I just picked up two Royals for service at The Urban Legend Institute.
My curiosity was really provoked by these instructions (the same for each typewriter):
Four letters were listed.
I called the customer and was enlightened.
I wonder, can any of my readers guess the purpose of this mystery commission?
Looks like he typed out his instructions. Based on the letters used, the letters he did not use are J, Q, U, V, Z.
ReplyDeleteSo that's not it.
Was this customer a linguist?
If that's so, maybe he doesnt like those letters that are deemed less useful.
C and K have the same sound so one of them is superfluous.
Q for the most part is rarely used and can be created using the tandem of CW or KW as in kwality (yeah it's ugly though).
X and Z are similar enough too so i suppose you can get rid of one of those letters as well.
Or maybe both since there arent many words with either letter and can be substituted with S or C.
So maybe those 4 letters are
C, Q, X, & Z.
Or maybe it has to do with fingers and how he types.
No real idea.
Can't wait to find out.
The letters are the first name of their ex. Just kidding. I cannot even begin to guess.
ReplyDeleteHa, that is quite intriguing. I can't help help but think that the four letter word is the "What the _ _ _ _?!" word. (:
ReplyDeleteA, E, I & O. The customer only believes in ONE VOWEL TO RULE THEM ALL!!!
ReplyDeleteDang, why can't this happen to me? I haven't a clue what letters he'd want disabled or why.
ReplyDeleteThat's a cute little Varsity/Companion/Mercury on the right
ReplyDeleteIt's a model D from 1941. Unusual.
DeleteHmmm. Maybe a Latin scholar doesn't need the U, W or J but that's only three.
ReplyDeletebackspace, space bar, margin release, and shift? Perhaps someone who wants to play the typewriter as a musical instrument?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ton - perhaps these typewriters will be set up in a public place (a coffee shop? a middle school?) and the customer wants to disable the letters of that most notorious of four letter words.
ReplyDeleteStumped.
ReplyDeleteDislike for emoticons? Remove the ( ) and ; : ?
(Disabling 4 letters when the machine already is limited to ~42 characters it can print, even if it'd be only 2 keys disabled it seems deliberately 'making it hard'.)
I P A D ?
ReplyDeleteMy own guess was that the typewriters were for writing lipograms, or for some art installation.
ReplyDeleteBut here is the answer. The typewriters will be used as clues in a real-life locked-room mystery. The missing letters (I won't name them here, they're not important) will serve as a code to unlock the next step in the mystery. These mystery games have been getting popular around the world. It sounds like fun!
oh...
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone was gonna guess that :D