https://www.futilitycloset.com/page/81/
Futility Closet - Page 81 of 1414 - An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/page/1255/
Futility Closet - Page 1255 of 1413 - An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
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https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/170-the-mechanical-turk
Futility Closet: 170-The Mechanical Turk
In 1770, Hungarian engineer Wolfgang von Kempelen unveiled a miracle: a mechanical man who could play chess against human challengers. In this week's episode...
futility closetthe mechanicalturk
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https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/webpage/225-the-great-stork-derby
Futility Closet: 225-The Great Stork Derby
When Toronto attorney Charles Vance Millar died in 1926, he left behind a mischievous will that promised a fortune to the woman who gave birth to the most...
futility closetthe greatstorkderby
https://www.futilitycloset.com/page/274/
Futility Closet - Page 274 of 1413 - An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
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https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/259-the-astor-place-riot
Futility Closet: 259-The Astor Place Riot
The second-bloodiest riot in the history of New York was touched off by a dispute between two Shakespearean actors. Their supporters started a brawl that...
futility closetastor placeriot
https://www.futilitycloset.com/page/50/
Futility Closet - Page 50 of 1413 - An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
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https://futilitycloset.libsyn.com/036-the-great-moon-hoax
Futility Closet: 036-The Great Moon Hoax
In 1835 the New York Sun announced that astronomers had discovered bat-winged humanoids on the moon, as well as reindeer, unicorns, bipedal beavers and temples...
futility closetthe greatmoonhoax
https://www.futilitycloset.com/
Futility Closet - An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/page/1308/
Futility Closet - Page 1308 of 1412 - An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
An idler's miscellany of compendious amusements
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https://futility.myspreadshop.com/
Futility Closet
Futility Closet Logo - Reversed? ⭐ Futility Closet Logo - Reversed ❗ Futility Closet Logo - Reversed
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2012/01/21/an-atheists-credo/
An Atheist's Credo - Futility Closet
Jan 22, 2012 - George P. Spencer of Lyndon Center, Vt., died in 1908 at age 83. His epitaph is inscribed on the sides of a granite monument: Beyond the universe there is...
atheistcredofutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2010/08/21/clutch-cargo/
Clutch Cargo - Futility Closet
Jan 25, 2013 - Prove that the number of people who shake hands an odd number of times at the opera next Thursday will be even.
clutchcargofutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2011/05/27/in-a-word-320/
In a Word - Futility Closet
May 27, 2011 - mendaciloquent adj. able to tell skilled or artful lies
in a wordfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/oddities/page/50/
Oddities Archives - Page 50 of 257 - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2017/02/08/split-decision/
Split Decision - Futility Closet
Feb 8, 2017 - In December 2013 a U.S. District Court decided that copyright in the fictional characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson had expired, but only for the...
split decisionfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/science-math/page/248/
Science & Math Archives - Page 248 of 253 - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2015/04/19/quickie/
Quickie - Futility Closet
Apr 26, 2015 - University of Strathclyde mathematician Adam McBride recalls that in his student days a particular teacher used to present a weekly puzzle. One of these...
quickiefutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2019/06/05/black-and-white-236/
Black and White - Futility Closet
Jun 5, 2019 - A densely imaginative little problem by Joseph C.J. Wainwright. White to mate in two moves.
black and whitefutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2020/12/03/constrained-travel/
Constrained Travel - Futility Closet
Dec 3, 2020 - In 1853, a lady at a social dinner challenged explorer Jacques Arago to compose an account of his circumnavigation without using the letter A. He did....
constrainedtravelfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/humor/page/19/
Humor Archives - Page 19 of 38 - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2011/11/01/sound-sense-2/
Sound Sense - Futility Closet
Jan 29, 2013 - Here is a class of a dozen boys, who, being called up to give their names were photographed by the instantaneous process just as each one was commencing to...
sound sensefutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2018/08/28/fair-enough-13/
Fair Enough - Futility Closet
Aug 28, 2018 - Lincoln used a particular logical sleight of hand, long familiar to humorists, as a means of addressing the tariff question. He told of a fellow who had come...
fairenoughfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2017/02/24/quick-thinking-8/
Quick Thinking - Futility Closet
Feb 24, 2017 - The historian Socrates tells us that the Emperor Tiberius, who was much given to astrology, used to put the masters of that art, whom he thought of consulting,...
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/uncategorized/
Uncategorized Archives - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2025/04/05/road-work-5/
Road Work - Futility Closet
Apr 5, 2025 - By Wikimedia user Efbrazil. Fill in four squares to make a continuous dark path connecting the stars. No diagonal moves are allowed.
road workfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2011/01/04/down-for-the-count/
Down for the Count - Futility Closet
Jan 4, 2011 - If A = 1, B = 2, etc., then: DEUX CENT VINGT DEUX = 222 ZWEIHUNDERTSIEBEN = 207 ONE FOUR SIX = 146 TWO OUGHT OUGHT = 200 TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE = 251...
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/04/28/the-stepping-feet-illusion/
The Stepping Feet Illusion - Futility Closet
Each of these buses is proceeding smoothly along the striped street. Yet each seems to be varying its speed dramatically. When the blue bus encounters a white...
steppingfeetillusionfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/05/05/census-trouble/
Census Trouble - Futility Closet
May 5, 2026 - A curious puzzle by Stanley Rabinowitz, from the Spring 1984 issue of Pi Mu Epsilon Journal: In the little hamlet of Abacinia, two different base systems are...
censustroublefutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/book/
Books - Futility Closet
Apr 2, 2022 - Futility Closet: An Idler’s Miscellany of Compendious Amusements collects some of my favorite finds in a career of dedicated curiosity-seeking: lawyers struck...
booksfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2022/07/29/the-7-11-problem/
The 7-11 Problem - Futility Closet
Jul 29, 2022 - A man goes into a 7-11 store, buys four items, and notices that the bill totals $7.11. Even more interestingly, the product of the four prices is 7.11. What...
problemfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2013/12/10/the-bat-bomb/
The Bat Bomb - Futility Closet
Dec 10, 2013 - Pennsylvania dentist Lytle S. Adams had a bright idea in 1942: Since Japanese cities were largely built of paper, bamboo, and other flammable materials, they...
the batbombfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2011/11/21/the-right-moment/
The Right Moment - Futility Closet
Dec 9, 2011 - The second Earl of Leicester sat in Parliament for 67 years without saying a word. His son, the third earl, was silent for 32 years. His grandson, the fourth...
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/history/page/22/
History Archives - Page 22 of 154 - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2018/05/18/leaps-and-bounds/
Leaps and Bounds - Futility Closet
May 19, 2018 - English cricketer C.B. Fry had a curious party trick: He would stand on the floor facing a mantelpiece, crouch, and leap upward, turning in midair and landing...
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/science-math/page/247/
Science & Math Archives - Page 247 of 253 - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2024/11/21/the-sermon-game/
The Sermon Game - Futility Closet
Nov 21, 2024 - In Ambrosia and Small Beer (1964), Edward Marsh describes a way of passing time during a long sermon: [Y]ou look out for words beginning with each letter of...
the sermongamefutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2017/11/28/overdue-7/
Overdue - Futility Closet
Nov 28, 2017 - Harry Houdini worked out a code with his wife, Bess, so that they could communicate during his performances: Pray = 1 = A Answer = 2 = B Say = 3 = C Now = 4 =...
overduefutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/04/15/set-theory-3/
Set Theory - Futility Closet
Apr 15, 2026 - This Alternative Heritage plaque adorns the house in Hull where John Venn was born in 1834.
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2012/05/02/road-music/
Road Music - Futility Closet
May 2, 2012 - Samuel Goss made the world a little sweeter in 1899: My invention relates to bicycles, and has for its object to provide a combined bicycle and musical...
roadmusicfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/poems/
Poems Archives - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2010/05/11/in-a-word-261/
In a Word - Futility Closet
May 11, 2010 - galericulate adj. covered by a hat See whelve.
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2020/03/04/castaway-depots/
Castaway Depots - Futility Closet
Mar 4, 2020 - Following a series of shipwrecks in the 19th century, the government of New Zealand began to establish huts on remote subantarctic islands for the use of...
castawaydepotsfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/language/page/39/
Language Archives - Page 39 of 205 - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2005/10/17/national-statistics-per-capita/
National Statistics Per Capita - Futility Closet
Mar 27, 2006 - Large countries get the most attention, but the picture changes when you adjust for size: Highest GDP: United States Highest GDP per capita: Luxembourg Largest...
national statisticsper capitafutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2023/11/17/profile/
Profile - Futility Closet
Nov 17, 2023 - A problem from the Stanford University Competitive Examination in Mathematics: How old is the captain, how many children has he, and how long is his boat?...
profilefutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2009/12/14/the-bodhisattva-paradox/
The Bodhisattva Paradox - Futility Closet
Feb 10, 2010 - The bodhisattva cannot pass over into Nirvana. He cannot because, were he to do so, he would exhibit a selfishness that a bodhisattva cannot have. If he has...
bodhisattvaparadoxfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2021/08/11/still-waters-2/
Still Waters - Futility Closet
Aug 11, 2021 - The unassuming Japanese perennial Paris japonica may have the largest genome of any living organism. With 150 billion base pairs, the DNA from a single cell...
still watersfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2021/01/19/de-nyew-testament/
"De Nyew Testament" - Futility Closet
Jan 19, 2021 - We Fada wa dey een heaben, leh ebreybody hona ya name. We pray dat soon ya gwine rule oba de wol. Wasoneba ting ya wahn, leh um be so een dis wol same like dey...
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2008/08/23/divide-and-conquer/
Divide and Conquer - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/science-math/page/180/
Science & Math Archives - Page 180 of 252 - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/2026/04/28/update-5/
Update - Futility Closet
Catullus wrote this poem in the first century B.C.: Mourn, o Venuses and Cupids and however many there are of more charming people: my girl’s sparrow is dead—...
updatefutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/category/podcast/page/2/
Podcast Archives - Page 2 of 37 - Futility Closet
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https://www.futilitycloset.com/podcast/
Podcast - Futility Closet
Dec 3, 2021 - From March 2014 to November 2021, my wife Sharon and I hosted a weekly podcast featuring “forgotten stories from the pages of history” — surprising and curious...
podcastfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2008/11/14/in-a-word-181/
In a Word - Futility Closet
Nov 14, 2008 - pharology n. the study of lighthouses
in a wordfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2023/09/22/brave-new-world-3/
Brave New World - Futility Closet
Sep 22, 2023 - A Canadian notice to new telephone users, 1896: To Listen: Place the telephone fairly against the ear, with an upward motion, so that the lower extremity or...
brave new worldfutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2022/02/10/short-notice/
Short Notice - Futility Closet
Feb 10, 2022 - Having lost both his legs at the Second Battle of Bull Run, James Tanner had settled into life as a government stenographer in the Ordnance Department in...
shortnoticefutilitycloset
https://www.futilitycloset.com/2012/01/26/ranks-and-files/
Ranks and Files - Futility Closet
Jan 26, 2012 - From Ross Honsberger via Martin Gardner: Deal cards into any rectangular array: Put each row into numerical order: Now put each column into numerical order:...
ranksfilesfutilitycloset