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 Le Journal Amusant, 1876. If this looks like an attractive lifestyle, see How to Be Your Own Cat, about which Adam McFarland says: "If you have ever even seen a cat, this book will make you laugh. But when the laughter stops, that is when the true magic of this book takes over. Human nature disguised as feline behaviour. How to be Your Own Cat is a delightful way to learn some things about yourself without spending hundreds of dollars on a therapist who has no idea what they're talking about. I do love this delightful and clever little book."
An optical illusion: "If you will look at this face, just below the eyebrows, for a few seconds, you will find its eyes opening and staring at you sadly in return." From The Strand, 1908.