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.
The world beyond the looking glass: "I feel that this is right for me; I know that this is wrong." From Boston College's 1998 yearbook, indexed as being published in 1913 over at Archive.org, thus proving that the book bends time.
"I'm 'aving to do my act with a length of 'osepipe. Tell me...tell me, where's the exotic Eastern mystery in a length of 'osepipe?" "Well, it's about halfway down on the left, I believe."
The invention of the insta-print camera (with self-developing film) is credited to Edwin Land in 1948. But you knew we'd find a precursor, and here's one from 1932. From Nebelspalter, 1932.
From The Universal Dreamer: Containing the Interpretation of a Great Variety of Dreams, Explaining Their Meaning, and Disclosing the Secrets of Futurity, 1860. (Via TheFugitiveSaint.)