Gotrocks

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 6/20/07, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> On 6/17/07, Arnold M. Zwicky <zwicky at csli.stanford.edu> wrote:
> >
> > On Jun 16, 2007, at 1:39 PM, Barry Popik wrote:
> >
> > > (GOOGLE NEWS ARCHIVES)
> > > _LOCAL NEWS._
> > > (http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?
> > > res=FA0D11FC3F58137A93C4A8178AD95F418684F9)
> > > $4.95 - New York Times - Nov 16,  1865     Joxrr B. Gotrox lectured
> > > last at Cooper Institute on temperance, Lefore a crowded house. Miss
> > > Ronncaort lectured on temperance at Clinton Hall. ...
> > > ...
> >
> > what's with this date?  the item itself is obviously mis-scanned
> > ("Lefore" for "Before", "Joxrr" maybe for "John", and "Ronncaort"
> > looks very dubious).  is this a report of a lecture by a real person
> > named "Gotrox", or is that a scanning error too?
>
> Since Barry is currently database-deprived... This is indeed a
> scanning error, and a pretty egregious one at that. The mysterious
> Joxrr B. Gotrox is actually John B. Gough (and Miss Ronncaort is
> actually Miss Robinson). I don't see any attestations of "Gotrox" in
> the databases before the 1890s, as Barry suggested.

Whoops, Bill Mullins already answered this. Carry on.


--Ben Zimmer

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