The "Old Man Fan Club" tag continues to morph from 'old men who are fans of me' into 'old men of whom I am a fan.' Today an older man called the reference desk to ask, "I need the straight distance between Wittenberg, Germany and London, England. You know, as the crow flies. I'll take a round number. Thank you!"
I looked up the answer, in the process making an important discovery about Google Maps's "Measure Distance" tool (learn it yourself) and told him it was approximately 545 miles, to which he thanked me and added, "My crow can fly that easily!"
Yet another reference question where it hurts that we can't ask why they want to know
ReplyDeleteI know it's not the real answer, but I like to imagine that he really does have a pet crow and he wants to know how soon to expect it to arrive.
DeleteI've made up some good stories over the years to explain the calls that come in.....
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