsible care of vulnerable creatures, the simplest answer is to be your own cat.  I wondered if the claim of "instant results" could possibly be true, but you become your own cat during the very first exercise you perform.  You can do the steps in any order you wish.  I skipped around, and the results weren't adversely affected.  There were lots of good laughs along the way, and I thoroughly enjoyed it." —CeeCee Farley, Univ. of Florida

5 stars.  "As someone from astrological feline sign I can say that I identify with many elements of this book. I've always admired the way cats approach the world with an air of mystery. Now I know why and how they do it. This book reveals feline secrets that I've never seen discussed anywhere else. It's a delight for any animal lover. It was a wonderful read and I look forward to keeping it by my bedside to have it on hand." —Allyson, chef

5 stars.  "This is paws-down best cat book ever ... because it's not cutesy.  Though obviously playful in tone, the tips are actually serious, and they honestly DO work!  This book goes straight to the heart of what makes a cat tick, allowing anyone to genuinely become his or her own feline." —Donna Clark, artist

5 stars.  "I am curled up in the feline position thoroughly enjoying how to become my own inner kitty. Cats are such enigmas, and this is just a truly delightful and thoughtful exploration of their psychology. I read it all at once; couldn't put it down!" —Alice Warwick, attorney

Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

July 27, 2016 (permalink)

From The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, illustrated by T. Seccombe, 1870.

#vintage illustration #fire #castle #on fire #walter scott #conflagration #burning castle #burning up #illustration
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

July 7, 2016 (permalink)

#vintage illustration #comet #shooting star #el cometa #falling star #illustration #art
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

July 5, 2016 (permalink)

Speaking of our latest video clip, the inimitable Gary Barwin said: "This new video on the Mandela effect locked me in its uncarny Full Nelson. You play Heidegger and go seek with the Wyrd sisters of quantum estrangement or perhaps attainment and, not to make streetlight of it, I found it shone light on what it is to be a prism-er of the quotidian and to eschew the night vision of one's internal intuitor, one's inner child who makes strange."

Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

June 26, 2016 (permalink)

The brightest student of 1937, as scanned by Miami University Libraries.

#vintage yearbook #yearbook #bright student
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

May 28, 2016 (permalink)

Is it embarrassing to own a copy of our dictionary of one-letter words?  For Irish Times columnist Frank McNally, definitely so (but he bravely came out all the same in an article entitled To the Power of M: An Irishman's Diary on the Strange Appeal of the Alphanet's 13th Letter):
Far from bosoms, in fact, the original M was a pictogram for water. And according to my Dictionary of One-Letter Words (it’s sad, I know, but I really have one), the writer Victor Hugo noted that it could also visually represent mountains “or a camp with tents pitched in pairs”.
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest

April 29, 2016 (permalink)

Here's our Droste effect of the day — Prof. Oddfellow holding his portrait in Jim Girouard's letter-dice divination book Journey Into Eternity and standing in front of a print of said portrait, itself in front of Oddfellow's photo of Portmeirion's camera obscura which features in the drawing.  
#droste effect #portmeirion
Tumblr Twitter Facebook Pinterest



Page 13 of 22

> Older Entries...

Original Content Copyright © 2025 by Craig Conley. All rights reserved.