(Reference Books You’ve Gotta Know About!)
The World Almanac and Book of Facts
Funk & Wagnalls Corporation
Virtually any year — you know the drill
I was looking at my bookshelves around the other day, trying to figure out what reference book I could cover for Heartbeat, when I realized that there was one already sitting on my desk. It’s one that most people have, in one edition or another. It may not be the newest edition, but not many people really need the newest edition. It’s one that, with all this Web business, people might have forgotten about. It’s pretty simple. How many people don’t have an almanac?
Back before the Internet, my children, this mysterious thing called the almanac held all sorts of facts that people could look up easily. Its general index is so extensive that it’s almost 30 pages long (27, in this particular version I’m holding — The World Almanac 1994). (I should add here that in my office alone I have three versions: 1993, 1994, 1998. The 1994 version is just the first one I picked up.) There’s a chronology of the year just past, which is handy if you’re dealing with an event that you need to find information about in reference to other events of the same year. If you need to delve into the US government, the almanac can give you all sorts of information about the different branches, the different politicians and bureaucrats. If you need to know about weights and measures and numbers, there’s a section that’ll tell you exactly what you need to know. Education? The best universities, the average salaries of college professors, the most popular subjects? You’ll find it in an almanac. Population? The history of the Academy Awards? You’ll find it here too.
The biographies of US Presidents, the First Ladies, the flags of various nations, world history, historical figures. Disasters of the world. Need to know if there’s an association or society for something? Find out here. What’s the name of the young of various animals? (Did you know that the young eel is referred to as an “elver”? I sure didn’t.) Find out about states, food information, religion (the Ten Commandments and books of the Bible, Jewish High Holy Days, the Muslim calendar). Sports. Overview of nations.
Of course, I had it on my desk because I was looking up the Constitution of the United States. Yes, I found what I needed.
You may be rolling your eyes by now and muttering to yourself, “But I could look up all of this on the Net!” Yes, there’s no denying you could. And in the middle of the night, if you don’t have an almanac on hand, you’d have to. But it’s going to take longer to look it up on the Net (depending on your modem); for me, it’s just easier to flip a few pages and locate what I need in a few seconds.
We’re thoroughly in the Internet age, and while that has opened up a wealth of possibilities, sometimes it’s just good to have a reference book you can hold and not have to log on to use. You can flip these pages much as you can Web pages, and let’s face it — you can get inspiration and information the old-fashioned way too.
Copyright 2006 EMS Flynn
Pingback: priligy tablets in nidia
Pingback: hydroxychloroquine use in mexico
Pingback: states banning hydroxychloroquine
Pingback: south dakota hydroxychloroquine update
Pingback: can you buy hydroxychloroquine over the counter
Pingback: fda has approved hydroxychloroquine
Pingback: legal ivermectil over internet safe
Pingback: stromectol and potassium antiparasitic tablets
Pingback: stromectol for cold
Pingback: stromectol for mouth ulcer
Pingback: stromectol and kidney disease
Pingback: apple flavored ivermectin
Pingback: stromectol pill for head lice
Pingback: Anonymous
Pingback: Anonymous
Pingback: buy tramadol hydrochloride without prescription
Pingback: locksmith Junior
Pingback: นำเข้าสินค้าจากจีน
Pingback: นำเข้าสินค้าจากจีน
Pingback: เพิ่มผู้ติดตาม
Pingback: เย้เย้
Pingback: Buy pounds of weed online
Pingback: get More Information
Pingback: ค่า สิ โน w88
Pingback: fryd disposble vape
Pingback: bonanza178
Pingback: slot online
Pingback: สล็อต ฝากถอน true wallet เว็บตรง 888pg
Pingback: disposable vapes
Pingback: togel online
Pingback: condo for sale pattaya
Pingback: pool villas in phuket
Pingback: visit this website
Pingback: ข้อมูลบริษัท AESexy
Pingback: muha med carts
Pingback: รับติดตั้งโซล่าเซลล์ กรุงเทพ
Pingback: golden teacher mushrooms for sale
Pingback: KS Quik 5000
Pingback: super kaya88
Pingback: ป้ายกรุงเทพ
Pingback: ป้าย
Pingback: รับเทคอนกรีต สมุทรสาคร
Pingback: ks pod
Pingback: เครื่องนวดหน้า
Pingback: führerschein kaufen legal
Pingback: bonanza178
Pingback: 웹툰 다시보기