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.
"They loved, too, the beautiful Iris-spirit, who came in the sun-light, and slept so gorgeously robed upon the soft bosom of the silvery spray." From New Tales from Faëry Land, 1852.
Why scarecrows mate for life isn't as romantic as it first appears. The time needed to attract new mates would minimize the establishment of territories. This rare depiction of a baby scarecrow appears in Satirikon, 1908.
"Why do I look at the rain and have to form an opinion about whether I like it or not? Why can I not just be aware of the weather without the constant mind chatter? It's all about control." —Gary Lockley-Ault, The Boy Who Grew Into The Universe
It's not as simple as X marking a spot on the map. "There were people from North X, South X, East X, and West X, from X Upper Corner, X Lower Corner, and X Four Corners, and everybody had brought his uncle and cousins." From St. Nicholas, 1879.
"On the summit of that hill there is an old woman who holds a bird in her bosom." From Serbian Fairy Tales by Elodie L. Mijatovich and illustrated by Sidney Stanley, 1921.