WebJunction

One of the funnier reference questions I heard actually came from the Borders down the street from the library, where one of my co-workers at the time did some moonlighting. Shortly after the original movie came out, a customer asked for the Cliff's Notes for Jurassic Park!

This was one I had trouble keeping a straight face with - "Do you have any old newspapers on microwave?". Have had this a few times in my career. Also, I've had: "newspapers on microfish"

Quoted from Wikipedia: "Microfiche is one of the most compact analog storage media in common use. It is normally used to provide a comprehensive research library in institutions (such as small college libraries) that could not otherwise afford the floor space. It was invented in 1961 by Carl O. Carlson an employee of the National Cash Register Co. The patent was issued in 1965."

If microfish and microfiche are pronounced the same, how do you know the patron wasn't referring to microfiche?

Of course, this term is used in comparison to microfilm.

> This was one I had trouble keeping a straight face
> with - "Do you have any old newspapers on
> microwave?". Have had this a few times in my career.
> Also, I've had: "newspapers on microfish"

lol! I love it. I would have loved to hear your (polite, I'm sure) explanation to the patron as to why that was not possible.

The worst part is ... that guy can vote. :-)

Here are a few I've collected over the years: "How many ribs did Adam have?" "Was the Shroud of Turin the tablecloth used at the Last Supper?" "What religion was Socrates, Jewish or Christian?" "What does it mean when you dream of raw, bloody beef?" "What's the word for when you go into the jungle and shoot an animal and then you feel really good about it?" "Do you have a synagogue I can check out?" (Yes, but it's out right now. Would you settle for a Masonic Temple?) "Is Halloween the Devil's birthday?" "I need a book on evil twins." "I need a copy of Macbeth, in English." "I need a Biblical remedy for boils." "Who wrote The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin?" "What does the Bible say about lettuce?" "Does the library loan out empathy bellies?" "Who was the first female singer?" "How do you say 'serendipity' in Sanskrit?" "Do you need a car to get to the library?" (Yes. If you try to walk here we shoot you.) "I need poems about Raquel Welch." "Do you have 8-10 inch chalice I can check out for our church?" "I need the sheet music for the Lord's Prayer for xylophone." "Where are the audio cassettes for foreigners?" "Were Mona Lisa and Anastasia the same person?" "Is Bob Hope one word or two?" "How do you say 'Tonya' in Hawaiian?" "I need the phone number for the person in charge of comedy in Hollywood." "I need books on Judo-Christian art." (You mean like a painting of St. Francis cracking bricks with his head?) "I need pictures of Michelangelo's Sixteenth Chapel." "What is the African word for goulash?" "What century were the 1950s in?" "What is Tweety-Pie's gender?" "Does the library have any books on any prominent people?" "I need the Pledge of Allegiance in Russian." "I need to contact Barbra Streisand because I've been decapitated and I think she may want to do a movie about it." "Do you have the sheet music for '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall'?" "I need the Chinese characters for 'September 11' because I want to have them tattooed on my butt." Patron: "What's the definition of the word 'kah-teer'?" Librarian: "How do you spell it?" Patron: "Like in 'mouseketeer'." "I'd like the music for Taco Bell's Canon in D." "Can cross-eyed people be hypnotized?"

Not Cliff's, but:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/jurassicpark/

Thanks!

I will add that, whenever someone says to me that they have a "really weird" question, it's always some completely reasonable, if not common, query. The people with the weird questions never think their questions are weird. Why is that?

LOL at the Tin Foil Hat crowd.

Lately we have had people asking about "electrosmog" and how they can protect themselves from the emissions of the wireless devices and networks. Apparently, tin foil wallpaper works well for that:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/jan/18/guardianweeklytechnologysection4

And all this time I thought it was Henry Ford who said that "the business of America is business!"