The precise terminology of modern science

[Laurence Horn]

On Feb 16, 2013, at 11:13 PM, Jocelyn Limpert wrote:

> Yes, there was a TV show, "Twenty Questions."

Oops.  Of course there was.  What was(n't) I thinking?  Now the only question is whether the "bigger than a breadbox" started there or on What's My Line.

I see from wikipedia that:
"The most common reference to breadboxes is the phrase "Is it bigger than a breadbox?" when trying to guess what some surprise object may be. This question was popularized by Steve Allen on the American game show What's My Line? and remains a popular question in the parlor game 20 Questions."   Not really determinative one way or the other.

Parlor game indeed!

LH
>
> "Twenty Questions" has a Wikipedia listing.
>
> The following quote is from it:
>
> "As a television series, *Twenty Questions* debuted as a local show in New
> York on WOR-TV <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWOR-TV> Channel 9 on November
> 2, 1949. Beginning on November 26, the series went nationwide on
> NBC<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC>until December 24, after which it
> remained dormant until March 17, 1950
> when it was picked up by
> ABC<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Company>until
> June 29, 1951.
> "Its longest and most well-known run, however, is the one on the DuMont
> Television Network
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuMont_Television_Network>from July 6,
> 1951 to May 30, 1954. During this time, original host Bill
> Slater <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Slater_%28broadcaster%29> was
> replaced by Jay Jackson. After this run ended, ABC picked up the series
> once again from July 6, 1954 to May 3, 1955. The last radio show had been
> broadcast on March 27, 1954."
>
> On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 at 9:57 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>> Subject:      Re: The precise terminology of modern science
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> On Feb 16, 2013, at 9:16 PM, Jocelyn Limpert wrote:
>>
>>> Actually the phrase was "BIGGER than
>>> a breadbox" and it was coined by Steve Allen when he served as a panelist
>>> on "What's My Line?" in the 1950's.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> I remember that also being a useful (or at least much-used) clue in Twenty
>> Questions ("Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?"), a game that did not have its
>> own TV show but was frequently played during long car rides.
>>
>> LH
>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 at 3:42 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>> -----------------------
>>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>>> Subject:      The precise terminology of modern science
>>>>
>>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>> From an illustration titled "Fireball" attached to the NYTimes
>>>> article on the Chelyabinsk meteor:
>>>>
>>>> "An _asteroid_ is a rock large than a boulder orbiting in the inner
>>>> solar system, usually between Mars and Jupiter."
>>>>
>>>> In the good old days, it used to be "larger than a breadbox."
>>>>
>>>> Joel
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
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