Saturday, August 11, 2007

This hardly seems random...

... or does it? After countless Blogger word verifications that were meaningless strings of letters, I come across an actual English word.

This reminds me of that theorem in which an infinite number of monkeys stationed at an infinite number of typewriters (with infinite paper, ribbons, and owl tech support, one assumes) can produce or re-create a great work of literature.

Is "gossip" one of the first words of this future masterpiece? And if so, what kind of fiction is it? Imagine the possibilities!

Does "gossip" describe a new meddlesome aunt for a Jane Austen-like novel? An online muckraker for the spiritual heir of William Gibson? A depiction of Mrs. Lovejoy for a lost episode of The Simpsons?

Post your own theories here.

7 comments:

J.D. said...

Mine says "mituvme". Is that a word?

Ookami Snow said...

I have never got a full word out of the word verification. Congrats!

this time mine is: htrkearu (not even close to a word)

PG said...

Perhaps the sequel to The Crucible? 17th century English used the word "gossip" to refer to any talkative woman, particularly to refer to a friend -- I think this usage appears in Shakespeare, and some say that Shakespeare was the one to transform the meaning from "friend, close relative" to "talking about others."

Unknown said...

Perfect.

J.D. said...

"Taoxpaan". Thiiiiiiis close.

J.D. said...

"Devut"! Is that a word?

Neel Mehta said...

It's almost "devout." Or "duvet."