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 a precursor to the Seinfeld episode in which Elaine tries to run a clothes store called Putumayo out of business after receiving bad customer service, by shopping at the competing Cinco de Mayo, only to discover that both stores are owned by the same person. From Tufts University's 1925 yearbook.
Funny to see doctors trying to convince folks that they're needed for birthing, hoping we'll forget the existence of midwives. From the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's 1917 yearbook.