In yet further proof that truth is stranger than fiction, this book showcases many(very odd!) real-life questions asked at library reference desks. Such questions range from book title butcherings("Do you have the book Diarrhea of the Worm?" A.K.A Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin*), to vague("Can you help me find a book I checked out last year about a little girl? I think the title had a 'the' in it."), to non-book/info related("Could you please pop my popcorn?**"), to mispronunciations("Do you have any books about Michael Angelo?"), to quests for information that doesn't exist("Do you have a recent photo of Abraham Lincoln?***"), to obvious("I need to find the autobiography of Bill Clinton, but I don't know who the author is."), to so bizarre that they just can't be classified!("How many calories are in a mouse?****")
Oh. My. Goodgollygosh.
"Open mouth, insert foot."
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*We hope... :-p
**Interestingly enough, the librarian who was asked to do this actually did it!
***This reminds me of that old joke:
By Shel Silverstein.
****This question was asked by a guy who had recently put his cat on a diet, and thought the cat was cheating by eating mice. The librarian thus reassured him that not only would a little mouse not have many calories, but that it was a good thing that the cat was catching mice.(Doesn't make the question any less odd though...)
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