Gotrocks

[Benjamin Zimmer]

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.


--Ben Zimmer

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