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 steady flow of demonic imagery on Tumblr. From Jugend, 1897.
Mark Pahlow, founder of Archie McPhee, writes: "Thanks for your hard work of unearthing all the great material you post. You are a saint, albeit from the netherworld."
The central figure is perhaps wondering, "So it's snakes, wings, and fire on the one side, and what's the other side promising again?" From The New England Primer by Heman Humphrey, 1830.Speaking of which, what exactly are a snowball's chances in hell? See A Snowball's Chance in Hell.
An illustration from a 1901 issue of Punch magazine. The caption reads: "The good fairy Electra of the continuous current banishes the demon King Sulphur."