Anthony Burgess displayed his technical adroitness in his 1968 novel Enderby Outside by contriving the following sentence that contains the word “onions” four consecutive times: Then,
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
If you like to read books, I’m pretty sure that you have encountered this sentence: “This Page Intentionally Left Blank” While printing these words on
“The Fish, the Man, and the Spirit”
To a Fish You strange, astonished-looking, angle-faced, Dreary-mouthed, gaping wretches of the sea, Gulping salt-water everlastingly,Cold-blooded, though with red your blood be graced,And mute, though dwellers in
Memory and Forgetfulness
Themistocles, when Simonides said that he would teach him mnemonics, or the art of improving one’s memory, replied that he would rather learn the art of forgetfulness: Memory, and thou, Forgetfulness, all hail!Each in her province greatly may avail.Memory, of all things good remind us still:Forgetfulness, obliterate all that’s ill. This was
Being Laconic Is Harder than You Think
One time, the publisher of Mark Twain told him through telegram to write a short story: NEED 2-PAGE SHORT STORY TWO DAYS Twain wired back
An Obvious Theorem
The last theorem in John H. Conway’s book, On Numbers and Games (1976), is: Theorem 100: This is the last theorem in this book.(The proof is obvious.)
