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1500 questions
108
votes
5 answers
Why was 1984 set in 1984?
Was there any special meaning to the year he chose? I originally thought that he just selected a date in the future but now I am not so sure. Has George Orwell or his editor ever commented on the title?
Matrim Cauthon
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92
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2 answers
How do we know Humpty Dumpty was an egg?
As depicted in 1870 by James William Elliott's National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs, the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty" goes as follows:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's…
Skooba
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83
votes
1 answer
Snoopy can balance on an edge atop his doghouse. Is any reason given for this?
In Peanuts, Snoopy sleeps and does other activities on top of his doghouse. Since the doghouse has a pointy roof, shouldn't he fall down? Why doesn't the below happen every time?
Is there a reason provided, in the comic or any extratextual…
TheAsh
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67
votes
4 answers
What is Hobbes?
In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, Calvin is a boy. He has a tiger friend, who's... a little ambiguous. Is he a doll or a real tiger or a figment of his imagination? To Calvin he appears real, and to everybody else he looks like…
Mithical
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64
votes
2 answers
Did Arthur Conan Doyle code Holmes and Watson as a gay couple?
Given the Victorian era, a writer couldn't deliberately create an openly (or even quietly) gay couple for public literary consumption. But gay people existed, and had romances. Arthur Conan Doyle knew Oscar Wilde and got on with him very well, and…
Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum
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64
votes
7 answers
Has copy protection ever been used in physical books?
"Digital rights management", DRM, is almost a standard in the e-book industry. Have copyright holders ever tried to protect physical books from scanning, for example in a way how banknotes are protected against counterfeiting?
user598527
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56
votes
3 answers
Why is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy referred to as H2G2?
I've often heard The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy referred to as H2G2 but never really understood why. I wondered whether anyone actually knew or whether it was just adopted unquestioningly.
Lio Elbammalf
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56
votes
2 answers
Where did the idea of a "true name" come from?
There's a common trope in Western fantasy that, up until now, I've sort of taken for granted: the "true name."
This is the idea that all things have true names that are somehow more closely linked to what the thing is, and that knowing it grants…
user80
52
votes
2 answers
Why was The Call of the Wild banned?
I periodically see Jack London's The Call of the Wild on banned book lists, but I'm not sure why it would be – it doesn't seem that controversial. I found ALA's page cataloguing the reasons given for banning many classics, but all that appears for…
Nathaniel is protesting
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52
votes
3 answers
Why is there so much technical detail of whaling included in Moby-Dick?
One of the peculiarities of Moby-Dick is that it includes large quantities of information about the science of whales and the practice of whaling. Whole chapters are dedicated to describing the technicalities of life aboard a whaling vessel in the…
Matt Thrower
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51
votes
7 answers
What is Tom Bombadil's importance in The Lord of the Rings?
Tom Bombadil is definitely one of the weirdest characters in all of The Lord of the Rings, he just comes out of nowhere, stumbling upon Frodo and Sam while singing. His actions are just incredibly unusual compared to the other characters in LotR. My…
Mark S
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49
votes
1 answer
History of Spoilers
I live in the USA, where people react poorly if you spoil a move or a book for them. However, the question What is the benefit in the Prologue "spoiling" the play in Romeo + Juliet? raises the interesting point that beliefs about spoilers vary…
user111
49
votes
2 answers
Did Gaiman and Pratchett troll an interviewer who thought they were religious fanatics?
TVTropes says, about the book Good Omens:
In real life: Gaiman and Pratchett did a radio interview when the book came out, and slowly realized that the interviewer wasn't aware that the book was fictional, and thought they were a couple of…
Rand al'Thor
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49
votes
3 answers
Does Dr. Manhattan have free will?
In Alan Moore's Watchmen, Doctor Manhattan is a superhero with godlike powers, including the ability to view his past, present, and future simultaneously. Manhattan believes that everything that happens and everything that will happen has been…
Shokhet
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47
votes
6 answers
How did Wonka's Golden Ticket sweepstakes ensure that children would win?
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka says
I don't want a grown-up person at all. A grownup won't listen to me; he won't learn. He will try to do things his own way and not mine. So I had to have a child. I want a good sensible loving child…
kristan
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