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Stumpers-L
The Stumpers-L electronic mailing list, was a resource available for librarians and others to discuss reference questions which they were unable to answer using available resources. It was succeeded by the similar Project Wombat. Origins Stumpers-L began in 1992, created by Ann Feeney, a library school graduate student at Rosary College in River Forest, Illinois, in the United States. It was moved to Concordia University, Chicago, then back to Rosary, which was then renamed Dominican University. From 2002 to 2005 it was maintained by the Dominican University Graduate School of Library and Information Science program. At the end of 2005 Dominican University ceased hosting the list. A replacement list, known as Project Wombat, commenced in January 2006, and is hosted by Project Gutenberg. Originally the Stumpers-L archive was a gopher resource, but it migrated to the World Wide Web once the web became more universally used in the mid-1990s. Topics Typical Stumpers-L topic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
-gry
The ''-gry'' puzzle is a popular word puzzle that asks for the third English word that ends with the letters ''-gry'' other than ''angry'' and ''hungry''. Specific wording varies substantially, but the puzzle has no clear answer, as there are no other common English words that end in ''-gry''. Interpretations of the puzzle suggest it is either an answerless hoax; a trick question; a sincere question asking for an obscure word; or a corruption of a more straightforward puzzle, which may have asked for words containing ''gry'' (such as ''gryphon''). Of these, countless trick question variants and obscure English words (or nonce words) have been proposed. The lack of a conclusive answer has ensured the enduring popularity of the puzzle, and it has become one of the most frequently asked word puzzles. The ultimate origin and original form of the puzzle is unknown, but it was popularized in 1975, starting in the New York area, and has remained popular into the 21st century. Various si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electronic Mailing List
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the list." Transmission may be paper-based or electronic. Each has its strength, although a 2022 article claimed that "direct mail still brings in the lion’s share of revenue for most organizations." Types At least two types of mailing lists can be defined: * an ''announcement list'' is closer to the original sense, where a "mailing list" of people was used as a recipient for newsletters, periodicals or advertising. Traditionally this was done through the postal system, but with the rise of email, the electronic mailing list became popular. This type of list is used primarily as a one-way conduit of information and may only be "posted to" by selected people. This may also be referred to by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wombat
Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adaptable and habitat tolerant, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of southern and eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as an isolated patch of about in Epping Forest National Park in central Queensland. Etymology The name "wombat" comes from the now-nearly extinct Dharug language spoken by the aboriginal Dharug people, who originally inhabited the Sydney area. It was first recorded in January 1798, when John Price and James Wilson, a white man who had adopted aboriginal ways, visited the area of what is now Bargo, New South Wales. Price wrote: "We saw several sorts of dung of different animals, one of which Wilson called a "Whom-batt", which is an animal about 20 inches high, with short legs and a thick bod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snopes
''Snopes'' , formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a Fact checking, fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been seen as a source for both validating and Debunker, debunking urban legends and similar stories in Culture of the United States, American popular culture. History 1990s In 1994, David and Barbara Mikkelson created an urban folklore web site that would become ''Snopes.com''. ''Snopes'' was an early online encyclopedia focused on urban legends, which mainly presented search results of user discussions. The site grew to encompass a wide range of subjects and became a resource to which Internet users began submitting pictures and stories of questionable veracity. According to the Mikkelsons, ''Snopes'' predated the search engine concept of fact-checking via search results. David Mikkelson had originally adopted the username "Snopes" (the name o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. It is a member of the Ivy League. Chartered by the Connecticut Colony, the Collegiate School was established in 1701 by clergy to educate Congregational ministers before moving to New Haven in 1716. Originally restricted to theology and sacred languages, the curriculum began to incorporate humanities and sciences by the time of the American Revolution. In the 19th century, the college expanded into graduate and professional instruction, awarding the first PhD in the United States in 1861 and organizing as a university in 1887. Yale's faculty and student populations grew after 1890 with rapid expansion of the physical campus and scientific research. Yale is organized into fourteen constituent schools: the original undergraduate coll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Shapiro
Fred Richard Shapiro is an American academic and writer working as the editor of ''The Yale Book of Quotations'', ''The Oxford Dictionary of American Legal Quotations'', and several other books. Education Shapiro earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of Library Science from the Catholic University of America, and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Career Shapiro has published numerous articles on language, law, and information science, including "The Politically Correct United States Supreme Court and the Motherfucking Texas Court of Appeals: Using Legal Databases to Trace the Origins of Words and Quotations" and "Who Wrote the Serenity Prayer". He is an associate librarian and lecturer in legal research at Yale Law School. His work in identifying sources of recent sayings is seen in ''The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs''.Doyle, Charles Clay, Wolfgang Mieder Wolfgang Mieder (born 17 February 1944) is a retired profes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. History Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random," which suggested the name Random House. In 1934 they published the first authorized edition of James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' in the Anglophone world. ''Ulysses'' transformed Random House into a formidable publisher over the next two decades. In 1936, it absorbed the firm of Smith and Haas—Robert Haas became the third partner until retiring and selling his share back to Cerf and Klopfer in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Body
The human body is the structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the life, viability of the human body. It comprises a human head, head, hair, neck, Trunk (anatomy), trunk (which includes the thorax and abdomen), arms and hands, human leg, legs and feet. The study of the human body involves anatomy, physiology, histology and embryology. The body anatomical variability, varies anatomically in known ways. Physiology focuses on the systems and organs of the human body and their functions. Many systems and mechanisms interact in order to maintain homeostasis, with safe levels of substances such as sugar and oxygen in the blood. The body is studied by health professionals, physiologists, anatomists, and by artists to assist them in their work. Composition The composition of the human body, human body is composed of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kombucha
Kombucha (also tea mushroom, tea fungus, or Manchurian mushroom when referring to the culture; Latin name ''Medusomyces gisevii'') is a fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened black tea drink commonly consumed for its purported health benefits. Sometimes the beverage is called kombucha tea to distinguish it from the culture of bacteria and yeast. Juice, spices, fruit or other flavorings are often added. Kombucha is thought to have originated in China, where the drink is traditional. By the early 20th century it had spread to Russia, then other parts of Eastern Europe and Germany. Kombucha is now homebrewed globally, and also bottled and sold commercially. The global kombucha market was worth approximately billion . Kombucha is produced by symbiotic fermentation of sugared tea using a ''symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast'' (SCOBY) commonly called a "mother" or "mushroom". The microbial populations in a SCOBY vary. The yeast component generally includes ''Saccharomyce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lipogram
A lipogram (from grc, λειπογράμματος, ''leipográmmatos'', "leaving out a letter") is a kind of constrained writing or word game consisting of writing paragraphs or longer works in which a particular letter or group of letters is avoided.McArthur, Tom (1992). ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'', p. 612. Oxford University Press. Extended Ancient Greek texts avoiding the letter sigma are the earliest examples of lipograms.Motte Jr, Warren F (1986). "Oulipo: A Primer of Potential Literature", pp. 100–101 University of Nebraska Press. Writing a lipogram may be a trivial task when avoiding uncommon letters like '' Z'', '' J'', '' Q'', or '' X'', but it is much more challenging to avoid common letters like '' E'', '' T'', or '' A'' in the English language, as the author must omit many ordinary words. Grammatically meaningful and smooth-flowing lipograms can be difficult to compose. Identifying lipograms can also be problematic, as there is always the pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Book Of Counted Sorrows
''The Book of Counted Sorrows'' and ''The Book of Counted Joys'' are fictional books "quoted" as the source of various epigraphs in many of Dean Koontz's books. The books as cited sources do not actually exist; they are false documents. Koontz has since released a book under the same title, collecting the various epigraphs and adding additional material. Fictional books Koontz has, for many years, used epigraphs — short quotes at the start of books or chapters — as a literary device in his writings. These were often attributed to a source entitled, ''The Book of Counted Sorrows''. Koontz also occasionally cites ''The Book of Counted Joys'', such as the epigraph at the start of '' Odd Thomas''. For many years, Koontz fans searched for the elusive ''Counted Sorrows''. Koontz and his publisher received up to 3,000 letters per year inquiring about it. Librarians reported spending many frustrated hours in their attempts to locate the non-existent title. Koontz even ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
