subject: Interesting, Weird Facts About Encycopedias -- Yes, Encyclopedias! [print this page] Okay, I admit, as weird things go, encyclopedias are probably not high on your list.
But here are a few interesting -- and yes, even weird -- bits of trivia that might amuse anyone who has ever had to try and research a paper using one of these things.
Thank God for the internet.
Look up "Encyclopedia" in the Dictionary
You've heard the word all of your life. You know what it stand for today. And you probably think it means "book of knowledge" or some such rot.
Well...no.
When faced with what to call the first collection of facts, the writers naturally looked to ancient Greek and chose "enkyklos paideias" which translates as "the things of boys all in a circle."
I'm as confused as you are on that one.
If You think the Britannica is Large...
The largest encyclopedia in history has to go to the one commissioned in 1408 during the Ming Dynasty in China. It was 11,000 volumes (yes THOUSAND!) and had 370 million characters.
All hand written.
Try carrying that home in a backpack.
The Weirdest Encyclopedia Britannica
That most serious of encyclopedia, the EB, wasn't always quite as straight laced as it is today.
In fact the very first edition was started in 1768 by 3 Scots. One was a drunk who liked to throw back pints with Robert Burns. Another was a 4 foot 6 inch buffoon who liked to wear an enormous paper-mache nose (just as a joke, you see) who earned a fortune make dog collars for the rich. And the third was the hapless printer who had no idea what he was getting into.
The first EB itself is just about as eclectic. There are 7 lines about drama, 500 words about poetry, but 39 pages about horse diseases. I guess we know what was important to these men.
Speaking of which: Women - the female of man. Yep. That's it. 4 words.
They also "calculated" the number of species on Noah's ark. 177 if you are interested.
One last gem: for excessive gas -- "blow tobacco smoke up the anus." Good luck with that one.
Interesting, Weird Facts About Encycopedias -- Yes, Encyclopedias!
