Wednesday, December 24, 2014

This Is How People Asked Embarrassing Questions Before The Internet

Welcome to the New York Public Library’s vault of strange questions. H/T Gothamist.


A long time ago, before the internet's glorious tubes brought us all the cats and boobs we could ever want, people used to go to the library for info.


A long time ago, before the internet's glorious tubes brought us all the cats and boobs we could ever want, people used to go to the library for info.


Um, ~crazy~.


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When confused patrons couldn't find what they were looking for in books, they'd often ask the librarians.



People-2-people connecting.


instagram.com


At the New York Public Library, each query was written down on an index card and filed away.


At the New York Public Library, each query was written down on an index card and filed away.


From 1940 to 1980, the library kept track of questions with a paper file. Recently, that old box of questions was rediscovered.


"We found an old recipe box while cleaning out a desk, and it was labeled 'Interesting Reference Questions,' the contents of which ranged from total stumpers to funny mispronunciations," the NYPL Instagram says.


BTW: The answer is zero years. YOU DIE WITHOUT THE LIFE-GIVING INFLUENCE OF A MAN.


nypl.org


Some were serious.


Some were serious.


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25 Of The Most Beautiful Literary Quotes About Christmas

These 25 quotes from writers prove it’s the most wonderful time of the year.



Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed / Thinkstock


1. "The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting."

–Louisa May Alcott, Little Women


2. "Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever."

–Bess Streeter Aldrich, Song of Years



Jarry Lee / BuzzFeed / Thinkstock




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An Oral History Of The Birth Of New York Hardcore

Members of Bad Brains, Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, and more remember Max’s Kansas City. An excerpt from NYHC: New York Hardcore 1980–1990, by Tony Rettman.



The Cro-Mags in 1987.


Ken Salerno


The following is chapter 2, "Max's Kansas City: Punk Thursdays," from the book NYHC: New York Hardcore 1980–1990, by Tony Rettman (available Dec. 30, Bazillion Points).


Peter Crowley (talent booker, Max's Kansas City): The person I'm aware of who first used the word hardcore was a journalist by the name of Pat Wadsley, who worked at the SoHo Weekly News. She wrote a review of the New York rock 'n' roll scene that read, "CBGB has mellowed with age. Hurrah is Macy's punk. Only Max's remains hardcore."


Denise Mercedes (guitarist, Stimulators): Max's is interesting, because when we began playing there fairly regularly and became popular, hardcore slamming didn't exist. People were just jumping around—I guess they were pogoing. A lot of movement and a lot of energy came out from the audience. Tables and chairs were getting broken. Whenever the Stimulators played, Max's had to take out all the furniture. I always think that's a little badge of honor. "The Stimulators are coming! Get everything out of here!" That's a fond memory for me.


Jack Rabid (editor, The Big Takeover fanzine; drummer, Even Worse): The scene where I really thrived as a full-fledged member was those Max's Kansas City gigs.


Vinnie Stigma (guitarist, The Eliminators, Agnostic Front, Madball; vocalist, Stigma): I used to play Max's Kansas City a lot with my band the Eliminators. I hung out at Max's and ran around with a leather jacket on with no shirt on underneath in the middle of the summer. It didn't matter! You had to have the leather jacket on! I was a punk rocker.


Richie Birkenhead (vocalist, Numskulls, Underdog, Into Another; guitarist, Youth of Today): Back then, the clubs I used to go to were Max's, the Mudd Club, and the old Peppermint Lounge. I think Max's was the first to really have hardcore.


Al Pike (bassist, Reagan Youth; coeditor, Straight Edge fanzine): Max's had this overpowering darkness. The walls were dark. Seats and tables were pushed to the side. A lot of the loud, fast people hung there.


Keith Burkhardt (vocalist, Agnostic Front, Cause for Alarm): I came into the city from Nutley, New Jersey, and went to Max's Kansas City. Instead of being at the hole-in-the-wall pizzeria where I worked, now I was at Max's, where you could run into Mick Jagger or Andy Warhol. There were all these punks. It was a totally surreal scene.



Randy Underwood




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