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The
Team (from left): librarian and researcher MaryAnn Sheehan, writer
Pat Bangs, editor Lois Kirkpatrick and the
column’s chief mover and shaker, Sam Clay... with
Booker, the Big Ape, the true inspiration for
ferreting out the bizarre, the offbeat and
the curious in the Old Dominion. |
About
Nice & Curious Questions: In 1691, a group
of English wits, calling themselves the Athenian
Society, founded a publication entitled, "The
Athenian Gazette or Causical Mercury, Resolving
All the Most Nice and Curious Questions proposed
by the Ingenious." The editors accepted
questions posed by readers on any and all topics,
and sought the most ingenious answers.
Inspired
by their example, Edwin S. Clay III, president of
the Virginia Library Association and Director of
the Fairfax County Public Library, created an
occasional column on Virginia
facts that may require "ingenious
answers" of the type favored by those
17th-century wags.
If you have a query, e-mail him at eclay0@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Born and bred in Virginia’s
Southside, Fairfax County Public Library Director
Sam Clay has explored the many nooks and crannies
in the Old Dominion. A fan of Bacon’s
Rebellion,
in 2003 he proposed a column that would provide
readers with scintillating and provocative
factoids about the commonwealth. The rest is
history.
Pat
Bangs has been a writer and researcher for more
than 30 years. Raised across the Potomac in
Maryland, she adopted the Old Dominion 20 years
ago and has never looked back. A Public
Information Officer with the Fairfax County Public
Library, she loves everything bizarre, odd and
offbeat.
MaryAnn
Sheehan, head of Information
Central, a reference service for Fairfax County
employees and Lois Kirkpatrick, editor
extraordinaire and the library’s Marketing and
Public Relations Manager, complete the humans on
the team.
Booker
the Big
Ape. A fixture in the
Fairfax County Public Library’s Administration
offices for more than a decade, Booker reminds all
who pass to savor the lighter moments in
life.
Archives
Bottled
Poetry: Wine Trails
of Virginia
April
7
Doggie
Happy Hours, or Virginia is for Canine Lovers
March
24
The
Physics of Incentives. Or, Enterprise Zones in the
Old Dominion
February
25
Virginia:
Home of the Outdoor Privy Race. Or, Whatever
Happened to Outdoor Plumbing?
February
11
Millions
of Kilowatt Hours: Nuclear Power in Virginia
January
28
Birdies,
Bogies and the Back Nine: Golfing in the Old Dominion
January
14
-
2007 -
Timing
Is Everything: Stoplights in Virginia
December
27
It's
Not My Neighbor's Water: Turning
on the Tap in Virginia
December
12
Haunted
Virginia: Ghosts
in the Old Dominion
November
26
Weigh
Stations in Virginia: Or
How Heavy is That 18-Wheeler?
November
12
Who
Was the Bunny Man? Urban
Legends of Virginia
October
29
Anglers
in Virginia: From Roanoke Bass to Green Sunfish
October
15
Outside
School Walls: Home
schooling in Virginia
October
1
School
Days Governing the Academy in Virginia
September
4
Where
There's Smoke... Fighting Fires in Virginia
August
13, 2007
Turning
on the Lights: Virginia's
Power Grid
July
30
Crossing
State Lines: Virginia's Neighbors
July
16
The
Tribes of Virginia: American Indians in the
Commonwealth
July
2
Virginia's
Counties: A Day's Journey to the Courthouse
June
19
Pick
4 or Mega Millions: Lottery Games in Virginia
May
28
Ties
that Bind: Virginia's
Sister Cities
April
16
Connecting
with the Earth: Organic
Farms in Virginia
April
2
From
Smarts to Smokers: How
the Old Dominion Rates
March
21
Checking
Tailpipes: Car
inspections in Virginia
March
5
Tea
Leaves and Lifelines: Predicting
the Future in Virginia
February
20
Virginia
Royalty.
Kings and
Queens in Virginia
February
5
Into
the Fray: Media, the Web and a Virginia Library
January
22
Skeletons
in the Closet: Bones of Virginia
January 8, 2007
-
2006
-
Virginia's
Alma Maters: Halls of Public Ivy in the Old
Dominion
December 18
Mail
Box Ballots: Absentee Voting in Virginia
December
4
Oh,
Say Can You See? Lighthouses and Lookouts in VA
November 20
Left
Out, Or What Happened to Zachary Taylor?
October 23
A
Heartbeat Away: Vice Presidents from Virginia
September 25
Virginia's
Oldest Institutions: From Shirley Plantation to
Burke & Herbert Bank
September 11
Up,
Up and Away: Ballooning in Virginia
August 28
Emu
in Virginia: Exotic Beasts in the Old Dominion
August 7
Crossing
the Waters: Ferries in Virginia
July 24
Blasts
From the Past: Virginia's Drive-In Theaters
July 10
Behind
Bars: Virginia's Jails and Prisons
June 26
Grave
Matters: Cemeteries in Virginia
June 12
The
Humpback Bridge and Other Virginia Crossings
May 30
Have
You Ever Seen the Rain: Droughts in Virginia
May 15
"I've
Got Bingo"– Charitable Gaming in Virginia
May 1
After
Monticello: Modern Architecture in Virginia
April 17
Happy
Trails To You: Virginia's Unbeaten Paths
April
3
Finding
One's Way: Signs of Virginia
March 20
Branded
Restrooms: What's Next for Virginia's Rest Stops?
February 27
Families
in the Mansion: Life in the Governor's House
February 13
The
Petersburg Pluton and Volcanoes in Virginia
January 30
Don't
Cry Fowl: Virginia's Feathered Friends
January 3
-
2005
-
Edgar
Cayce's Legacy: Virginia's Psychic Phenomena
November 28
Raise
Your Mug to Virginia's Lagers and Ales
November 14
Breaking
the Codes: Virginia's Multiplying Numbers
October 31
From
Gristmill to Hydro Power: Virginia's Dams
October 3
Down
the Drain, or Waste Not Want Not: Wastewater
Treatment in Virginia
September 5
Tunnel
Vision: Blasting Through Rock, Burrowing Under the
Bay
August 23
Limestone
and Karst: Caves in Virginia
August
8
No
More Free Rides: Toll Roads in Virginia
July 25
Don't
Wash a Mule on the Sidewalk: Odd Laws, Obsolete
Ordinances
July
11
Below
the Surface: Or What the Heck is Vermiculite?
June 20
Virginia's
Clear Skies and Stormy Weather
May 23
Virginia's
Many Voices
May 9
Virginia's
Wild Blue Yonder
April 25
Virginia's
Epidemics: Real and Imagined
April 11
Virginia's
Stargazers
March 28
Virginia's
Mayors: Beyond Street Lights and Parking Meters
March
14
Virginia
Prize Winners
February 28
Mr.
Peanut Comes Home
February
14
Was
Elvis a Melungeon?
January 17
-
2004
-
The
Fat of the Land or: How Many Carbs in a Country
Ham?
August 23
She's
Got a Ticket to Ride or: The Stock Car Ballet
& Other Virginia Art
July 26
All
Shook Up: Virginia Rumbles
June 7
Happy
Trailer Homes To You
May 10
Is
Virginia All Wet or What Exactly is a Run?
April 12
Still
Waters Run Deep
March 1
Geography
As Destiny
February 2
The
Dirt on Virginia's Roads
January 5
-
2003
-
What
Ever Happened to Doug Wilder's Mustache and Other
Hairy Tales
November
17
Where,
Exactly, Is the Center of Virginia?
October 20
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