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.
Here's how to see the sunrise at the earliest moment, by actually turning your back on the east. The text reads: “To see the sunrise at the earliest moment. If, instead of looking towards the east, you turn your back to the point where the sun rises, you will perceive the first gleams of light on the top of any tall object, as a spire, a chimney, or a tree, long before the rays will be apparent on the eastern horizon.” From The Magician's Own Book, 1871.
If you ever questioned the existence of the Easter Bunny, it is here revealed that it was a cat all along. Now you can believe. From the Elson-Runkel Primer, 1914.
"Smile because you are uprooting what undermines you and replacing it with what uplifts you" (Shoshana Bennett, 2014). From Queens College's 1969 yearbook.
Of course the Easter Bunny does not lay eggs himself. The eggs are obtained through coercion, bribery, and other closely-guarded methods. From Fliegende Blätter, 1923.
"Baseball-wrestling" has changed over the years, but some might say that the original spirit of the game endures. (We wouldn't, but some might.) From Mansfield's 1933 yearbook.