The precise terminology of modern science

[Jocelyn Limpert]

My "authority" for the "breadbox" origin being from Steve Allen and not
from "Twenty Questions" is the following from my long-time friend and
long-time former Washington Post TV Critic Tom Shales, a most reliable
source of all kinds of TV trivia:

"I dont mind being quoted or mind not being but i AM certain that it's
"bigger"  than a bread box & that Mr Allen wittily invented the question.
Guests on what's my line often dealt in a "product" & Steve invented this
clever way of estimating the product's size (the panelists' questions  had
to be answerable with a yes or no).

"That "animal vegetable or mineral" thing strikes a responsive chord but I
cannot remember what show it was used on. Of course being used on a show
doesn't mean it was invented for that show but the "breadbox" line was. A
genuine moment of inspiration!"

And, of course, I've since found the reference to the "Twenty Questions" TV.


On Sat, Feb 16, 2013 at 11:32 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:

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> 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 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
> >>>>
> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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