Before the internet, librarians needed a way to get quick answers to patrons' frequently-asked questions. To accomplish this, many libraries, including CPL, used a small file called a "Fugitive Fact" file. Below are 30 highlights from CPL's ready reference file:
- Indian Place Names — United States
- Alabama — I clear the thicket
- Arizona — Small Spring
- Arkansas — Meaning--unknown
- Connecticut — Long River
- Idaho — Light on the mountains
- Illinois — Tribe of men
- Iowa — This is the place
- Kansas — Swift wind
- Kentucky — Land of tomorrow
- Massachusetts — At the great hill
- Michigan — Great water
- Minnesota — Sky-colored water
- Missouri — Meaning--unknown
- Nebraska — Flat water
- New Mexico — after Aztec war god
- North Dakota — Friends
- Ohio — Great river
- Oklahoma — Red people
- Oregon — Meaning--uncertain
- South Dakota — Friends
- Tennessee — Meaning--unknown
- Texas — Friends
- Utah — High in the mountains
- Wisconsin — Gathering of the waters
- Wyoming — Upon the great plain
- Radio: Frequencies (1992) for Mobile Radio Station
621.384 E: The TAB handbook of radio communications. In appendix - back of book
- Vice President — U.S. (of American Indian origin)
Q: What U.S. vice-president was part American Indian?
A: Charles Curtis (under Herbert C. Hoover, 1929-1933)
Source: Encyclopedia Americana
- Baby Shoes — Copper Plated
600 S.
Sweeney, K.M.
Formula, methods, tips & data for home and workshop
- Cousins
All right, take a look at your family tree. You grandmother had two daughters. They are sisters. They each married and had one son each. Those boys are first cousins.
Each of those boys married and had a daughter. Those daughters are second cousins. But what relation is the man to his cousin's daughter? They are first cousins, once removed. That is, they are first cousins, but a generation apart — thus, once removed.
- Equestrian Statues
Four feet on ground = Soldier died a natural death
One forefoot raised = Soldier died of wounds
Two forefeet raised = Soldier killed in battle
Detroit News 9-22-44
- Ergotism
Q: What is 'ergotism' and what is its connection to the Salem Witch Trials?
A: a fungus
- Canton — Origin of Name
REF 977.433 Michigan History
Bastian, M.
Time in its flight
p. 9
- Michigan — Highest Mountain
Group helps Mt. Arvon reach new heights [Detroit News, 6/29/1992, page 1B]
By Tom Greenwood
Although it wouldn't rate a Sherpa's second glance, Michigan has a new mountain to look up to.
The Michigan Department of Transportation has announced that Mt. Arvon, in the northwest Upper Peninsula, has replaced Mt. Curwood as the state's mightiest peak.
By one whole foot.
Actually, "peak" is stretching it. At 1,979 feet, Mt. Arvon is more like a woodsy mound.
We previously listed Mt. Curwood as 1,980 feet tall, when actually it's 1,978 feet tall," said MDOT cartographer Dennis Knudsen.
"Mt. Arvon checks in at 1,979 feet, so now that's the tallest mountain in the state. And we have the Highpointers Club, from Mountain Home, Ark., to thank for that bit of information."
The Highpointers, a group whose goal is to climb each state's highest point, learned of the discrepancy through the government's latest geological survey data — obtained from satellites with laser imaging. The group wrote MDOT about the error.
Mt. Curwood was named for Michigan writer/naturalist James Oliver Curwood, a popular adventure novelist. The source of Arvon's name remains shrouded in mystery.
Sort of like the view from its peak.
"When you get to the summit, you're surrounded by woods, so there's nothing to see but trees," said Lee Haynes, district field manager for the DNR.
- Time
"A.M./P.M. in regard to noon & midnight." from: 428 Bernstein. Dos, don't of English language.
A.M., P.M.
(The correct time.) If one minute before noon is written "11:59 A.M." and one minute after noon "12:01 P.M.," is 12 noon written as "A.M." or "P.M."? Neither; you write it as either "12 noon" or simply "noon." You could make it "12 M.," with the "M." standing for the Latin meridies or noon, but that is not customary. Midnight is written as either "midnight" or "12 P.M. midnight." Incidentally, if you are speaking of one minute later than 11:59 P.M. Saturday, it's midnight Saturday, not midnight Sunday. "Midnight" belongs to the expiring day, not the new one.
12/80 DS.
- Bats
What is a baby bat called?
Answer: According to the University of Michigan School of Natural Science it has no specific name [note: this is actually untrue. Baby bats are called pups.]
- Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
And now, again, the Four Horsemen ride through the skies of Asia, where their richest pasturage has always been found. They grow sleek, the brothers War, Famine, Pestilence and Death, on the blood of multitudes, on the starved bodies of little children. Their horses tread the way of hatred, and it leads them around the world.
- Great Lakes — Number of Gallons In
Answer: 67 Trillion Gallons [note: According to numerous online sources, the Great Lakes actually contain 6 quadrillion gallons of water.]
- Pig Latin
First letter of a word and add it to the end of a word and add a long ay.
Example: Sandra = Andra-say
- Child Restraint System
a.k.a. Child seat belt law
To see the law itself look in
Michigan Public and Local Acts
1981 Act #117 page 722
- Erin Go Bragh
Means "Erin (or Ireland) forever."
Was an ancient battle cry of the Irish
- Fish — United States
What is the dominant species of fish in each state?
REF 973.03 W
Worldmark Encyclopedia of the States
- Gallimore, James
Q: Who was James Gallimore? (Gallimore School named after him)
A: He was the Director of the Plymouth School Board who donated a lot of money to the Plymouth Schools in the 1940s and 50s
Source: Canton Historical Society
- Hawaiian Alphabet
How many letters in the Hawaiian alphabet?
Answer: 12
- Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand.
- John R Street (Detroit)
Q: Who is the street John R (in Detroit) named after?
A: John R. Williams, mayor of Detroit
Source: Burton Historical Library (DPL)
- Michigan — Local Government
Counties — 83
Cities — 265
Townships — 1245
Villages — 266
School Districts — 579
- Michigan — State Mammal
[Ann Arbor News 6-11-97, via The Associated Press]
Whitetail deer will be state mammal
LANSING — The whitetail deer will become Michigan's official state game mammal now that Gov. John Engler signed a bill Wednesday for which a classroom of Zeeland elementary school students had lobbied.
The students traveled several times to the state capital to lobby lawmakers, and were there when Engler signed the bill among the deer, geese, and peacocks at the Potter Park Zoo.
- One Dollar Bill
How much does it cost to manufacture one $1 dollar bill?
Answer: A little over 2½ cents
Source: Bureau of Engraving, Washington D.C. (2-27-1991)
- Palindromes
Words spelled the same forward and backward.
e.g. civic, level, radar, rotor, madam, tenet, refer
- Petitions
Q: Where can you obtain a petition?
A: Wayne County Clerk Office
- Plymouth — Altitude
728 ft. above sea level
Latitude 42 N 22
Longitude 83 W 28
- "RCA" Dog
What is the name of the dog in the RCA logo?
A: Nipper
Source: REF 338.74 E (Index Table) Everybody's Business
- Round Table (King Arthur)
Dimensions: 20ft interior diameter, 21 ft height, 28 ft out diameter
King Arthur by Norma L. Goodrich
- Tongue, Length of
Average length of human tongue (from the tip to the larynx)
Male: 7.3 centimeters
Female: 7.2 centimeters
Source: Taubman Medical Library, University of Michigan