Today’s newsletter is slightly off-piste with not a letter in sight, but it’s close enough. These cards are simply too interesting not to share.
There was a time, not that long ago, when finding an answer to a burning question required more than a few taps on a keyboard and a wait of a split-second. You had to make an effort, and sometimes human interaction was required. A decade ago, staff at the New York Public Library unearthed an old box of cards, each one bearing a question from an extremely offline member of the public—questions people actually took the time to ask a librarian either in person or over the telephone. Below are just a few. They range from the amusing to the misinformed, and although it’s easy to laugh at these, and I really did chuckle at a few, it’s worth imagining the embarrassment if your Google search history was printed out and laid bare for all to see. The thought of it brings me out in a cold sweat.
1.
“Do you have information about permanent people?” (Feb 1966)
2.
“Any statistics on the life span of the abandoned woman?” (Feb 1963)
3.
“What kind of apple did Eve eat?” (Sep 1956)
4.
“Can I get a book telling me how to be mistress of ceremonies at a musical orgy?” (Nov 1948)
5.
“What was the origin of bedsheets?” (Jan 1950)
6.
“Is there a law in NYC whereby a child can become unrelated to its parents if they don’t like each other?” (Feb 1961)
7.
“How many neurotic people in US” (Dec 1946)
8.
“I would like to know something about the physical characteristics of Adolf Hitler. I think I’ve found him - he walks heavier on one foot and everything.” (Jun 1947)
9.
“What is the natural enemy of a duck?” … “What do you mean?” … “Well, a whole flight of them landed in my pool and I have waved a broom at them but all they do is look at me and quack. I thought I could introduce the natural enemy into the pool area.” (Jun 1967)
10.
“Where can I get all available statistics on volume of business, money involved, etc. in the sale of cadavers?” (Nov 1948)
11.
“Why do 18th century English paintings have so many squirrels in them, and how did they tame them so that they wouldn’t bite the painter?” (Oct 1976)
12.
“When writing to a sailor should one always spell the word ‘weigh’ as in ‘Anchors Aweigh’ out of courtesy, even when it is usually spelled ‘way’?” (Apr 1945)
13.
“Do you have any books on human beings?” (Undated)
14.
"Where can I find something on the comical aspects of pregnancy?" (Sep 1962)
15.
“Is the black widow spider more harmful dead or alive?” (Undated)
16.
“Asked for nutritional value of human flesh.” (Jun 1958)
17.
“How do you spell S p i z z e r i n c t u m ?” (Feb 1949)
18.
“Charles Darwin’s book, Oranges + peaches.” [On the Origin of Species] (Mar 1962)
19.
“Does the female human being belong to the mammal class?” (Undated)
20.
“If a poisonous snake bites itself, will it die?” (Sep 1949)
21.
“List of famous men born prematurely.” (Jun 1950)
22.
“Please give me the name of a book that dramatizes bedbugs?” (Sep 1944)
23.
“I am from Wilmington, North Carolina, and my daddy owns the second oldest lighthouse in the country. Where can I sell it?” (Jan 1961)
Shaun! You've given me an idea!!
"Oranges and Peaches" ahh, that's adorable.