Happy Birthday, Twelvefeet

Mark TwainBorn November 30, 1835: Samuel Langhorne Clemens. (Robert Heinlein’s neighbor at the Missouri Hall of Fame.)

They’re celebrating the famed writer’s birthday at the Old Farmer’s Almanac with 10 fascinating bits of biographical trivia. Here’s my favorite.

Three

Sam Clemens tried out several pseudonyms, including Rambler, W. Epaminondas Adrastus Blab, and Josh, before settling on Mark Twain (the phrase used by Mississippi River steamboat crews when measuring water depth).

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the link.]

2 thoughts on “Happy Birthday, Twelvefeet

  1. I’ve been reading, and enjoying the second volume of Mark Twain’s Autobiography, although Elaine is afraid that if I fall asleep while reading it, it will fall on me and crush me.

  2. I’m still picking my way through the first volume. What some people have complained about the book is the structure. It really doesn’t have one. It’s Twain just recalling and talking off the cuff. That’s not too bad.

    The book is a burden to hold.

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