ridiculous reference questions

[Madelynne Johnson <madelynn@HELEN.BUSH.EDU>]

LMNETters,

W/schools about to start, I want to share this list w/you ;-)

.....Madelynne Johnson.....experienced K-12 librarian
                           seeking full/part/sub job for fall '96
                           Seattle, WA
                           madelynn@helen.bush.edu
>
>This is a list compiled by Will Manley of AMERICAN LIBRARIES of the 8
>most ridiculous reference questions he has ever been asked.
>
>1.  A hysterical woman calls up and screams, "I have an emergency,
>    and I need the telephone number for 911!"
>
>2.  A college student (yes, a college student!) requests a photo
>    of the Underground Railroad.
>
>3.  A man calls reference and wants to know how to say "hello"
>    in sign language over the telephone.
>
>4.  A seventh-grade student says, "I've just seen JURASSIC PARK
>    and I'd like a cassette of live dinosaur sounds."
>
>5.  A high school senior asks for information on youth in Africa.
>    You say, "Oh you want books about growing up in Africa?"  The
>    student shakes his head and says, "No, I want books about killing
>    old people and vegetables."  After a nanosecond of confusion you
>    reply with a straight face, "Oh, you don't want books on youth in
>    Africa, you want books on youth in Asia."
>
>6.  Another high school student storms up to the desk and requests a
>    videotape of Abraham Lincoln giving the Gettysburg Address.  After
>    you inform him that you don't have this, he responds, "Well, dude,
>    you ought to think about getting it.  You've got tapes of Clinton,
>    and Abraham Lincoln was a much greater president than Clinton."
>
>7.  A man calls up and wants the correct spelling for "BMW."
>
>8.  A high school freshman who is doing a research paper on the White
>    House wants to know the shape of the Oval Office and what flowers
>    can be found in the Rose Garden.