Internet Ramble

Growing up in my parents' house, I had several sets of encyclopedias available to me. One of my favorite rainy-day activities was to open an encyclopedia to a chosen entry, then look up one of the "see also" references at the end of the article. Then I would look up one of the "see also" references at the end of that article. I'd ramble in this fashion five or six times just to see where I'd wind up. I could start at an entry for "locomotive," end up at "butterfly," and always learn something on the way.

The internet has enabled me to indulge my childhood pastime without the danger of paper cuts. Now, I have only to click links to ramble through the pages. What joy! One of my favorite starting points is Refdesk.com. I rarely do more than skim the middle column before finding an interesting subject or site to click.

Today, I realized that many of the topics that have caught my eye of late have come from The Free Dictionary. So I clicked and scrolled and found an article on Afonso I, proclaimed in 1139 the first King of Portugal. Interesting fellow. I can't say that I approve of the means he used to achieve his goal, but he did manage to gain his country's independence and make it stick. From there, I clicked on a link for "papal bull." I learned that though the custom of issuing a papal bull goes back at least to the 6th century, it wasn't called by that name until about the 13th century. Skimming along, I saw a word I didn't recognize (anathemising), so I clicked on its link for a definition. A familiar word after all, but I probably couldn't pronounce it on a bet. Next, I saw a link for Sir Francis Bacon and had to go look. I'd still be clicking now if it weren't so far past bedtime.

What need have I for cable or satellite TV? There's plenty of entertainment right here!